We have had a lot of conversation in the Heritage Centre over the last while as to the whereabouts of the bell that used to hang in the bell tower in Ardrossan Parish Church, which is now the Heritage Centre.
Over a month ago our lovely volunteer and local history enthusiast, Frances Gilmour, brought a post by Three Towns Explored to our attention and we found that the bell had been right under our noses for a long time, having been hanging in the tower of the North Parish Church from October 1964 until their tower refurbishment in December 2002, then being moved inside that church and kept safe until now.
Stewart McGookin from the Three Towns Explored page some more information and photographs regarding the bell, and he kindly put us in touch with Kathleen McIlreavy from North Parish Church and our Collections Officer went out for a visit. The kirk session there had already agreed to sign the bell in to our care. It was so lovely to be able to see this tangible part of our story and we like the thought that the bell had its chance to ring out again after its life at Ardrossan Parish Church was over.
It has been a couple of weeks and we’ve had some false starts on the delivery of the bell, but on Friday morning (16th August) it finally arrived back at its original home in the Heritage Centre, with the help of John Wilson and Craig Harper of North Ayrshire Council. We thank all of the above people who expanded our team for a little while. We always appreciate the support we get from the community to make these things happen. We thank the session and congregation at North Parish Church for allowing us to care for the bell and we hope that you’ll come and see it in its new home.
It is an absolute privilege to have this object in our care. We’re still missing bits of its story, so if you remember anything about the bell that might be of interest to us, please do get in touch!