St Leonard's Church, Yarpole (Bell Ropes)

Here is a view of inside the detached bell tower of Yarpole Church, showing a portion of its fine old timbering. The notice board describes the refurbishment of the main body of the church, also informing us that:

“Saint Leonard's Church, Yarpole is a large plain church of the early 14th century with a fine crown post roof. The north aisle and reordered chancel are by George Gilbert Scott, 1864. Its chief glory is the detached bell tower, dendrochronologically dated to 1196.”

The refurbishment includes providing premises for Yarpole Community Shop & Post Office (a cooperative run by volunteers), which at present (July 2009) is served from a Portacabin behind The Bell Inn. The alterations will permit accomodation for those who wished to attend services, meanwhile creating a permanent home for the shop.

A large part of the cost of renovations will be “for an ambitious scheme to heat the building geothermally”; and on our visit the work was obviously well underway.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)