The Bell Repair Fund

The Guild Bell Repair fund is a registered charity (No. 506118)

The Lincoln Guild Repair Fund was set up in 1975 and in 2015 the Aims and Rules were revised and updated.

The Aim is to provide financial assistance to Churches in the Diocese of Lincoln for the purpose of maintaining and/or improving their bell installations.

By the end of 2019 over £140,800 has been awarded in grants to 121 churches within the Diocese. Grants are made on a proportion of the cost of all qualifying work and have ranged from £5 to £6938.

Towers that have been paid grants over the last 4 years include:

An additional total of £6400 has been offered to a further 5 towers for projects that are planned or in progress.

The fund is a charitable organisation funded from member's contributions, affiliated towers and specific fund raising events.

For more information on joining the Affiliation Scheme, please contact Stephen Clarke on 01427 717430 or by email to the .

Applying for a Grant

Applications for grants should be submitted in writing by the relevant PCC Secretary using the downloadable application form below. The form should be submitted with supporting documentation as necessary, via the appropriate Branch Secretary to the Bell Repair Fund Administrator. Applications will be presented to the Grants Committee of this Guild, who shall have the power after considering an application to approve a grant from the Fund.

New guidelines came into force on 1st January 2016 which detail the permission needed for three different groups of work, which are itemised in List A work, List B work and Other Work. Details can be found on the Church of England website.

BRF Grant Application Form & Guidance (PDF)      BRF Grant Application Form & Guidance (RTF)      BRF Grant Application Form & Guidance (DOCX)

There is also a Grant Claim form for use once the work is completed

BRF Grant Claim Form (PDF)      BRF Grant Claim Form (RTF)      BRF Grant Claim Form (DOCX)

BRF Statement of Satisfaction (PDF)      BRF Statement of Satisfaction (RTF)

Gift Aid

The Guild Bell Repair fund is a registered charity (No. 506118). If you pay UK income tax and make a gift to the fund please complete a copy of the Gift Aid Form and send it to the Guild Treasurer with your payment. The Guild will then be able to reclaim an extra 25p from the Inland Revenue for every £1 you donate.

Rules of the Bell Repair Fund

  1. The fund shall be known as the Lincoln Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers Bell Repair Fund. The object of the Fund shall be to promote, for the benefit of the community, the art of bellringing by providing financial assistance to churches in the Diocese of Lincoln for the restoration, preservation, improvement and maintenance of their bell installations.

  2. Applications for grants shall be submitted on the Grant Application Form via the appropriate Branch Secretary to the Grants Committee of the Guild, which shall have the power after considering an application to approve a grant from the Fund. Grants will not be considered for any work which has not received prior approval at the appropriate level from the Diocesan authorities or, where no Diocesan approval is required, from the Grants Committee. The Grants Committee shall consist of the Master, the Secretary, the BRF Administrator, The Trustees and two other Guild members appointed annually by the Guild Committee. At meetings, any three of the above, of whom one should be an Executive Officer and one a Trustee, shall form a quorum. The secretary (or proxy) of the branch in which an applicant tower is situated should be present in a non-voting capacity to represent the applicant.

  3. The Guild Committee shall appoint three Trustees for the Fund. The Trustees shall not also be Executive Officers of the Guild. They shall be appointed for an initial term of three years and may not hold office for more than three consecutive terms. Any two of the Fund Administrator and Trustees shall have the authority to act as signatories to the Fund. The Trustees shall have the power to invest or otherwise deal with such sums as the Guild Committee may place in their hands. The Trustees shall make payments out of the Fund only as directed by the Grants Committee.

  4. In the event of the dissolution of the Fund the assets of the Fund shall be distributed equally among those Churches which at the time of dissolution were affiliated* with the Fund, for disposal in accordance with the objects of the Fund as set out in Rule 1.

  5. The Fund Administrator, on behalf of the Trustees, shall prepare a Balance Sheet as at December 31st each year and an income and expenditure account for the year ended on that date. These accounts shall be examined by the Guild Honorary Inspectors of Accounts, in accordance with Charity Commission rules. The accounts are to be presented to the members at the Annual General Meeting of the Guild first held after the end of the year for which the accounts are prepared.

    1. No alteration of these Rules shall be made so as to cause the Fund at any time to cease to be a Charity in law.

    2. No alteration shall be made except at a General Meeting, (i.e. Annual, Half-yearly or Special) of the Guild and must be passed by a two-thirds majority of those members present.

    3. A minimum of twenty-eight days' notice of such meeting and proposed alteration must be given to each member through their respective towers via their Branch Secretaries.

NOTES TO THE RULES

  1. All references to bells shall mean bells hung for full circle ringing.

  2. Qualifying work

    1. Taking out an existing ring of bells, supplying and installing a new frame and fittings, recasting the bells and erecting the same.

    2. Taking out, overhauling and re-clappering existing bells, supplying a new frame and fittings and re-erecting the bells.

    3. Taking out existing bells, overhauling the existing frame and fittings, re-casting or overhauling and re-clappering the bells and re-erecting them.

    4. Bringing existing bells, frames and fittings into an adequate state of repair and augmentation up to a maximum of a ring of 6.

    5. Other repairs to bells, frames and fittings.

    6. The provision of sound control materials.

    7. The transfer of bells from one tower to another and the work entailed.

    8. Any other work which the Trustees deem to comply with the object of the fund including augmentation above 6 bells.

  3. Terms of payment

    1. The Trustees shall, at the end of each calendar year, having reviewed the available funds and known impending work, determine the maximum level of grant to be paid from the fund during the ensuing year; such figure to be published as a footnote to the Annual Accounts.

    2. The grant payable shall be assessed as a proportion of the final invoice cost of the project. At the discretion of the Trustees interim payments or loans may be made to assist the applicant parish with its cash flow and to minimize an escalation of cost because of delays in fund-raising.

  4. *Affiliated Churches

    A Church shall be considered to be affiliated to the Bell Repair Fund in any one calendar year if it had donated to the Fund during the previous calendar year.

These rules were updated 13th August 2021