It became apparent in 2004 that it would be necessary to rehang the bells in All Saints Parish Church Hopton. The old wooden frame is certainly past its best and limits have had to be placed on the amount of ringing that can take place.
Subsequently the necessity to restore the fabric of the tower has also become apparent, so the task of raising funds to repoint the tower and repair the bells was begun.
A Brew for the Bells
Alan Thomson, master brewer at the local micro brewery in Market Weston Old Chimneys Brewery offered to brew two special beers to help with the fundraising. "Sally Grabber" and "Bats in the Belfry" were two fantastic beers that have been sold at a number of the fundraising events and in the brewery shop.
Barndance
Two evenings of mayhem at the hands of Ron Coxall from Stowmarket. Improve your memory and get fit at the same time, some serious fun was had at these evenings in Coney Weston. There were some interesting raffle prizes too.
Euston Rural Pastimes
This was our stall at the Euston Rural Pastimes event. We had competitions and local produce including beer, chutney, cakes and biscuits. There was also a miniature ring of bells!
Gift Day
Thank you to everyone who made a donation towards the Ap-peal on All Saint's Day. Over £1000 was raised, which is a great boost to the restoration funds.
Hog Roast and Handbells
Banham Handbell Ringers gave a performance at the Hog Roast and Handbells event, luckily they fared better than the Hog. Another really good evening's entertainment!
Hopton Mugs
Hopton Mugshot
Hopton Church on the front
A number of Hopton Church mugs have been produced in order to help raise funds. These can be purchased at events, or in the Church.
Mooncoin
European folk band Mooncoin played a gig at Coney Weston village hall and one at Hopton village hall the following year. These provided two brilliant evenings' entertainment, with beer provided by Old Chimneys Brewery in Market Weston