St Sampson’s Church, South Hill, is delighted to announce the restoration and imminent return of its historic church bells, which took place on January 12 (as we went to print) following a successful fundraising campaign.

In November 2023, the five bells of St Sampson’s Church were carefully removed and transported to Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough for urgent restoration, prompted by safety concerns. The bells remained in storage while the church community rallied to raise the necessary funds to restore and rehang these treasured artefacts.

Thanks to the generous support of grant funders including The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Church Care, Aurelius Trust, The Elmgrant Trust, The Sharpe Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, individual donors, local fundraisers, and fundraising events, the target of £30,000 was reached. This collective effort has made it possible for the bells to return and once again be part of South Hill’s heritage.

To celebrate the restoration, the bells were on public display on the floor of St Sampson’s Church on Tuesday, January 13. This offered a rare opportunity for visitors to view the bells up close before they were hoisted back into the tower — a moment of history in the making. The bells are due to ring out again on Friday, January 16, marking the end of a 50-year silence.

The ring of five bells at St Sampson’s Church comprises four cast in 1698 by John Pennington and John Stadler, and a tenor bell cast in 1831 by William and Charles Pannell. Each bell is embellished with the names of local people from their era, serving as a unique testament to the community’s history and heritage. A neighbour said, ‘We are very excited to hear them again’.

Mondays weekly - Morning prayer at 10am.

Sunday, January 18 - Evensong at 6.30pm.

Sunday, January 18 - Holy Communion at 10am.

THE charity grew out of the amalgamation of the Charles Roberts Charity and the Charity of George Jeffery before compulsory schooling.

These two charities were involved with educating poor children of the parish. In 1925 the two charities combined to be administrated as one Foundation and still functions in conformity with the scheme agreed then. Today we are able to make grants to promote the education of children who reside in the Linkinhorne Parish.

Contact Sophie Hughes, secretary on robertsand [email protected] for more information. Include details of your request and this will be taken to the next meeting for consideration.

The next committee meeting will take place on Wednesday in the hall at 7pm.

This will take place at Sterts Arts Centre, Upton Cross at 7pm on Friday, January 16, at 7pm. with Quiz Master Simon Parker. Tickets via sterts.co.uk or call 0333 666 33 66.

North Hill Parish Council held their monthly meeting on January 5 at North Hill Village Hall. Several planning applications were considered.

PA25/08719 – Batten Mill, Mill Lane, North Hill – Listed building consent to re roof property – comments submitted on December 17, 2025 to confirm North Hill Parish Council had no objection as works needed to be carried out to prevent loss of historic fabric - This was noted for information.

PA25/09208 – Land North West of Clampit Farm, Linkinhorne – Construction of general purpose agricultural building and stone access track and stone hard standing – no site visit arranged due to nature of the application - It was agreed that as this was an agricultural application a site visit was not needed. Clerk would submit comments to confirm that North Hill Parish Council had no objection to the application subject to the condition that it is used for agricultural purposes only.

PA25/06850 – Yellow on the Broom, Blythes Farm, North Hill, PL15 7PG - Application for Permission in Principle for construction of dwellings (minimal number 4, maximum number 9) – email received to request an agree, disagree or request a referral to planning committee – clerk submitted the general consensus which was to refer to planning committee, one councillor was required to attend – Debate took place regarding the application and evidence was provided of two previous applications that had been refused, one in 1986 which went to appeal following refusal and was turned down following appeal and a further application in 2010 which was again refused. One member of the public raised concerns in relation to there being no pavements and how dangerous this was already for pedestrians without additional buildings being erected.

One councillor was willing to compile a report and attend the committee meeting if it was agreed that this would proceed.

One further application was discussed which had been received the day of the meeting hence was not listed on the agenda:

PA25/09279 – Ring O Bells, Glubhole Lane, North Hill, North Hill, PL15 7PQ – Listed building consent for alterations and repair works, including replacement of windows throughout the house, replacement of heating system and radiators – North Hill Parish Council discussed the application and resolved that this was listed building consent for improvements to a listed building therefore did not feel a site visit was required as it was essential works. There was no objection to the application as it was agreed the building needed to be preserved.

Other matters discussed included North Hill Parish Council Emergency planning procedures. One Councillor gave an update to confirm that the document was now completed, a list of emergency contact numbers would be added and the document would then be placed on the website.

North Hill Parish Council also came to agreement on a donation of £1,500 donation to Coads Green Village Hall to contribute towards a new basket ball court. The Community Highways Improvement Programme is currently open and debate took place regarding the most appropriate and viable option to put forward. The concerns in relation to speeding at Middlewood through to Berrio Bridge were considered however it was unanimously agreed that it would be more appropriate to put forward a request for 30mph signage at Bathpool.

One councillor was going to request an appropriate location be identified by the police between Berrio Bridge and Middlewood for Community Speed Watch to be able to monitor speeding on this stretch of road.

The next meeting is due to take place on February 2 at North Hill Village Hall. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and raise any issues they may have.

The festive season began at the end of November when the Chapel held its annual Toy Service. This began a few years ago – it was Greta Davey’s idea to donate wrapped gifts to be donated to the Launceston Foodbank in order for them to distribute to families who are unable to afford to buy gifts for their children, which can be due to a variety of reasons. This year the service was led by Mrs Sue Uglow with her husband Richard also contributing. The service coincided with the first Sunday in Advent and the first candle of the Advent ring was lit by Sue Martyn with Ella Strout reading. In total 186 wrapped gifts of all shapes and size were taken to the Launceston Foodbank and these had not only been donated by chapel members, but also members of the community.

The chapel carol service was held on the afternoon of the first Sunday in December when the candles on the Advent ring were lit by Ruth Sharpe and her grand-daughter Seren. The service was led by Sue Martyn with contributions of readings, poems and carols from members of the congregation – Rev David Miller helped with audio visuals and gave a short Christmas message. Members of the community also attended and all shared in a tea after the service.

Boyton School Christmas Production was held when, despite a lot of illness, the children excelled in their very apt play entitled "Gimme Gimme Gimme". The chapel presented each child with a chocolate angel and leaflet explaining the ‘real’ Christmas story.

Members of the chapel took part in the Community Carol Service held at the church and afterwards all joined together in the Hall for refreshments.

Donations from the last coffee morning at the chapel in December are to be donated to Children’s Hospice South West. There were a good number in attendance. Beryl Barton had kindly made and donated a cake for ‘Guess the Weight of the Cake’ competition which was won by Mrs Ruth Colwill of Lifton.

The last service of December was led by Rev David Miller and the Advent candles were lit by Ella and Francesca with Angela Strout reading.

Coffee mornings continue in the village every Thursday – first and third at the chapel, second and fourth at the Church Hall.

On the fifth Thursday, January 29, the School PTFA will be hosting the coffee morning raising funds for our lovely village primary school who received a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating last year.