The Ross Gazette and a Ross antique dealer with a keen eye for historical items with a local connection have both played a part in reuniting the original 19th century school bell with Weston under Penyard School.

Owen McCarthy of Waterfall Antiques in Ross spotted the bell listed in the Williams, Watkins and Richards auction notice in The Ross Gazette of November 8th. He telephoned the auctioneers to check the provenance and was told that the bell definitely came from the School. He informed the headteacher who then made a successful bid at the auction and the bell was soon heading back to is rightful place.

The headteacher and all the staff and pupils are thrilled that the bell has come home and they are starting a fund raising project to restore the bell to its former glory. The school is hoping to start work on a new garden area soon and Mr Bird hopes that a mini bell tower and the bell will make a centrepiece to the garden. Mr McCarthy originally contacted his brother-in-law, who is headteacher of Weston School, to ask why he was selling the bell. Mr Bird, the headteacher knew nothing about it and decided that he should try to buy it and return it to the school. He contacted the school governors who gave the go-ahead financially and Mr Bird left a bid with the auctioneers for the sale on Wednesday, November 14th.

During the day he became very anxious that the school might miss out on the bell by a small amount if the bids could not be made directly. He returned to the auction in the cattle market at Ross and bumped into someone he knew. He asked them to bid on his behalf and the auctioneers hammer knocked the bell down for the school at £100, which was the exact amount they had been prepared to pay.

Mr Bird had told all pupils about the bell and the auction and at 3.15pm, just before they left forthe day, he was able to tell them that the school had been the successful bidder. Mr Bird said the children were very excited about it and told all their parents as they left the school.

The school bell was made by Naylor and Co foundry and is dated 1861. This is the date the cornerstone of the school at Weston was laid by Mrs Edward Burden Hawksmith, wife of the rector of Weston. The new parish school opened in 1865, with one classroom and one schoolmistress. A picture of the school in 1902 shows the bell tower at the right hand side of the building above the main entrance.

However there are several questions that the school would like to know the answers to: Why was the bell taken down? When was it removed? Where has it been since?

Mr Mccarthy told The Ross Gazette that one piece of the bell is still missing - the bracket arm. He said that the person who sold the bell was unaware that it should have a bracket arm. He said it is possible that they are using this to support something else, possibly a doorbell. He said: "It would be wonderful if the missing pieces could be reunited."

"i was pleased that I was able to play a part in keeping an item with a local connectionlocally, we lose to many things and I am glad we saved this, " he added.