ST James Church in Avebury will have one of the biggest and best peals of bells in Wiltshire thanks to a generous bequest from bell ringer Jane Lees, who died six years ago, aged 78.

Mrs Lees, who lived in the High Street close to the parish church for virtually all her life, was instrumental in getting bells restored to St James tower more than 25 years ago.

Her sister Heather Peak-Garland, who lives in the High Street, said: “The bells hung idle for 70 years until Jane and others decided to get them restored.”

David Davidge, a member of the St James ringing team, said: “The original peal of bells were very difficult to ring and were in wooden stocks that had rotted and they were declared unusable.”

Thirty years ago Mrs Lees, a former farm secretary who was also once a cook at the former children’s home in Marlborough, and other villagers decided to get bells ringing again in St James and the old set of five bells was taken down and sent to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, where they had been cast more than 260 years earlier. They were re-cast into six lighter bells and were hung in the tower in 1981.

Now the peal is to be increased to eight with two brand new bells also cast at Whitechapel being the subject of a special and very ancient ceremony on Sunday. The Bishop of Ramsbury, the Rt Rev Stephen Conway, is due to carry out the rite dating back more than 1,000 years to bless the bells that will be washed before being anointed with oil and baptised.

Avebury curate, the Rev Paul Bradish, said: “Thanks to the bequest from Jane Lees and the support of villagers this is all being done at no cost to the church.”

A few churches in Wiltshire have eight bells with Trowbridge and Devizes having peals of ten.

It is possible that Sunday’s service will have to be postponed if delivery of the bells is delayed by the snow.