For the first time since 1848, the bells of St Michael’s Church in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, have been silenced overnight after noise complaints from three households.
The noise complaints led Calderdale Council to issue an abatement order.
The historic clock, which chimes every 15 minutes, was deemed a "statutory nuisance" between 11pm and 7am, as reported by The Times.
Unable to silence the chimes during those hours without expensive upgrades, the church has paused the bells entirely.
Churchwarden Roy Wrathall said: “There’s very much two sides to it. There’s ‘I’m awake in the night, there goes the clock that reassures me’ and ‘I can’t get to sleep because I keep hearing that clock every 15 minutes’.”
Local residents have launched a petition to bring the bells back, describing them as “the soundtrack of our community’s daily life”.
Over 1,200 signatures have been gathered so far.
Calderdale councillor Danielle Durrans defended the council’s decision, stating: “The regularity and volume of the bell chiming... was causing a substantial impact.”