THE famous bells of St Mary's Priory Church in Abergavenny will be featured on the Christmas edition of ITV's Coast and Country on Friday, December 21.

A television crew recently spent six hours at the church to film a segment for the show.

The church was founded in 1087 by a Norman lord, and the church's original set of eight bells originate back to the 1300s.

Seven of those bells were recast into a new set of ten bells to mark the end of the Second World War, with the one remaining bell – named for Saint John – preserved and housed in the church for visitors to admire.

Canon Mark Soady said the bells were well-known for the quality of their sound.

"People come from all around the country to ring the bells," he said. "Campanology is still a big art in the UK."

Canon Soady said the bells' reputation meant that the upcoming ITV appearance was not the first time the church had been in the spotlight.

"The bells regularly appear on [BBC] Radio 4, and their most recent appearance was on Easter Sunday this year," he said.

"This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of this magnificent priory church.

"We're very proud. It's great when these things happen, but there's also a great responsibility to maintain the bells.

"We've invested £50,000 over the last three years in the bells and the tower."