LUNENBURG, NS-Two years after they fell in flames to the ground, a new bell tower and restored bells were lifted in place on top of St. John's Anglican Church in Lunenburg in early November as part of the restoration of the historic church.

A bell foundry in Ohio, which has original documents from the company that cast and installed the chimes in 1902, took a year to restore the bells.

Before the fire, St. John's was an outstanding example of Carpenter's Gothic architecture. The Gothic features, traditionally rendered in stone, were done in wood for this historic building. Parishioners, with the support of many concerned individuals and groups, are now involved in the lengthy process of restoring the church to its original architecture, circa 1910. It is hoped the work will be completed by late 2005.

St. John's, one of Canada's National Historic Cites, was originally built it in 1754 by German and French-speaking Protestants. It caught fire in the early morning hours of November 1, 2001, following a night of Halloween nuisance fires.

The volunteer fire department of Lunenburg was called to extinguish what was first thought to be a small fire, but fought the blaze for an entire day. More than 150 firefighters battled the blaze, some sobbing as they smashed stained glass windows to get water on the flames.

St. John's Anglican Church has been placed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

(www.stjohnrestoration.com)