St. Mary's Church, Alain

St. Mary's Church, Alain is the central parish church of the City, and serves as the Civic Church of the nation's capital.

Originally founded in 1026 at a site close to the present Memorial Park, St. Mary's Church was moved to the present site (it being made of wood) in 1196, and it was extensively rebuilt between 1250 and 1311 in the Decorated Gothic style.

Many generations of Alonians are buried within the church and the churchyard, it being the first graveyard in the Kingdom connected to a church.

Bells
St. Mary's Church is home to a ring of eight bells, being a complete ring cast by Lawrence Purdue in 1454. This excludes the current seventh bell, which dates from around 1370, and was originally hung on its own. The tenor weighs in at 22 hundredweight and 18 pounds, and is tuned to the key of E-flat.

The bells are accessed by a narrow staircase of around 60 steps. They are noted for being hard to ring, with the main culprit being a shaky wooden frame. Additionally, the second bell in D is lighter than the treble, making it slightly difficult to adjust the speed.

Despite this though they are perfectly safe to be rung, and are rung by the St. Mary's Society before each service, and with regular practices on Wednesday nights.