THE CENTENARY of a memorable radio event will be celebrated tomorrow night (Saturday, July 11) at St Hilary Church, near Penzance, with a special concert of music by JS Bach.

Cornish broadcaster and author Petroc Trelawny will host the evening in memory of the first outside broadcast of a drama by the BBC in 1926. Written by then vicar Fr Bernard Walke, Bethlehem was aired on December 22 of that year.

St Hilary’s church bells were the first sound to be heard, and this concert is part of a fundraising campaign to restore the bells in a bid to get them ringing again in their centenary year, and update the hospitality facilities at the church by installing a kitchen and accessible toilet.

Petroc will hold a short conversation with current priest Rev Jeff Risbridger about the heritage of the church, and will read extracts from Fr Bernard’s book Twenty Years at St Hilary.

The musical programme will be performed by played by professional players including violinists Krysia Osostowicz (Brodsky Quartet and Endymion Ensemble) and Anna Brown (Amadeus Orchestra and Quartet Concrète), violist Tim Boulton (Penzance Orchestral Society) and cellist Joseph Barker (Quartet Concrète).

St Hilary Church is also known for its early 20th century paintings by artists from the Newlyn School.

The concert will begin at 7pm. There is easy parking in an adjacent farmyard. Tickets cost £15, to include drinks and canapés, and are available from the Minack Theatre Box Office on 01736 810181 or at https://minack.com/whats-on/bach-for-bells/.