Silencing the All Saints church clock chimes overnight has been branded “an insult” to Marlow by furious residents.

All Saints’ Marlow’s overnight clock chimes – which currently ring on every quarter hour and chime on each hour throughout the night all year round – could be stopped amid complaints from some neighbours that their sleep is being disturbed.

But the decision by the church council to be a “good neighbour” and silence them between 10pm and 7am has angered some Marlow residents who have set up a petition calling for the plans to be reconsidered.

More than 560 people have so far added their support to the petition, which says that the chimes of the church clock are a “recognisable part of life in Marlow” and residents are “aghast” that they will now be restricted.

The admins of the Facebook community group Marlow Life are behind the petition, which adds: “On the opinions of a few, a long-standing tradition has been silenced - traditions which have been held for generations and generations. We are losing part of the identity of the community and need to make our opinions heard.”

Church bells chime,” Julie Armstrong wrote on the petition. “It’s a fact. Don’t like it? Don’t live near a church.”

Stephen Shenfield wrote: “The bells chiming are part of Marlow’s rich tapestry. I find it insulting to the town’s history that the chimes have been switched off.”

Sharon Ludgate said: “Utterly ludicrous. The bells are beautiful and part of our heritage. If you don’t like living near them, find somewhere else to live.”

The decision was also slammed by Marlow Society chairman Martin Blunkell in a letter to the Free Press, saying: “A long-standing tradition is extinguished. Perhaps the complainants will let us know if they are recent arrivals in Marlow and if they have paid for the modifications to the clock that they requested.”

In response, the Church Council of All Saints Marlow were keen to reiterate the bells will still be ringing throughout the day.

They said: “The Church Council of All Saints’ Marlow is aware of the petition, and the debate on social media, about the decision made to silence the clock chimes between the hours of 10pm and 7am. We understand that this is an emotive issue for our community on both sides of the debate. We have sought to listen to both.

“We are trying as a church to love our neighbours - as Jesus taught us to. We decided to silence the clock chimes at night because we want to be good neighbours to those whose sleep is being disturbed.

“We want to make clear that this decision is not about silencing the church bells.

“We are glad that they are able to ring again now Covid restrictions impacting bell ringing have been lifted. The bells are not impacted by this decision. They will continue to ring as they always have done.

“The Church Council’s decision relates to the impact of the church’s overnight clock chimes. They currently ring on every quarter hour and chime on each hour throughout the night all year round.

“This decision was made following a survey of local residents. The responses provided showed a fairly even split between those that find the noise of the clock chimes disturbing (so support the silencing of the chimes at night) and those that want to maintain the status quo (so want the chimes to continue at night).

“A number of Marlow and other organisations, including Buckinghamshire Council’s Noise Pollution Control Team, were also consulted about this with mixed views being given.”

“Having carefully considered all of the responses, the Church Council decided to move ahead with the silencing of the clock chimes in the ‘silent hours ’of the night. It is envisaged that the clock chimes will be silent after the 2200hrs chime and will restart at 0700hrs.

“We understand that this decision is not going to please everyone - it is impossible to do that, but it has been made after listening to the community.”

You can view the petition here: www.change.org/p/archbishop-of-canterbury-keep-all-saints-church-marlow-bells-chiming