BELFRY STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

The Belfry Stewardship Committee (BSC) has had another active year involved in bell restoration work around the Guild.

In July we assisted Martin Hough of Matthew Higby & Co Ltd. with the rehanging of the ring of six at Froxfield. The work took just over a week to complete and the bells ring nicely in their new frame and fittings, and sound a lot brighter after retuning.

Major work was undertaken by members of the BSC at St Nicholas Chawton, where a complete rehang of six new bells is taking place. Prior to the dismantling and removal of the whole installation, a sound recording and video footage was taken of the bells ringing as an historical record. Between August and October all the fittings were removed and the bells were taken out and transported to Matthew Higby’s works. The bell frame has now also been removed. All the work to date, including transporting the bells, has been carried out by the BSC. During the work, it has come to light that the four bells used to augment the ring back in 1883 were not cast by Gillett and Bland of Croydon, but in fact by T C Lewis of Brixton. It is hoped that the new ring of six will be installed in June 2009.

On behalf of the BRF Trustees we looked at the finished augmentation works at Bitterne Park (now a very nice ring of 12 bells), and Herriard (augmented from three to six resulting in a fine old style sounding ring).

We have been involved in general belfry maintenance in various churches around the Guild. St Peter’s, Liss required a general tighten of frame and fittings, while Graham Wright fitted rope guides to the Treble and 2nd at East Tytherley.

The situation at St Peter’s, Liss has changed. The Church of England have sold the building to the International Presbyterian Church (IPC). The IPC are keen to keep the bells ringing, but the church and tower will need a good deal of renovation and it is highly likely that the bells will need to be removed while this work is carried out. With this in mind we have organised two quotes to rehang the bells in the existing frame.

The single chiming bell (T Lester & T Pack 1754) at Froxfield Green was taken down many years ago and left in the vestry. Having carried out a Bell Stock Survey, the BSC highlighted that security was inadequate and the bell was at risk of being stolen. Some action has been taken and the bell is now in safe storage until a new home is found.

A Belfry Maintenance Training Course was organised in the Alton & Petersfield District, run by Hugh Routh and William Bickers-Jones, with practical sessions at Petersfield and Blackmoor. We hope to run another of these popular courses in 2009.

Gathering information for the Bell Stock Surveys and transferring the information onto a database is continuing. I did manage to survey Herriard prior to dismantling, and I would like to thank those of you who have taken the time and effort to complete a survey during 2008.

Finally I would like to thank my colleagues for all their hard work over the past year. Numerous hours have been given up at weekends to carryout the work listed above, which saves both individual towers and the Guild significant costs during restoration work. If you need any advice or help with your bells, please contact any of the committee who would be happy to help.

Roger Barber