The Parish Church of
Saint Mary and All Saints, Whalley

27th September 2024

Phase 3 of the bell refurbishment started on the 23rd September and the majority of the re-assembly work on the bells has now been completed after a week of hard labour.

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All the bells are now on their main bearings with their clappers fitted. All the new rope pulleys have been fitted and the ropes for the 5th and 6th bells moved slightly to improve the rope circle in the ringing room. New pulleys have been added in the clock room below the bells to improve the go of the bells.

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A major job was moving around 0.7 tonne of marine plywood and other timber up the narrow spiral staircase ready for the sound control system to be fitted during the last phase of work which will start on the 7th October.

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The ringing room has been decorated with all the loose plaster removed and repainted. Looks very crisp ! The rope ceiling bosses are still to be fitted which means we cannot yet ring due to potential rope damage. We also have sound control materials stacked on the bell frame which also restricts ringing.

 

Initial ringing tests however have been done while Ian the bell hanger was still on site on Friday. After a few small adjustments the bells go very well indeed !  

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​The new lighting systems have been fitted in the stairwell, ringing room, clock room and bell chamber. The additional light in the bell chamber means that future ongoing bell maintenance will be so much easier especially with the louvred windows covered up by the new sound control system.

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My thanks go to our ringers Dave and Ian together with Stuart from the Barnoldswick ringing band who have helped out with the hard work this week. Also thanks to Ian from Nicholson's Engineering for his help and expertise with the bell refurbishment project.

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Looking forward now to the last phase of work to complete the job, starting on the 7th October.

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Adrian West: Tower Captain