The Parish Church of
Saint Mary and All Saints, Whalley
Whalley Bells: 2024 Centenary Project
The Whalley bells
The 8 bells at Whalley parish church are mounted in a two level frame as can be seen in the image, taken during the frame re-paint which took place in 2018. On the top level, the treble bell #1 can be seen closest to the centre with bell #5 to the right and bell #3 to the left. The other 5 bells are located on the lower frame level where the largest tenor bell #8 is at the bottom of the image.
Note the tower window openings which can be seen in the image at the same level as the upper set of bells. See section on proposed sound control as part of this project.
What requires refurbishing ?
Bells hung for full circle ringing have many mechanical parts compared to bells that are hung stationary for chiming with a hammer.
The whole bell rotates on bearings more than 360 degrees and the following video clip of the treble bell being rung by a Whalley bell ringer shows this in action. Note our noisy church clock that can be heard ticking in the background !
So there are many parts on all of the 8 bells which are subject to wear and corrosion after many years use and the image below, again shows the treble bell with some of the parts identified. The bell is shown parked or "set" in the upright position, just over the point of balance, resting on a wooden leg called the stay. Learn more or click the bell image below for more details on the bell refurbishment.
Clapper
Wheel
Bell Bolts
Bearings
Stay
Dingler
Rope
Pulleys
Stops
We also plan to add new lighting to the bell chamber and improve the access walkways on the bell frame. To improve safety, new handholds will be fitted around the lower bell frame vertical access ladder and around the access door to the bell chamber. As mentioned above, the bell frame was scraped free of rust and re-painted in 2018 so a big job already done ! Learn more.