The Parish Church of
Saint Mary and All Saints, Whalley

The bell clapper strikes the sides of the bell to create the sound. Most of the clappers are rusty and the hinges in the crown staple are worn. Many of the grease lubricator caps are missing such that the hinge pins can no longer be lubricated. There is concern over the crown staple threaded fixings based on a recent experience with the tenor bell clapper. It is planned that all clappers will be returned to the bell hangers for complete refurbishment prior to refitting to the bells. This may involve heat treatment if required to anneal the clappers and so help prevent future breakage due to fatigue.

The clappers on the 7th and Tenor bells tend to "go up wrong" when they are rung up to the upright position. This means that the clapper rests on the high side of the bell rather than the correct low side, and this in turn affects the bell handling and strike position. Correcting a "wrong" clapper means a hazardous trip up to the bell chamber to be amongst the bells when they are up - a dangerous activity. The clapper is moved over by using a long metal hook to engage with the ball and pull over by hand to the correct low side. As part of the refurbishment works it is planned that the clappers on the 7th and Tenor bells will be replaced with new clappers of a special design which will have less of a tendency to "go up wrong" and so help avoid the hazardous correction procedure.

The main wheels are constructed from wooden parts and are used to turn the bells when the ringer pulls on the rope. The wheels need to be strong as the bell ringer can apply large forces to the rope in order to control the bell, especially when raising and lowering to and from the upright position. The wheel flanges constrain the ropes to ensure that they do not slip off the wheel and the flanges are fixed to the wheel rims using steel nails which are subject to corrosion. The nails will be left in place but new stainless steel screws will be fitted into the gaps between the nails to ensure that the flanges do not detach from the wheel rims.

Each bell is secured to its headstock using four large nuts and bolts, many of which are rusty after 100 years exposed to the damp conditions in the bell chamber. Failure of the bell bolts may cause the bell to become detached from the headstock which would cause serious damage to the bell and fittings. The bell bolts will be replaced with modern galvanised types which are less prone to corrosion.

Each bell rotates on two main bearings which allow it to swing freely. Each bearing consists of a double ball race in a spherical housing to allow self alignment when these are bolted to the bell frame. Over time, dust and dirt can enter the bearings and cause rough running which will ultimately show up as a difficult ringing bell. The recent bearing change on the 5th bell showed that all the bell bearings need replacement after 100 years use and this will be done as part of the refurbishment works. To replace the bearings, the bells need to be lifted off the frame which can be a challenging job since the tenor bell weighs in at over 21cwt. In addition there is limited space around the larger bells on the lower frame level which will make changing the bearings more challenging.

The Whalley bells have stays of the Hastings design. A hinged "Dingler" on the end of the stay is moved from side to side by the fixed metal slider as a mechanism to allow the bell to rotate more than 360 degrees. Two wooden end stops prevent the dingler from moving further and allow the bell to be parked at either side of its rotation (called handstroke or backstroke). The dingler is an important component. If it becomes detached from the stay and falls away while the bell is ringing, then the bell will fall over when the ringer attempts to set the bell. The rope will be pulled up by the heavy bell and if the ringer does not let go they will also be pulled upwards causing possible injury. This has happened a few years ago when the dingler fell off the 7th bell and an injured shoulder resulted. All the dinglers and end stops will be checked and refurbished as part of the project.

The stays are used to allow the bells to be parked or "set" in the upright position, just over the point of balance. Bell stays are made of Ash wood and are designed to break if the bell rope is pulled too hard in order to prevent damage to the bell and fittings. This can happen during initial teaching of bell handling since most beginners think that bell ringing is difficult! Over time, broken bell stays are replaced with new ones which may not meet the bell founders specifications with regard to dimensions. All stays will be replaced with correctly sized new ones and accurate dimensional drawings created to allow new stays to be manufactured in the future. Due to the Hastings design, the stay length is critical; too short and the stay dingler will miss the slider end stop while too long causes the dingler to strike the metal slider.

The rope pulleys are used to guide the bell rope on to the main wheel. The rope also wraps around the inner pulley as the wheel rope hole (garter hole) passes the pulley set as the bell rotates. Original bell pulleys are made from wood, and over time become grooved and oval shaped which causes the rope motion to become jerky. The pulleys have bearings which wear and become dry. This can cause stiffness in the pulley which in turn makes the bell difficult to ring. New pulleys will be fitted made either of the original wood material or of hard wearing plastic. The bearings will be also replaced with long lasting shielded ball types to ensure free running.

The bell ropes on the 3rd and Tenor bell are "drawn" to the side within the clock room below the bell chamber. This improves the rope circle within the ringing room below. Drawing the ropes requires additional rope pulleys mounted on the clock room floor and these will be refurbished in a similar way as the bell pulleys.