The Parish Church of
Saint Mary and All Saints, Whalley

The sketch image shows the bells inside the bell chamber within the tower, behind one of the four louvred window openings. Apart from netting and grills in front of and behind the louvres to keep nesting birds out, there are no means to restrict the sound of the bells which are quite loud outside the tower.

The window louvres are made of stone and were fitted at the time the church was constructed in order to help keep out the weather, especially rain. The louvres are fitted at an angle and as such deflect the bell sound in a downwards direction towards the church yard and local dwellings.

A typical sound control system is shown where the louvred window opening is boarded up to block the bell sound from travelling outside the bell tower. A triangular "hopper" arrangement is fitted to the main back board and this is fitted with a hinged lid which can be opened and closed. The lid is shown in the closed position such that there are no openings and the bell sound is blocked.

The hopper arrangement is located high up towards the top of the sound control backboard such that bell maintenance access is not restricted, since the bell frame walkways are close to the tower walls.

In order for the sound control to work correctly, all openings must be sealed and special materials are used to mount the back board on to the irregular stone tower walls to ensure no gaps. In addition, seals are used around the edge of the lid to ensure no gaps are present when these are closed.

The aim is to achieve a sound level reduction of around 20 db (A) compared to the current situation where no sound control is fitted. This should reduce sound levels close to typical ambient values. (Source: Central Council of Church Bellringers). The sound control lids will be closed for all training, practising, visiting ringers and other non-essential ringing events.

A useful additional advantage is that with the sound control closed, dust, dirt and the weather are kept out of the bell chamber. This will help keep the bells and fittings clean and free from corrosion.

An electrically operated actuator will be used to open and close the sound control hopper lid, controlled from a switch panel located in the ringing room. The image shows the sound control hopper lid in the open position and as such the sound of the bells is allowed out for all official ringing required for church, national or Whalley village events.

All four louvred window openings in the bell tower will be fitted with the same sound control arrangement and separate control switches will allow independent operation of the hopper lids. This will allow the sound loudness to be somewhat varied around the four sides of the tower if required.

With the sound control open, it is expected that there will be a slight reduction in sound loudness compared to the current situation where no sound control is in place. However, the reduction in sound loudness is not expected to be significant. If sufficient funds are available to fit sound control, it is planned that sound measurements will be taken within the church yard before and after the work has been completed. This should provide evidence of the sound control efficacy.

The sound control system will be designed such that the current sound loudness and characteristics are not significantly changed with regard to the bell ringers in the ringing room below the bell chamber, even with the sound control closed.