Work progressing well on revamp of Carillon Tower
WORK is progressing well on a £280,000 conservation project on the Loughborough Carillon Tower - as these pictures show.
Photographs supplied to the Echo by Charnwood Borough Council show progress on the works, which are due to be completed by the autumn in time for the November 11 Remembrance Day Commemorations which this year mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
A spokesman for the borough council said: “Christopher Beardsley, a trainee bell hanger from John Taylor’s Bell Foundry has been in to start dismantling the clavier; we’ve had electricians hanging around (quite literally) to do some initial work and the stonework has also started to be cleaned.”
The Carillon Tower in Queen’s Park, Loughborough, was built after the First World War as a memorial to the local men who gave their lives while serving their country.
Construction ended in 1923 and the 46-metre high tower was officially opened on July 22, 1923. The tower houses 47 bells, crafted by John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough and it is a grade two listed building.
Renowned English composer Edward Elgar composed a piece of music called Carillon Chimes specifically for the official opening.
The tower is also home to the Loughborough Carillon Tower and War Memorial Museum.
The conservation project is being carried out this year by the borough council, supported by War Memorials Trust. While it is carried out, the museum, which normally opens between Easter and September, will be closed and there will not be any carillon recitals until the work is completed.
The work will see the clavier which chimes the bells fully conserved with the striking elements of each bell refurbished by the foundry and there will also be some maintenance to the workings of the bells themselves. Repairs will be carried out on the stonework, copper roof, bronze memorial plaques, windows and doors. Scaffolding will surround the tower while the work is undertaken.