Experts ring the changes at church
THE bells of a 400-year-old church will be removed for retuning, which is sure to be music to the ears of nearby residents.
Eight church bells that have been ringing out-of-tune for 115 years are being removed from a Hartlepool church in a bid to restore them to their former glory. One of the bells was even the subject of a court battle.
Earlier this year a conservation group, the Church Buildings Council, argued All Saints Church’s most ancient bell, which dates back to the 16th Century, should be left as it is, as it was a link to sounds of the past.
However, when the issue went before the Church of England’s Consistory Court, it was ruled it would be removed and retuned as it was done in 1907.
Roads around the Stranton church will have to be closed on July 14 for the removal work to be carried out. Each bell will be individually lowered by crane from the 60-foot high belfry tower in a carefully-controlled operation that could take up to four hours.
Crowds are expected to gather at the 12th century church to witness the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ event, with pupils from a nearby school invited to attend.
The peal of bells has been out of tune since 1907 when three existing bells – one of which dates from 1599 – were retuned and five more added.
Andrew Frost, project manager, said: “The bells were tuned 115 years ago using old tuning methods and the results were unfortunately very poor.
In recent years the bells have become increasingly difficult to ring, and surveys have shown they will soon become unringable if they are not refurbished and retuned.”
He explained that it is common practice to remove church bells by lowering them through a trap door in the tower, but one was never installed in All Saints Church. Instead, Andrew and his team are improvising.
They have employed the services of a stonemason to remove the west facing window of the belfry, which will allow a truck-mounted crane to lift and lower each bell out of the tower on to a trailer.
They will then be transported to John Taylor & Co, a bell foundry in Loughborough, where they will be refurbished and retuned.
Ten people will be involved in the painstaking operation.
Andrew said: “Bells have hung in the tower for more than 400 years and are part of the very fabric of the church.
“They have rung out every week, marking significant milestones, life events and occasions for the people of Hartlepool over the centuries.
“We are very much looking forward to seeing them restored to their former glory and hearing them ring – in tune.
“They will remain in place, untouched, for a further 100 years, or more, and will continue to be heard by people of the town and by their children’s children.”
The bells are expected to be reinstated in October and will once again be rung by a large community of ringers from Hartlepool, who range in age from ten to 80 years old.
MAJOR OPERATION TO REMOVE BELLS
FOR REPAIR