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Home :: The Churchyard :: History :: Pictures :: The famous wall paintings |
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Bells and Bellringers "It's a Success Story" The six bells at St.Mary's are hung in a beautifully crafted oak frame and were last re-hung in 1888. Further minor works were carried out in the 1970s, but now it is time to bring them all down from the tower, put new headstocks (the part that sits on top of the bell to allow it to swing) on them, and new clappers (the bit that strikes the bell within them) and then return them to the tower for easier ringing. The bells have become increasingly difficult to ring and thus limiting. Old age creates difficulties! As can be seen from the table below, three of the bells date from 1664, two from 1729 (Listed because of their historical importance), and the smallest from 1888. The largest, the tenor, is the one that strikes the hour. There is a little additional "Ting Tang" (Sanctus) bell, the earliest, which dates from 1652 which can be rung before services. New headstocks and clappers will enable more people, and particularly the young of this village, to ring. Already we have 9 adults with others joining, and we have gained 3 youngsters aged 11 to 14 and there are 5 others waiting to join the Bellringing Team. Any enquiries should be made to the Tower Captain, Brian Gray, on 01865 890339 or Jeanette Barrington on 01865 890607 Details of the bell tower are shown below:
Bell Restoration Appeal Your ring of bells in Chalgrove has an attractive 'mellow' tone, enjoyed by many on Sundays and at Weddings. We are not proposing to do anything like re-tuning or re-casting which would affect the character of the bells. Permissions for this work, are being granted following national, central and local church advice and approval, and we now need to raise the funds before they are worked on this autumn. This is a seperate project from the valuable work already undertaken to cherish this Grade 1 Listed building which, should you wish to contribute to it, could well be the major works for this century - to be enjoyed and heard by your descendants. The total cost is estimated to be £28,650 (+VAT where applicable), but within this total costing comes the opportunity to support individual parts.  Do you want a "Piece of the Action"? Those who want to support a particular 'bit' will have their names recorded on a plaque in the Bell Tower and become part of the living and future history of your Village Church. You may want to donate in memory of a departed loved one, and that can be recorded as well. This is a breakdown of the various costs 6 Cast iron Headstocks -------------------------£1,796 each 6 Pairs of bearings ------------------------------£313 each 6 Sets of Supporting Bolts ----------------------£32 each 6 Independent Crown Staples--------------------£150 each (they hold the clappers in!) 6 Bushed Clappers-------------------------------£240 each 6 x To Re-rim and Adapt the Wheels & Braces-----£429 each 6 Pulley Units------------------------------------£80 each 6 Ash Stays and bolts)These hold the bells--------£47 each 6 Ash sliders---------) - ready to ring------------£50 each 6 Runner boards------) These keep the ropes-----£45 each 6 Slider pins----------) in place as they----------£35 each 6 Rope Bosses--------) are rung-----------------£47 each 6 Bell Ropes------------------------------------£151 each Each complete set of fittings will cost £3,415 for each bell. The cost of restoring the Sanctus Bell (Ting Tang) is £2,043 (+VAT where appropriate) There will be numerous additional but not so interesting ancillary works carried out to make all this happen, with other costs involved. How to Donate? If you want to and feel able to donate any sum in support of these works please make a cheque payable to Chalgrove PCC (Bell Restoration Fund). If you are a Tax Payer and can gift aid the sum you wish to donate we shall receive back from the Revenue and Customs, at no cost to yourself, the basic tax you paid on this sum - ie we get 28% added to your gift. Let us know which "piece of the action" you want to 'donate' and, if you can, your willingness to Gift Aid using the form which you can download here. Please post or take your donation to Revd Ian Cohen or Bas Tindall. We know the price, and we know that you know the value of these bells as well. With that going for us, we know that it can become a bigger success story. Ian Cohen Vicar of Chalgrove Latest News  To celebrate the "ringing out of the old (unrefurbished bells)", a Quarter Peal of 1260 Grandsire Doubles was rung on Friday evening 2 July by a band comprising, from left to right, Brian Gray, Andrew Davis (conductor), Gordon Smith, Wendy Simon,Jeanette Barrington and Judy Kidman. You can hear the last five minutes of this peal here If there is no player here then you need to download Flash The work on the bells started on 17th July. A week later Andrew, Barry, Brian and Paul reported their progress as follows: Having spent the Saturday ensuring that all the trapdoors could be removed, the scaffolding went in on Tuesday morning. A platform above the bell frame was created to enable the installation of the beams needed to lift the bells out. In the evening we laser leveled the positions of the four holes, paint marked them using a wooden template and then cut the stonework. On Wednesday in two sessions we knocked out the stonework ready for the padstones to be lime mortared into position on Thursday. On Friday, after measuring for what must be the 10th time, the steel beams were cut to length. Saturday after another 8am start, the four beams each weighing 1 1/2 cwt were winched the 45 feet up into the belfry. Once there (and after bacon butties) we lifted them into place and bolted them together. The "floating" beam was also lifted into position. Next week we will tidy everything up, ready for the scaffolding to come out. Then the next phase begins when Whites of Appleton become involved. |
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