Belfry notice

 The three Rudhall bells have been tuned, and the results are beautiful!

This is the 4th. Just listen to it! Analysis of the recordings shows that all three bells are very nearly harmonically (Simpson) tuned.

Cutting metal on the outside of the sound-bow corrects the profile of the bell, meaning that true harmonic tuning becomes possible.

Here is the profile of the 5th before and after tuning.

 There are all sorts of  notes here!

 Much cleaner, and all except the tierce are spot on.

Now that all the bell work has been done and the the details are known, I have been able to update the tower notice!

In the workshop

The three Rudhall bells are now being worked on in Matthew Higby's workshop.

The first stage after removing the headstocks is to remove the old wooden pads and to cast an epoxy resin pad on top of the bell.

This is the 5th bell with the pad newly cast.

This pad is then machined to provide a flat surface for when the bell is put on the vertical boring machine for tuning.

Concreting

The two concrete pad-stones for the steel beam for the new treble in the north east corner were cast today. Once the steel is cut to size and put precisely in place, more shuttering will be cut and the recesses completely encased in more concrete.

This is the pocket in the east wall with the concrete newly poured, leveled and smoothed.

We also continued with the massive tidy-up by removing the layers of carpet in the room between the bells and the ringing chamber, dropping the many pieces down to the ground level using the rope. We then took the carpets outside and shook them in the gale force wind.

This carpet was put down some years ago for acoustic reasons, otherwise the bells would be far too loud. This room will be thoroughly cleaned before the carpet is put back down.

 

This has also given us the chance to plan where the ropes might eventually fall to make a good circle. 

The rope holes for the three largest bells will be the same as they were previously. Some of the others will need to be drawn across at a slight angle on pulleys, but the general idea is to use the existing holes (of which there are several generations of old ones to choose from), or the gaps between the beams for the ropes to pass through to the ringing chamber.

A big step forward

Today's plan, with Matthew Higby's help, was to take down the back two headstocks and the three Rudhall bells for tuning....

 and to take up the new trebles...

Both jobs were successfully achieved!

While the Rudhall bells are away, the big clear up will now continue. We will also carry on with preparing the wall pockets for the treble framework and accurately measuring the space for the new steel beam. The holes in the wall are cut, and the concrete padstones now need casting at the right height

A new trapdoor

We have a nice new trap door!

These brand new 7" x 3" planks replace identical (but rotten) ones put up in 1911 when the flooring in the SE corner of the tower was modified to allow the bells through. The trap door is needed again to get the three bells through so that they can be tuned.

We have also continued with the big clear up, and had two vacuum cleaners going tonight.

There is still lots more tidying up to do which will keep us busy until the retuned Rudhall bells and refurbished headstocks come back. They are being collected on Friday.

Everything ready for the bellhanger

Finally, we are ready for Matthew Higby to come and take three bells for tuning and 5 headstocks away for refurbishment.

The tenor headstock came off easier than we thought, with only one of the four bell bolts needing to be cut off. It was carefully lifted off the bell with a chain block, being a bit too heavy to lift otherwise.

7th headstock off and frameside moved

Using some steel bar I salvaged from Malvern Link when I helped augment them from 8 to 10 in 1993, we made a frame to support the 7th bell on four M16 lengths of studding.

 By tightening the nuts, this lifted the bell about ½", allowing the bell bolts to be cut off using an angle grinder.

 And here is the result, the headstock ready for its trip to Matthew Higby's workshop. The bell is sitting on the framework very steadily, and will not require any more support.

 We also managed to undo the last of the long bolts holding the 1911 frame side to the rest of the frame, allowing this to be lifted out of the way of the trap door.

After a bit of a tidy up, the planks we need to lift are at the bottom of this picture looking down on the SE corner of the tower. These planks will have to be replaced as they are rotten.

 

A recap

This is the layout of the diagonal frame with Matthew Higby's alterations for adding the two new bells.

 A really neat and clever solution which has just minimal alterations to the 1911 frame extension in the SE corner (removing the frame ends) and none to the historic frame which was originally a medieval high sided frame.

The new steelwork (in light blue) simply consists of two gallows ends and a single short beam for the treble which will have a short stay and pendulum slider as there is no space for a normal length stay.

The 1911 extension was built over the trap door and has to be moved out of the way in order to get the three Rudhall bells (4th, 5th and 6th) out for tuning.

The ropes will be drawn across using pulleys in the room under the frame to get a good rope circle.

The opportunity is also being taken to treat all the existing headstocks, protecting them against further corrosion, and to refurbish the bearings. This will be done in Matthew's workshop.

The bearings are leaking oil down the frame as you can see on the left of this photo. This will be scraped off as it is not doing the ancient timbers any good.

We aren't removing the headstocks off the Rudhall bells as this can be done in Matthew's workshop. We do have to get the other 3 headstocks off the 1911 bells though. One (the 3rd) is already off, and now that the tenor is lifted up and is sitting on the frame, the bell bolts can be cut off. The 7th bell will be suspended on a steel grillage which will take its weight so that the bell bolts can be cut off.

All this will keep us busy for quite a while, but the result will be well worth the effort in that we will have a beautiful modern sounding and easy to ring octave.

All the bells lifted, except one

We have lifted all but one of the bells onto the frame now. The three old Rudhall bells are now ready to be removed for tuning, once the 1911 frame has been moved out of the way.

The tenor (on the right) will stay in the tower, and now that it is sitting on the frame will be separated from its headstock.

The one bell which hasn't been lifted is the 7th which will remain in position, but will be supported by a steel framework allowing the headstock to be removed.

The bolts for both the 7th and tenor are corroded so much that it is impossible to remove them without cutting them off. New ones will be fitted when the refurbished headstocks are returned.

Two bells lifted

Using the new beams, we lifted the 5th and 6th (of 8) bells up tonight and placed them on planks ready to be lowered down the tower.

These two, and the 4th, are to go away for tuning by Matthew Higby & Co.

The 5th headstock was painted blue a few years ago as a trial, but is now showing signs of corrosion again.

All the old headstocks are going away for proper anti-corrosion treatment, these three are being kept bolted to the bells as they will be removed at the workshop. The 3rd headstock has already gone, and the bell itself is now tucked away in a corner of the tower out of the way.

Once the 7th and 8th bells have been lifted, their headstocks will be removed too, but like the 3rd, these two bells are not leaving the tower.

Progress has also been made on dismantling the 1911 section of the bellframe which is covering up the trap door we need to use to get the three Rudhall bells out and back in again. 

Ready for lifting (nearly)

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working (hard) on putting some beams in place so that the Rudhall bells can be removed from the tower for retuning.

There is one large N-S beam, and some smaller movable ones (both timber and steel) which sit on it.

Before we can get much further, the 1911 frame extension needs to be removed as it is covering the trap door which is required to get the bells out.

Tenor wheel removed

The last wheel came off tonight!

There are plenty more jobs to do over the next few months....

More progress

Some good progress tonight. Two more wheels off, leaving just one to go.

We've also laid some planks across the frame to walk on, as without any wheels, there's nothing left to hold onto!

Two more wheels off

A good evening's work - two more wheels removed from 4/8 (right) and 5/8 (left). The headstock of the 5th was rubbed down and painted blue about 10 years ago, but the rust is still coming through, hence the need to get them properly preserved with an anti rust treatment, and a nice new coat of blue paint. Note too the specially shaped stay - this is thinned at the top since the slider which it engages under the bell is shorter than ideal because there is not enough room for a full length one.

We are no longer going to take the headstocks off these two bells (and the next one on the left, 6/8) as there has been a somewhat interesting change of plan! These three bells (dating form 1704/5) are to be lowered to the tower floor by a professional bell hanger, Matthew Higby using his specialist lifting equipment. This is so that they can be taken away and tuned at his workshop to make them sound like new bells. This will result in Strensham having a completely modern sounding ring,

Up they go!

A significant milestone - the new bells are up in the tower!

 Here is the new second bell on its way up...

A view from below showing the fresh metal exposed by the tuning process.

One down, 5 to go

One of the jobs in hand is to remove the headstocks so that they can be cleaned and the bearings refurbished, This is quite a difficult task for many reasons, including the fact that the bolts are well rusted up (having been there since 1911).

This is the existing treble bell (now number 3 of 8) now resting on the floor...

...and here is its headstock. As you can see, it is in need of a good clean and an anti-rust treatment prior to a nice coat of paint. The remains of the WD40 can be see where the bell bolts were removed, and the stain of bearing lubrication oil at each end.

All the 1911 headstocks will be removed and treated in the same way. The 3rd (of 8) is the easiest one to do as the frame is wide enough to lower the bell to the floor beneath. The five heaviest bells can not easily be removed from the frame like this. We are having an adjustable steel framework made which will take the weight of the bell while the headstock is removed, and a temporary steel beam put in place to bear the weight of the bell.

The new arrivals

We went to Matthew Higby's workshop today to collect our shiny bells!

 Ready for loading..

 In they go...

They are now in secure storage waiting to go up the tower shortly, however....

Strensham church is holding a Midsummer Tea Party on June 24th between 2pm and 5pm. The new bells will be on show for all to see for one day only.

Why not come along to see them and for some fantastic cake!

The new bells

Matthew Higby (the bellhanger who is supervising the work) sent me some photos of our new bells which are now ready to be delivered.

The new treble bell

The new second bell

Lifting the lifting gear

With the old wooden beam gone, the belfry looks quite different!

All ringing has stopped until the job is complete.

The task yesterday was to rig up a pulley to take the heaviest items of lifting gear up the tower. These include a 8' steel girder (to replace the wooden one in the photo) and a heavy 1000kg chain block. We also have the use of 2 x 500kg blocks, a 30cwt pull lift and a handful of strops, all of which were tested and certified last week.

All the ropes have been identified and untied prior to the removal of the wheels and headstocks.

Preparation work

The last time there was any work on the bells was in 1911 when the bells were restored and augmented to 6. To lift and position the bells, a large beam was positioned between the tower walls, and removing it has been on the list of jobs to do for a while.

 We supported it securely from underneath with a steel frame and cut it into small sections and carried them down the stairs.

 

It was a good job done - especially since it was more rotten than we originally thought.

Welcome to the Strensham bells blog

Welcome to the new Strensham bell tower blog!

There are currently 6 bells in the tower, but we are about to install two more bells...

...these two, originally from Kettering, and supplied through the Keltek Trust.

Since Strensham Church is redundant, permission had to be obtained from the Churches Conservation Trust. We also obtained Grade I listed Building Consent from Wychavon District Council.