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<TITLE>RE: [Bell Historians] Radford Semele</TITLE>
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<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">the pictures of the fire show the intensity or the fire in the top of the tower, presumably the old frame and roof going.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">It may well be that the old frame has been a contributory factor in the loss of the bells as it dropped burning debris through the installation.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">It adds to the amount of possible fire damage to have a tone or more of disused timber in bell tower.</FONT></SPAN>
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<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><B><FONT FACE="Arial">We should keep the pictures and use them every time it is proposed to keep a disused bell frame in a tower.</FONT></B></SPAN>
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<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The loss (which now seems pretty certain) includes:</FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">a) A mediaeval bell of c.1350 relocated from Atherstone on Stour when Radford bells were restored in 1998</FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">b) An important early C17th frame hoisted above the ring (and suspended on hawsers below the roof) - significant because the older part (for three bells) was dated, and a fourth (transverse) pit had been added later. It was quite an early dated frame of c.1615, probably extended in 1636.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">c) Three quite good early C17th bells - two by Watts 1636 and a Bagley of 1641</FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-gb"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">d) A recently restored and fully ringable six</FONT></SPAN>
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