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<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">Thanks, Richard - all useful</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">But two brief come-backs:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">First we're talking 1150 not 1520, and
the limits of casting technology (just how big a bell could they have cast?) may
have been very different four centuries earlier</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">Second, even with four platforms and four
ropes (although maybe there's a further point of leverage I haven't considered)
- how practical is it to get 32 ringers (all co-operating efficiently) on one
bell?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">Off to a wedding now - hope to read more
when I get back tomorrow</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS">CP</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=richard@P7DHFO4N5aEBzO5lRWOM5-azbimee-CumyJCBUzd6guvdK9e4F_8H4jIl1CHg71Z5TfmvH5LMcjdTfxTyI4Bxlu8CLS8vak.yahoo.invalid href="mailto:richard@kNnreQvsD92ACrwg-Zj3OPNGBJjaHcvns_bGmT2Y1rxyFbVdBzShGpUb_EN1JQa_DW-9QetMYCZBsxaFJdmdrg.yahoo.invalid">Richard
Smith</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com">bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, November 07, 2009 9:26
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Bell Historians] The sound
of bells in 1170</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT><BR></DIV><SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none"> </SPAN>
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>Chris Pickford wrote:<BR><BR>> The idea that these bells were rung by
treading beams <BR>> certainly seems plausible - but do we know anything
from <BR>> elsewhere about how many people (e.g. per ton of bell) it
<BR>> took to operate this system. If they weren't that heavy, <BR>> why
were so many ringers needed?<BR><BR>The Sigmund bell at Kraków cathedral in
Poland weighs <BR>somewhere in the region of 9 to 10 tons (Dickon has the
<BR>exact figure) and was cast in 1520. It is hung with two <BR>long wooden
beams fastened to its very large wooden <BR>headstock. The beams probably
extend about 10 feet either <BR>side of the bell, and the bell is rung by
people hauling on <BR>ropes hung from the end of these beams. So far as I
could <BR>see, the fittings seemed well maintained. However even <BR>today,
ten to twelve ringers are required to ring it (or so <BR>they claim; I didn't
actually see it done). That's <BR>approaching one-and-a-half ringers per
ton.<BR><BR>I guess that bells rung by treading on the beams would <BR>require
more ringers as it seems to me that is a less easy <BR>way of putting the bell
into motion. Add more friction to <BR>the bearings and clapper, and I could
easily believe as many <BR>as three ringers per ton, maybe even four. Even so,
this <BR>would make Wybert's bell weigh six to eight tons. The <BR>question
is, how unbelievable is this? From memory (I'm <BR>writing this en route to
the ASCY dinner), Prior Henry's <BR>14th C bell at Canterbury weighed 64 cwt.
Are any larger <BR>bells of this era known?<BR><BR>RAS</P></DIV><!-- end group email --></BODY></HTML>