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St Cuthbert, Fishlake. South Yorkshire.<br>
<br>
Having done a small amount of work on these bells to enable a short
spell of ringing for a special service I am trying to get a better
understanding of their history. The following will show that I have
very little knowledge in this area, particularly with regard to bell
frames. Apart from my own interest this is to assist the new
churchwardens who are keen to learn all that they can. Some of the
questions have arisen in discussion since my last visit and the
pictures I took were not aimed at solving them but were just some
quick general shots for my own interest. I hope to visit again soon
and may get better pictures. <br>
<br>
From RW and my own local knowledge I know that the bells were silent
for many years until renovated by local ringers in 1999 and that
there was then limited ringing until 2007. I am really more
interested in the earlier history. If anyone has information that
they are willing to share, or can point me to accessible sources I
would be very grateful.<br>
<br>
I am particularly interested in the bell frame, which seems to be a
little problematic as to its origin. This possibility arises from
the simple fact that it intrudes into the top part of the spiral
staircase, which has had to be partly demolished to accommodate it.
I was rash enough to suggest that this could indicate that perhaps
the frame came complete from somewhere else rather than being made
to fit the tower. There is certainly no shortage of space and a
smaller frame would still have had loads of space for all the
bells. This has set the churchwardens and me wondering and so I
offered to ask the experts.<br>
<br>
The frame has the name George Bedfoth (not Bedforth as in Dove) and
the date 1704. It is Pickford type 6B as far as I can tell which I
think would be consistent with this date. It has two other names on
inside opposite faces of the tenor pit; H Smart 1937 and P L Worfolk
1937. It is not known what work was done in 1937.<br>
<br>
A RW report of 4th Aug 1995, which described the DIY restoration
that got the bells ringing again after 50 years silence, states that
the bells had been augmented from 5 to 6 in 1868 by the addition of
the present Warner's tenor. (This date may not be accurate as the
same report gives the frame date as 1708 in spite of it being
clearly marked). The report says that "<i>the bells were moved
around in the original frame at that time</i>". There is certainly
clear evidence that some bells were relocated as cut-outs for the
earlier bearings are present, but not in every pit. There is
evidence that the current 2nd pit has been narrowed by the addition
of a short beam bolted to the top beam, and a former bearing cut-out
exists behind this close to where the clock drive rods now pass
through. Conversely it appears that the 4th pit has been widened and
possibly lengthened by means of reducing the top beam width; this
causes the rope to pass through the base of the frame itself rather
than the floor. <br>
<br>
Although it is clear that bells have been moved either within their
pits or to different pits, there is no obvious evidence that I can
recall of previous rope holes in the floor. (I want to check this as
my visits were for other purposes and limited in time: these
questions hadn't arisen and so were not checked). The floor is
however in a very poor state with loose boards bridging numerous
gaps and there are no proper rope bosses. From the clock room
beneath there are no visible old rope holes in the ceiling that I
can recall and I am sure that there were none in the clock-room
floor.<br>
<br>
If the RW report is correct that the bells were augmented by
addition of a tenor they were presumably a minor five; or is it
possible that an earlier tenor was replaced? At first sight it looks
possible that the long tenor pit might have been an addition to the
frame but in fact the outer top beams extend for the full width so
this is not possible.<br>
<br>
I have no details of the bells beyond Dove and would appreciate more
information, such as the inscriptions. The front three are dated
(in Dove) 1706, two years after the date on the frame. So was
purchase of these bells anticipated when the frame was installed? If
so why not purchase a tenor for what was presumably just the two
older bells (1641 and c1500)?<br>
<br>
A further problem as regards ringing has been that the clock hammer
that strikes the 2nd could not be lifted off sufficiently to avoid
being hit by the stay and so it could not be rung up. It appears
that the D.I.Y. team may have tied this hammer back to a point
beyond its normal "lifted off" position so that with just a small
cut out being made in the stay the bell could be rung. It had been
released (if in fact it <i>was </i>tied) possibly when the clock
was converted to electric winding. The clock was installed around
1910. <br>
<br>
I have made an album "FISHLAKE" of rather inadequate pictures on the
groups gallery page.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bellhistorians/photos/albums/173107577"><
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bellhistorians/photos/albums/173107577></a>.<font
size="-1"><br>
U</font>nfortunately a few of the captions have not completely
loaded but that should not matter much. <font size="-1"><br>
<br>
</font>Please see online Dove for bell details.<br>
<br>
Please note that although some very limited ringing was possible and
was much appreciated by the parishioners, there is still no
possibility of visiting ringers being allowed and no ringing at all
is currently planned until after a full inspection expected in July.
Even then ringing will not be possible until further work has been
carried out. The church authorities are alert to the possibility of
requests to ring following the short official ring recently, but are
properly adamant that this cannot be allowed. <br>
<br>
I will be grateful for any information at all that Historians may
have about Fishlake bells. It is a wonderful church that will repay
a visit. It has some supposed link with Roche Abbey a little south,
near the Notts. border and some ancient woodwork is reputed to have
come from there. Is it possible that one of the bells might have
done so too? it is said that there were 8 or 9 bells there at the
dissolution.<br>
<br>
Ted<br>
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