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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link=blue vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>I don’t know about Sacred Heart, but the position in Blackpool St John is as follows: By the early 2000s the church had a dwindling congregation and its future was in doubt. To save it as a town centre landmark and community facility it was reconstructed internally to provide a much smaller worship space plus a range of rooms suitable for group activities. To facilitate this (primarily in order to access various grants) the building was temporarily deconsecrated, so the work didn’t come under the auspices of the Blackburn DAC. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>There was by this time no active band of ringers and the architect and contractor responsible for the restoration of the building had no knowledge of bells or ringing. To facilitate access to the inside of the tower they constructed an access platform immediately on top of the bell frame. This involved removing two of the bells from the frame and sawing off part of the wheels of several others. The end result was a building that was structurally sound, but a ring of bells which was effectively useless.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>In response to a request, in my capacity as Blackburn DAC Bells adviser I had a look inside the tower (along with Ray Clayton, who advises on clocks) in June 2015. It was evident that the bells had been out of use for some time as a loudspeaker system for recordings of bells had been installed above the bells, though it appeared to be no longer in operation. Following our visit I wrote a report saying, among other things, that it was a great pity that the platform hadn’t been positioned higher up in the tower as that would have avoided any damage to the bells and their fittings. I sent a copy to the PCC – who replied saying that it was none of my business or the DAC’s, and that they had no intention of putting the bells back into working order.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>At that stage the RC Church of the Sacred Heart was undergoing major renovation. I just hope that they weren’t using the same contractor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>The third church in the centre of Blackpool with bells, Holy Trinity South Shore, has a ring of six. These are also at present unringable. They could be put back into working area fairly easily but the parish serves one of the poorest parts of the town and has no money to spend on this kind of work. The Lancashire Association of Change Ringers has been investigating the possibility of a restoration project but they will have to raise all the funding needed themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>So here we have a large town centre with three rings of bells, all of them out of action.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Peter Rivet <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US> Bell-historians <bell-historians-bounces@lists.ringingworld.co.uk> <b>On Behalf Of </b>oliver Lee<br><b>Sent:</b> 11 August 2022 13:39<br><b>To:</b> bell-historians@lists.ringingworld.co.uk<br><b>Subject:</b> [Bell Historians] st johns Blackpool and sacred heart<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me exactly why these bells are unringable?, judging by my own research there was almost certainly a local band here in the 1930s but It would appear that the decline began to set in around the 1970s or 80s. I have also heard a story of a clapper falling out during ringing was this why they where condemned or was it mainly due to tower defects. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Many thanks <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Oliver lee <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>p.s when where sacred heart last rung? They where almost certainly ringable in 1988! (per doves)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sent from <a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">Mail</a> for Windows<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>