[Bell Historians] Faculty System

[Andrew Aspland]

DB: Can someone enlighten me as to whether there is any centralised approval
system for Diocesan Bell Advisers to serve on DACs?

No there isn't and we are all different!

DB: I recently heard of a case where a church were told
not to ring their bells by the DAC bells adviser for that diocese.
Reason - there were some loose stay bolts....

If you have been to inspect an installation and find potential hazards
surely there is a duty to report them. Whether you tell the church not to
ring the bells is a matter for debate. I would tend to point out the
problems and say that they should be sorted out urgently - for loose stay
bolts I might even tighten them myself! BUT you are not advising the church
you are advising the DAC as to whether or not to recommend the faculty. It
can be a very difficult balance and one of the worse situations is when a
church has got quite a long way down the road before calling you in.

DB: If there is no method of approval, shouldn't there be?

The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds held interviews for the post of Bell Advisor
and seemed to me to be concerned about the way in which one would reach a
decision and communicate with the DAC and church - a balanced and reflective
approach is needed. How do you set a standard for that?

Ultimately there will be different approaches from diocese to diocese and
that may not be a bad thing but invariably it is the extreme decisions which
make news.

Andrew