[Bell Historians] Faculty System

[David Bryant]

> 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.

The system seems to vary, but some DAC advisers seem to also advise on
general problems with the bells in addition to advising on faculty
applications, and in such a case loose stay bolts are hardly dangerous! As
you say, if there isn't a local who can do it the adviser could.

> 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?

I suppose it is difficult to set a standard. It seems to me that bells are
often a subject on which church authority generally knows little, so there
is the potential that unsuitable persons could be appointed as has certainly
happened occasionally in the past.

David