Baldersby St James

[ian johnson]

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There have been several questions lately refering to "Baldersby St James" T=
he Bells are hung on three levels and are chimed by electronic hammers cont=
rolled by Computer installed by Taylors in 1998,and it has to be said they =
are quite magnificent, a quarter of Grandsire triples being chimed at there=
re-dedication One criticism is however the treble is a bit quiet owing to =
it being below the other bells. It is a pity that it could not be moved to =
its original position. I am refraining from mentioning the ringing on the b=
ells we have all heard the stories.

However I have enclosed with the Author's permission a snippet from an arti=
cle shortly to be sent to the Ringing World, written by a North Yorkshire R=
inger

The Ripon and Richmond Chronicle of October 3rd 1857 gives a very long and =
interesting description of the consecration and opening of the Church which=
took place on Tuesday 29 September 1857 (see also Appendix 1). There are t=
wo references to the bells in this article. "Others were in a maze of aston=
ishment at the reports of the great beauty of the new church; but the major=
ity seemed most astounded by the fact that the tower and spire were fifty f=
eet higher than Ripon Minster, and that there swung therin eight glorious b=
ells, whose melodious tones would "for ever and a day longer" assert and ma=
intain the skill of one Master Taylor of Loughborough the founder thereof

and "The Bells were only chimed, not from any fear of injuring the steeple,=
but on account of the ringers not being able to "raise" the seventh bell, =
which chipped the wall when it got to a certain height. The Otley ringers h=
ad the honour of first handling the ropes. the Sharow ringers were also pre=
sent and the Ripon Cathedral men were there with their sweet hand bells, an=
d rang several changes which were admired both at the Church and in Balders=
by village". Did they even at this stage begin to wonder if the bells were =
not suitable for the tower? This casts much light on the folk-lore mystery =
tale that the bells were only rung the once at their dedication service. In=
fact they appear not to have been rung at all for that occasion! We do kno=
w, however that they were rung, both by a local band and by visiting ringer=
s until the turn of the century. The fact that the seventh "chipped the wal=
l" suggests that the bellhangers (Taylors of Loughborough) may have been wo=
rking up to the last possible moment to complete the installation. With the=
first stone of the church having been laid on 22nd May 1856, the bells bei=
ng cast between March and August 1857, and only despatched from Lougliborou=
gh on 3rd September 1857, time would have been very tight. Could it possibl=
y be that Taylors never saw or surveyed the tower until they arrived on sit=
e with the frame and bells, at which point they were faced with an impossib=
le task in the time before the dedication service on 29th September. We do =
know that other parts of the church were also not finished for the dedicati=
on. The chancel roof was not complete, there was only a temporary organ and=
some stained glass still had to be provided.



Yours Ian

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