Weak and collapsed towers..et alii

[David Cawley]

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Jim H certainly opened a topic when writing about Poona - aka Pune - a whil=
e back. The records show that everything was despatched with full instructi=
ons as to how to assemble the installation; from photographs I have seen, a=
ll seems to be there. A little bit gratuitous, maybe, to suggest that "Tayl=
or's can be excused": after all, if the customer wants to pay for a daft in=
stallation for his/her own delectation, the contractor can either accede to=
the request making known any reservations, or ask to be excused carrying o=
ut the contract.

Now Star Street, with which I had an involvement in the summer of 1966. In=
deed, I was down in the ruins when CD was pulling up one of the bells (on a=
St Dunstan-in-the-East rope!). One could see the tower itself moving; it =
was surmounted by a gabled slate spire which in turn carried a large metal =
cross whcih was swaying about alarmingly. I think only one bell was actual=
ly raised and set, and there is a fine picture of it which CD took. The to=
wer stood in an angle formed by the chancel and the north aisle, by whose r=
oofs it was substantially buttressed; so much so that far from being "that =
absurdity which contravened every tenet of bellhanging" (RHD) it put up wit=
h a local band, and regular visits up to the '30's, amongst which were four=
successful peal bands:=20
16.1.1875, Grandsire Triples
14.2.1903, Double Norwich
16.2.1905, Superlative (bet that shook it around!)
13.11.1913, Stedman Triples (following minimal rehanging).
As the church stood in 1966, the north aisle, nave and chancel were roofles=
s, and much of the stiffness which the roofs had afforded was compromised. =
The south chapel roof had fallen in, and only the south nave aisle was roof=
ed. The tower had been virtually intact, and its massive projecting drum cl=
ock (with hour and quarters) was kept going until it received the attention=
of some kids about 10 years before. Taylors had fitted a replacement Ellac=
ombe apparatus in 1933. This was used to chime for services in the sealed-o=
ff south aisle prior to the collapse of the chapel roof. Despite all this, =
the pews still stood in the roofless nave, and in the east window was some =
fantastic stained glass by Meyer, of Munich, which the demolition people de=
stroyed.=20
Chris has adequately summarised the bells themselves. The aforementioned ki=
ds had set light to the floor of the clock room (the ringing room ceiling);=
part had burned away and damaged the floor of the ringing room and also the=
floor beneath the bells. The only light in the ringing room was from a sl=
it window in the rather bold projecting newel stair vice on the east side.=
=20

Then Southfleet. There is nothing wrong with this medieval and typical "Ke=
nt" type tower which can't be put right. As Dickon has quoted, the problem =
is with the bells, ior rather their frame (17th & 18thC, originally on two =
levels, and hacked about by Goslin Jr to get them in on one), and the fitti=
ngs, many of them re-used. The only satisfactory thing is that the two crac=
ked bells of the six were welded by Barimar. They are an old 4, augmented t=
o six in 1705 and thus: 1 & 4 R Phelps 1705; 2 T Mears 1794; 3 W Carter 161=
0; 5 ?W Wodewarde c1435; tenor R Phelps 1736.

Someone asked, which tower had collapsed while the ringers were outside ? =
The answer given was "Oxburgh", Norfolk. I think that this must refer to O=
xborough, but the ringers were not outside! The bells were rung on April 1=
0th, 1948 after at least 25 years' silence and little or no work done to th=
em. The lofty stone spire collapsed into the tower and brought it down on t=
o the Nave at 10 a.m. on 28th April. According to the Rector, after the ho=
t summer and cold winter of 1947 the already shaky tower no longer had the =
strength to stand up and literally "sat down". The bells had been rehung a=
nd augmented to 6 by Warners (who recast the third and tenor) in 1867; the =
others were 2, ?William Brend, 1610; 4, Stephen Tonne, 1582; 5, William Dob=
son 1808. Tenor 11-0-4. The 4th was smashed in the collapse and was recast=
by M&S, the two trebles being scrapped. It had been intended to hang them =
for chiming on a frame at ground level, but money ran out and they were scr=
apped, and replaced by a 14" bell. The church now consists of north aisle (=
open to the elements), south chapel and chancel. The tip of the spire, and=
finial cross, which stayed upright to the last, are preserved in the north=
aisle.

The other Norfolk collapses over the last hundred or so years have been:

1898: Feltwell St Nicholas, round tower. 5 bells. Tenor now at Gabalfa, Car=
diff, 4th in Ely Cathedral nave and front three scrapped c.1965. Church now=
CCT
1906: Burlingham St Peter, round tower. 3 bells. Were displayed in St Peter=
Hungate Church Museum, Norwich, 1936-2002, now in store. Ruined church no=
w sold.
1913: Norwich SS Simon & Jude, 1 bell formerly 5 (sold 1881, the tenor is n=
ow at St Nicholas, Beverley: anyone seen it ?). Church now again redundant.
1947: Tivetshall St Mary, 4 bells, formerly 5, previously 6. The tenor is n=
ow in Sri Lanka, the other four were scrapped. Ruined church now with Trust=
.
1959: Morton-on-the-Hill, lofty round tower, 3 bells which were rescued, an=
d with an existing bell recast by JT&Co are now a chime of 4 at Attlebridge=
. Morton Church also now restored and in the hands of NHCT so a happy endin=
g.
1971: Wighton, 1 bell formerly 4. Another happy ending. The tower was rebui=
lt and now houses the 5 ex-St Paul, Maidstone, bells with the old bell reca=
st as treble to make 6.
1990: Cockley Cley, round tower. 1 bell, no further details.

Jim H came back re some other London towers, some as cramped as Star Street=
.St Barnabas, Pimlico is not so cramped, indeed it is a spacious and once p=
leasant tower. As far as I know the last time the bells were rung was on St=
Barnabas Day 1965, the reason for ringing not being allowed being that the=
y were so loud outside. The bells then were much as installed in 1849. The=
re were ten peals between 1851 and 1902, and the last regular ringing was s=
aid to have been in 1919.

Finally, there was a query about Murphy bells. The set exhibited at the Gr=
eat Exhibition were put up at King's Cross Station, where Ranald inspected =
them. They were subsequently sold as scrap to Mears & Stainbank who I belie=
ve had such trouble in breaking them that they resorted to borrowing acetyl=
ene torches from Buck & Hickman next door to cut them up.

DLC=20
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