[Bell Historians] Saltaire

[Mike Chester <mike@m...>]

Though I suppose many of the list's members also subscribe to Ringing 
Chat, not all may do so. This good news has just been posted from 
The Ringing World office:

I forward a copy of a message sent to The Ringing World on Sunday 19th
January.
----- Original Message -----
From: robert
To: Ringing World
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 5:26 PM
Subject: New Bells for Saltaire


An order has been placed with Eayre & Smith Ltd for the supply and
installation of six bells (4 cwts) at Saltaire United Reformed 
Church, West
Yorkshire. It is intended that the bells will be ringing in time for 
the
150th anniversary of the foundation of Saltaire on 20th September 
2003.

Once one of only two Congregational Churches with bells hung for full-
circle
ringing, its original bells had become unringable and were removed 
during
the Second World War. Sir Titus Salt, 1803-76, was a textiles 
industrialist
who established a model village for workers at his mill. He lived 
himself at
Lightcliffe, near Halifax, and was responsible for six bells being 
installed
there, these being the only other Congregational example. Sadly, 
these were
sold for scrap in 1938. (The message to The Ringing World is 
inaccurate as I
was under the impression that they were lost in a fire, but Chris 
Pickford
kindly set the record straight for me).

Salts Mill closed in 1986, and the massive building very quickly 
began to
deteriorate. Salvation began in 1987 when a local entrepreneur named
Jonathan Silver bought it, and began a remarkable process of 
restoration,
The building now houses an art gallery featuring original works by 
David
Hockney, along with retail shops and restaurants. Its success revived
tourism in Saltaire, and in 2001 it was accorded World Heritage 
Tourist
status. Silver died, aged 47, in 1997, and the new bells will be 
known as
The Jonathan Silver Memorial Bells. Further reports will follow as 
work
progresses. For further information, contact Robert Appleby, 143 
Harrogate
Road, Bradford BD2 3ES. Phone 07966-234849; Fax 01274-640311; e-mail
plainbob at b...