[Bell Historians] Castlemorton

[David Bryant]

Chris Povery wrote:

> Castlemorton may have sounded odd, but probably not quite as odd as a ring
of 6 near me. Toddington, Glos, had a
> complete ring of 5 by Thomas Rudhall, dated 1773, until 1909, when Taylors
merely added a new treble in a new upper
> frame. This bell must be Harmonically-tuned, because it and the
Rudhall-tuned back 5 do not mix. I have never stayed long
> enough there to find out! It takes a long time to get even partially used
to this ring. It is very hard on the ears, particularly if > one is lucky
enough to be used to some of Taylors' finest offerings. Have you any tonal
analyses of these bells, David
> (Bagley)?

If its of 1909 the treble is sure to be harmonically tuned. At Angersleigh
near Taunton there was a similar situation, where Taylor's added a treble to
an old four in 1911, which didn't match at all. The bells were restored in
the mid-1990s, and the treble removed and replaced with two second-hand C&G
Mears bells. They've made a very pleasant-sounding old-style six. The 1911
treble was sold to Freshfored, near Bath, as the treble of six. The treble
of the five was a 1930s Taylor bell, and the back four Taylor's 1885. I
clearly remember seeing the tenor during the work and noticing that it was
maiden. I'm pretty sure they were all tuned at Whitechapel, although don't
know how well the 1885 bells tuned up.

David