Bootle / old Dove; permanent bell restration and rescue groups.

[grblundell at a...]

From: "Alan J.Birney" <fartwell2000 at y...>


The bell Restoration group acheived what they set out to do-
restore a set of steel bells that were in a scrapyard and hang them 
in a bell-less church. What the pre fire Dobson six were like, I 
have no idea

Alan >>


- Just for the record, the Merseyside Bell Restoration Group (MBRG) (as it 
then wasn't) were even more successful than Alan thinks.

They removed the 8 bells from Emmanuel, Everton.
They removed the 6 steel bells from Christ Church, Bootle.
They installed the Everton bells at Bootle.
They installed and augmented (initially with 2 rescued steel trebles, and 
later with the Eijsbouts bronze trebles, which by all accounts are infinitely 
better than the steel trebles) the Bootle steel bells at Hale.

If this had been all they had done, then ringing in Merseyside (?and 
nationally) would be forever in their debt. But I think that MBRG has played a leading 
role in the Rainhill RC replacement, Rainhill Anglican installation, Prescot 
and Tuebrook rehangings, as well as rescuing complete rings from Widnes and 
Waterbrook (Rossendale, Lancs) and a chime from St Mary's RC, central Liverpool. 
But just to spoil the picture, I must flag up the acrimony about work speeds 
that came to light towards the end of MBRG involvement in the Tuebrook project.

As far as I know (and I would be delighted to be proved wrong and corrected), 
only Huntingdonshire has such an active voluntary bunch of bell restorers. Is 
there room in the RW for a write up comparing and contrasting the successes 
and failures of groups like this? Is there, if it comes to that, a case for 
some sort of article on the 'permanent' voluntary organisations in bell 
restoration? Keltek and various bell restoration/repair funds come to mind.


Cheers


Giles