[Bell Historians] St Walburghs, Preston, Lancs

[Alan J.Birney]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "Chris Pickford" 
<c.j.pickford at t...> wrote:
> There is a letter from Ray Clayton about this bell - with 
inscription and diameter, and a note that "it was stated in 
literature printed at the time that it [the tower] was to contain a 
ring of 12 bells" - in RW 7 Oct.1988 pp.944-5. The bell weighs 31-0-
26
> 
> 
Two visits to the church were arranged by me when Raymond 
Clayton and myself were inspecting bells in and around Preston. We 
were amazed to find a bell of such a size hung on its own for 
ringing. 
At the time of our first visit in 1988, we found a ringing rope(not 
attached to the bell) with a sally six feet in length, boxes in the 
ringing room and coat hooks on the walls and seats as well. The bell 
has a counterbalance on top of the (timber)headstock in an attempt 
to to minimise tower movement when the bell was swung. the bell has 
been hung on ball bearings some time in the 1900s.
At the time of our second visitin the 1990s, the rope was 
not anywhere in the tower. The bell was deralict on both visits, but 
in spite of many years of neglect was in a reasonable mechanical 
order.
The tower stands on four large pillers and the bell is hung a long 
way up the tower, so I imagine that there will still be significant 
tower movement if the bell is swung in its present form.
Its a shame that St Walburghs never got its intended twelve.
Towers that have eluded us in Preston are:
St Ignatius RC, 3 bells
Preston conference centre Believed one bell
Preston University tower believed to have contained bells at some 
time.
If anyone has details of the bells I would be most grateful 
to know about them.
Also I understand that there was an advert in The Bell News 
for Carrs that stated three bells had been installed at Emmanuel 
Church, Morecambe Bay-My enquiries within the parish have resulted 
in my being told there is only one bell there-Does anyone know any 
more?
Another church I am puzzled about is St Annes RC Blackburn, 
Lancashire-a six by Blews-The parish priest has found no record of 
any bells there.

Regards
Alan