Old frames

[David Bryant]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "CHRIS PICKFORD" 
<c.j.pickford.t21 at b...> wrote:
> Two salutary "preservation tales" from Warwickshire - preservation 
ex situ is tricky

And one from Somerset. When the quite interesting multi-period frame 
was removed at Norton Fitzwarren the faculty was granted on the 
condition that a full record of the frame was made. So far as I could 
discover, that was never done and the frame was cut up with a 
chainsaw, no proper record having been made. The new frame was 
installed in its place.

The destruction was really quite unnecessary. The draught of rope was 
(and is) too long and the bells are not easy to handle. In addition, 
the church is surrounded by a council estate so ringing has to be 
limited (i.e. peals are or were generally not allowed) because the 
bells were quite loud in the vicinity. If the new bellframe had been 
put in the (very tall) clock chamber all of these problems could have 
been avoided.

David