[Bell Historians] Oxford

[Richard Offen]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "David Cawley" <dave at ...> wrote:
>
> A note on Simon's comment below.
>
> 1. Fred Sharpe describes the old fittings on Great Tom in the Oxford
section of his "Church Bells of Oxfordshire". After mentioning thir
derelict condition, he specifically states that the lower half of the
wheel was missing altogether, and the shrouding and most of the soling
from the upper half. Two photographs show the frame as it then was -
braced king-post. He states that the bell had not been swung for over a
hundred years.So, again, I do not accept Richard's and now Simon's
theory that Fred rang the bell "up" before it was rehung.

Possibly Fred and Charlie rang it up after rehanging, but before the
hammers had been fitted?


>
> 2. The work was carried out - 1/8-turning, all new fittings and
reconstructed frame - by Mears & Stainbank, and Great Tom was officially
rung (though Fred does not specifically state right "up") on 29th May
1953 (after having been tried out the previous day) and then again for
the Coronation of H M The Queen on 2nd June. This is described by Fred
in the addenda page at the end of"Oxfordshire" and disposes of Simon's
date of "certainly before it was rehung in 1955."
>
> 3. The pre-rehanging conditions are thus summarised in the 1959 Mears
booklet: "It ... was recast into its presentr form by Christopher Hodson
in 1680 ... It required sixteen men to swing it owing to the rather
crude methods of hanging, and finally this was stopped owing to the risk
of damage to the tower ... after he had been rehung he is now swung on
all great occasions, and can easily be rung by one man."
>
> Clearly "rung" is in the general rather than the particular sense.
Much the same was said of Beverley's "Great John" at the time of its
installation: now, there is a Great Bell, in every sense!
>
> Finally, Richard's Castle has been mentioned. Whatever its clappering
features, it was equipped with a stay etc; as I think are the mighty
Mears three at Newport, Rhode Island. which featured on this site some
time ago. All have balanced fittings, unlike (for example, amongst
single bells) the Great Bell of Tong and Holy Trinity Southport, whose
headstocks are of traditional ringing dimensions, in wood and cast-iron
respectively.
>
> DLC


Phil Jakeman, Trevor Bailey and I rang Great Dunstan up on the wheel and
rang it full-circle before the motor was fitted during the restoration
in 1981.   I seem to remember that it clappered reasonably well at the
top of its stroke and sounded magnificent.

I had always wanted to use this bell as the tenor of the Cathedral's new
ring of twelve, but the Cathedral Architect and Structural Engineer
flatly refused to countenance a ring of this weight in the South-West
tower!   Oh well, it was a good dream!

Richard

           
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