[Bell Historians] St John and St James, Bootle

[Richard Offen]

David Cawley will remember the visit he, Ranald Clouston and I made to  
Snargate in Kent many years ago.

Like Bryan, we couldn't get the door to the newel staircase open. When  
we eventually did, we had to remove about 15' of jackdaw nest before  
we could ascend to the fascinating ancient ring of three.

Richard

Sent from Richard Offen's iPhone

On 06/05/2010, at 1:20 AM, Bryan McCahey <b.mccahey at ajwd5Cn45sYKNEMPhav9rWqAgB94uhlb6VPqjcLVS5OdWWxgzA28HWZP91WD44F51S-7aVfH3zDGVg.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

> Sad to hear that the Bootle skyline has lost the very distinctive  
> tower of SS John and James. Sam doesn't exaggerate the bird  
> infestation. A group of us tried to access the tower about 13 years  
> ago. The door to the stair turret opened inwards but the guano piled  
> behind it at ground floor level reached half-way up the door so it  
> was impossible to gain entry. The bell was still roped up and we  
> managed to swing-chime it. Fairly pleasant-sounding, as I recall.  
> Matthew, were any pictures taken before the bell was smashed up?
>
> See http://www.yourlocalweb.co.uk/images/pictures/11/79/ss-john-and-james-orrell-hey-litherland-115739.jpg 
>  for a photo of this distinctive octagonal tower.
>
> Bryan McCahey
>
>
> From: Sam Austin <sam0austin at 1JJy599EAU9lD_Oft0bU1J4QcIMpRjizi5waaOvCp9WNqveQx_oAUgpxTginXEGhpRDdjoHd-zTPBKrsIPz1VX6e.yahoo.invalid>
> To: Bell Historians <bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tue, May 4, 2010 1:57:39 PM
> Subject: [Bell Historians] St John and St James, Bootle
>
>
> People who keep records may be interest to know the following:
>
> The church building of St John & St James Bootle was demolished last
> week, exactly 100 years to the day the foundation stone was laid.
> The bell, was cast by the Warner foundry in 1910 and weighed approx  
> 10cwt.
> In recent times, it has been impossible for anyone to lift the
> trapdoor to access the bell due to the amount of pigeon guano and
> twigs, many people have tried without success, most recently a bell
> hanging company working on behalf of the Keltek Trust.
> The tower was demolished with the bell still inside, and was recovered
> intact. The bell was then broken up on site and the metal taken away.
>
> Aye
>
> Sam
>
> 
           
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