[Bell Historians] Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Tue Feb 22 12:50:56 GMT 2022

I inspected these bells in April 2017.

The frame, Pickford type 6.A, layout 8.3, is indeed by Gillett & Co. 1891. It has tie rods. The fittings are also mostly by Gillett, and consist of elm headstocks, plate gudgeons, and traditional type wheels and stays. The bells have ball-bearings and modern-type clappers, presumably supplied and fitted by Taylors in 1965. 

There are no tuning marks on the back seven. The recast treble has been skirted, which is rather strange as the nominal of this bell is 50 cents sharp of the ideal. According to my figures – and perhaps Bill can confirm or refute – the back four all have sharp primes as well as sharp hums.

Hopefully the attached photos will help.

Andrew Bull

  _____  

From: Bell-historians [mailto:bell-historians-bounces at lists.ringingworld.co.uk] On Behalf Of MATTHEW HIGBY via Bell-historians
Sent: 22 February 2022 11:23
To: Bell Historians Mailing List
Cc: MATTHEW HIGBY
Subject: Re: [Bell Historians] Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Surely they have been rehung since then…. That’s pre-ball bearings. M

Sent from my iPhone

On 22 Feb 2022, at 10:32, Phil Watts via Bell-historians <bell-historians at lists.ringingworld.co.uk> wrote:

Highgrove, Doughton (pronounced “Dufton” by some locally), mentioned in the text as the home of the Yatman family who commissioned the new tower in 1890-91, is of course Highgrove House, now the country home of the Prince of Wales.

Phil

From: Bell-historians <bell-historians-bounces at lists.ringingworld.co.uk> On Behalf Of c.j.pickford.t21--- via Bell-historians
Sent: 22 February 2022 10:07
To: Bell Historians Mailing List <bell-historians at lists.ringingworld.co.uk>
Cc: c.j.pickford.t21 at btinternet.com
Subject: Re: [Bell Historians] Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Thanks Ken. I hadn't ventured beyond the photo page. Clearly a Gillett installation, completed in 1893. No, they wouldn't have taken the bells away for tuning at that date (not until about 1907).

I did find that the work done in 1965 was authorised by Archdeacon's Certificate (not a full faculty) so must have been fairly limited

Chris

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Bell Historians] Tetbury, Gloucestershire
From: Ken Webb 
To: bell-historians at lists.ringingworld.co.uk
CC: 

The link from the photo provided by Bill states G&J were paid £200 for the bell work in the 1890's (& carried out work re the clock etc.)

Have-you-heard-the-bells.pdf <https://tetburychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Have-you-heard-the-bells.pdf>  (tetburychurch.co.uk)

Were they machine tuning bells then?

Ken

On 22/02/2022 07:25, bill at hibberts.co.uk wrote:

These bells are described in Church Bells of Gloucestershire as ‘seven largest bells maiden bells, treble with skirting’, and the back 7 (Rudhall 1722) are marked as historically important, presumably because they are maiden. I was looking at the nominal figures of these bells as part of a project I am doing, and wonder whether in fact the back 7 have been tuned.

Arguments in favour of tuning are:

*	The back 7 nominal frequencies are correct to within 3.5 cents of a temperament favoured by Taylors from the 1890s on
*	The bells hang in a frame which is probably Taylors 1891
*	The bell in this photograph https://tetburychurch.co.uk/have-you-heard-the-church-bells-yet-this-year-or-the-church-clock-striking-out-the-passing-of-time/ may have a band of tuning just below the clapper scar

Arguments against tuning are:

*	The treble is stretched by 35 cents (but perhaps wasn’t tuned if it had previously been skirted?)
*	The information in CBOG, arising from a visit on 20/8/1979 by Mary Bliss and AJC (Tony Cox?).

I think the bells weren’t tuned when worked on by Taylors in 1965, as the tuning marks would have been relatively fresh in 1979.

Does anyone have any better knowledge of this?

Regards,

Bill H

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