St. Oswald's, Bidston

Proposal to Reposition the Treble Bell for Ease of Ringing

The original five bells, tenor 5cwts. 1qtr. 24lbs., were cast and hung by Robert Stainbank of Whitechapel, London, in 1868.

The frame is on a foundation grid of 5" x 7" timber bolted through four 11" x 11" log beams set into the tower walls. A wooden floor to the bell chamber, ¾" thick, is interposed between the two. The foundation grid measures 9ft east to west and 11ft north to south. Its joints are morticed and tenoned and cottered and bolted as are the joints of the top rails of the bell frame. Corner cleats of 4" x 4" by ½" Angle Iron are set in each corner to provide extra strength.

The Treble was added by the same founder in 1882 and is positioned on the south side of the original frame. It is a self-contained unit bolted to the south top rail of the Second and Third Pits. The 8½" x 5" packing under the north bottom rail is bolted through the end struts of these two pits. This packing is necessary because the width of the treble frame is such that its south bottom rail sits on the louvre cill consequently lifting this unit 8½" higher than the rest. This bottom rail is not secured in any way so, to prevent racking during ringing, a wooden chock is fastened to each end of the top rail directly above it, and is let into a socket cut in the masonry of the louvre opening.

As the Treble rope falls no more than 7" from the wall of the Ringing Chamber below, it is well nigh impossible for the Ringer of this bell to see the other five ropes all at once. This is essential in Change Ringing. Remember that the bells used to be rung from the ground floor before the structural alterations inside the tower. So, with the aid of iron guide rings half way down the tower and the longer draught of rope, the fact that this particular rope originated so close to the wall did not matter.

The proposal is to move the Treble, en bloc, to a position on the east side of the Second and the south side of the Tenor. One side and one top end rail of the Treble will be bolted to the east side of the Second and the south side of the Tenor, respectively. The bottom rails of the Treble will be secured in the south rail of the foundation grid and a new rail will be put in for the north end. This arrangement will result in a much improved rope circle.

I have been in consultation with Mr Alan Hughes, Managing Director of The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, who has seen a preliminary drawing of the proposal, and he sees no reason why this should not be done. When I asked him if he could give any reason why this was not done when the new Treble was hung, the only suggestion was perhaps to leave space for possible further augmentation to eight, sometime in the future!

I would like to bring to the notice of the Parochial Church Council, the conditions prevailing in the Bell Chamber in wet and windy weather. In is like standing in a Maelstrom! The reason is, of course, that the louvres are set too far apart. As it is not possible to alter this condition without going to considerable expense, the erection of some strategically placed acrylic sheeting would help matters a lot. Examination of the bells will show that corrosion is taking place and this is due to the salt-laden wind and rain which is gaining access.

I hope this information will be of use to the P.C.C.