So what’s been happening at St Bridget’s?

Well, as many of you know, the bells had become increasingly difficult to strike and we felt it was time we sought professional advice, the last major overhaul having been conducted in 1949. We asked Nicholson Engineering Ltd of Bridport to inspect our bells with the brief to advise us on the work needed to improve the striking.

A few weeks prior to Andrew Nicholson arriving, we made our own inspection to assess what we thought needed attention. Andrew then came, free of charge, and spent a couple of hours on his inspection, pointing out problems to us in the process. We then shared with him the list of our findings. I think he found it unusual for locals to do their own inspection but didn’t disagree with anything we had found. He duly submitted his report with list of items in need of attention together with a quotation for the different elements of work.

The work was carried out over a 5 week period and was completed by the end of March 2008. The following were replaced: Pulleys, Sliders, Running boards, Bearings, Clappers re-bushed with their shanks heated and twisted to present clean striking faces, the sixth and tenor were quarter-turned, cast–in staples removed. The bells were then re-attached to their headstocks and set up to strike evenly. At the same time as our bells were out of action the ringers cleared sandstone dust from in the bell pits, wire-brushed and painted the frame. Also, some frame bolts were tightened and areas of loose pointing in the sandstone found during our inspection were re-pointed.

So what’s the effect? The bells sound crisper, are easier to strike, and are louder. But they still retain some ‘character’. It was found that the hole in the crown of the seventh was off-centre, so is still a little odd-struck, the fourth still rings a bit quick. Are they easier to ring? Yes and no. Yes, because they run nicely, you can hear them better then before, there’s less noise from the sliders and pulleys, there’s less sound insulation due to the thin layer of sand we removed. No, because you can’t blame the bells anymore, all the faults are those of the ringers! The weird thing at first is standing in the same tower at the end of the same rope ringing bells we think we know, but we don’t - at least not yet. Was it worth it? Most certainly.

Fortunately the parish agreed to bankroll the project so that we could get the work done, on the understanding that we would collect the funds. We are very grateful for the generosity and support of collective bodies; the Rector and PCC, the Chester Diocesan Guild, the Wirral Branch, the Sharpe Trust and the Allchurches Trust Limited, all of which contributed. Also, we thank those individuals for their many contributions; parishioners, local Wirral ringers, some ex West Kirby ringers, and many other supporters who took the time and trouble to help us financially. Whilst we still have some funds to find, we are not far off collecting the total we need.

Lessons learned?

• 1) You can spot a lot of faults yourself, but the trained bell hanger will also find faults you don’t, do it a lot faster, and know what can be done to correct them.
• 2) The ringers could have started preparing for painting sooner, rather than it being a race against time.
• 3) The process for making requests to the Guild Bell Restoration Fund is not documented. However we believe that this is to be addressed so that the process is clear to all.