Bell Details
Bell 8 - F# - 20lb 5oz ex Bell-buoy boat bell Bought Ebay
Bell 7 - G# - 5lb 15oz Gift from Jim Currin
Bell 6 - A# - 11lb 4oz Gordon’s bell Gift from Gordon H. Lane (1932-2015)
Bell 5 - B - 3lb 1oz Jubilee 1977 Removed from a try-your-strength machine made for the 1977 Jubilee
Bell 4 - C# - 2lb 8oz Moved June 2017 formerly treble with a 2lb note C bell used as temporary second.
Bell 3 - D# - 2lb 14oz Gift from Jim Currin
Bell 2 D - 15oz Table top sale bargain Feb 2018
Bell 1 Pit Empty pit with fittings needs F# bell to complete octave
Installation Details
The bells were originally installed in a different shed and known as the Whitacre Heath Campanile.
To find out more about this installation and it's construction click here
The current installation is mounted about 3m up in the air on 4x3 joists supported on the roof purloins within the building. The frame is made up of 50mm steel angle iron which is welded into frames which can hold four bells, wheels and associated equipment. All bells are mounted on self aligning plumb blocks and the angle iron only really acts as supports for the head stocks. Pulleys are suspended from this frame below the 22 inch wheels which are made up of a sandwich of 6/18/6mm MDF sheet. The tenor wheel have a cut out on it to accommodate the larger bell.
After moving to the Palace campanile the ropes were able to have sallies rather than sprayed red areas. Experiments with nylon ropes being custom made from 6mm white nylon with 12mm diameter red white and blue cored rope spliced into the sally area to made decent reproductions of the real thing without the cost but these did not prove strong enough to ring properly with. The ropes are melted to join them and the sallies no longer have to pass through the pulleys in the current installation. Finally in 2021 proper mini ring type hemp ropes were purchased and do complete the experience.
This was further modified in Spring 2017 when the building was fully insulated and boarded out. This necessitated the complete removal of the bells. Subsequent reassembly was completed in June 2017 in virtually the identical position but it now looks rather different around it.
To find out more about this installation and it's construction click here
The current installation is mounted about 3m up in the air on 4x3 joists supported on the roof purloins within the building. The frame is made up of 50mm steel angle iron which is welded into frames which can hold four bells, wheels and associated equipment. All bells are mounted on self aligning plumb blocks and the angle iron only really acts as supports for the head stocks. Pulleys are suspended from this frame below the 22 inch wheels which are made up of a sandwich of 6/18/6mm MDF sheet. The tenor wheel have a cut out on it to accommodate the larger bell.
After moving to the Palace campanile the ropes were able to have sallies rather than sprayed red areas. Experiments with nylon ropes being custom made from 6mm white nylon with 12mm diameter red white and blue cored rope spliced into the sally area to made decent reproductions of the real thing without the cost but these did not prove strong enough to ring properly with. The ropes are melted to join them and the sallies no longer have to pass through the pulleys in the current installation. Finally in 2021 proper mini ring type hemp ropes were purchased and do complete the experience.
This was further modified in Spring 2017 when the building was fully insulated and boarded out. This necessitated the complete removal of the bells. Subsequent reassembly was completed in June 2017 in virtually the identical position but it now looks rather different around it.
