Report on the St Helen Bellframe (1764-2006): Introduction

Report on the St Helen Bell Frame (1764-2006)

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The ten bells at Abingdon have always been difficult to ring and are generally regarded as poor in terms of quality and tone. Having received a bequest, which had been set aside for use on the bells only, the bellringers put forward a proposal to have some work carried out to improve the ring. After consultation with English Heritage and other bodies it was agreed that a new, lighter, ring of ten bells should be installed in a new frame and with all new fittings.

1.2 As a condition of the faculty permitting the work it was stipulated that a record should be made of the old installation prior to dismantling. The writer was therefore commissioned to prepare survey drawings of the old bellframe and to prepare a descriptive report to accompany the drawings. The on-site survey work was carried out during visits to the church on 16 April 2005 and 15 January 2006 and this report was completed in July 2006.

1.3 The report and drawings describe and illustrate the installation as it was at the time, and the new work is covered in a postscript at the end of the document. The present tense is used throughout, although by the time the report is completed the old bells, frame and fittings will have been removed. In terms of orientation the convention used by the church architects - describing the main tower entrance to the church as being on the north - has been followed. Also, east is shown at the top in all the main drawings and sketches for consistency with the main drawings of the tower (Figure 1).

1.4 All sketches within the report are only intended to illustrate features described in the text. They are not to scale. Copies of the main drawings (reduced from A3 to A4 size) appear as whole page illustrations at the end of the report. Imperial measurements are used throughout, as this was the system in use when the tower and frame were constructed.

1.5 The illustrations and drawings are cross-referenced to the text where appropriate, the main photographs and drawings being identified by number (e.g. Plate 6 and Figure 2). In-text illustrations are not numbered, but appear alongside the text to which they relate.