Bell Ringing at Didbrook, Gloucestershire
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- Опубликовано: 19 апр 2022
- Some ringing from the first peal on the restored 1911 Taylor five at Didbrook, Gloucestershire.
0:10 Raising the bells (in the belfry)
2:03 Some rounds prior to the peal, showing the ringing area, West window and church
3:14 An extract from the peal, filmed inside just after the 20-minute mark
6:08 Some more of the Grandsire, filmed outside by Becca
8:28 St Nicholas and Winchendon Place Doubles, captured in the belfry
12:54 An audio recording of some Stedman Doubles, captured from inside
15:21 Lowering the bells, filmed inside then outside
Didbrook is a small village near Cheltenham. The church dates from the 13th century in places, but was substantially rebuilt in 1475 by William Whitchurch, the last abbot of Hailes abbey.
The bells are a very pretty sounding little ring. Originally a four, cast in 1706 by Henry Bagley of Chacombe, they were recast by Taylors of Loughborough in 1911, who added some additional metal to augment them to five. They were rehung in Bagley’s oak frame, which was extended to accommodate the tenor; consequently, the ropes fall anti-clockwise, with the front four down one wall and the tenor on the opposite side of the tower.
For many years, these bells were a real challenge and not at all pleasurable to ring; they were very flighty and needed a lot of pulling for their weight, and could barely be heard inside. A combination of factors contributed to this less-than-ideal situation; the light bells, a poorly-guided long draught, the front four being drawn badly and not well guided in the middle room, and Taylors’ hanging not being particularly well designed for small bells, not to mention the water ingress into the tower and the cold and badly-lit ringing environment. (Some pre-restoration photos appear from 13:43 - 14:22, for comparison; you will note the guides for the front four were about 18 foot from the ground, and followed the curve of the arch - so the guides for 2-3 were much higher than the treble and fourth).
Across 2021-2, a major (£75,000) project, spearheaded by Simon Ridley, came to fruition after seven years of planning and fundraising. The tower was fully repointed, significant water damage fixed, the intermediate floor was replaced, the frame strengthened, the tower stairs (which resembled a slide) were recut, the latticework rebuilt, and new lighting installed both upstairs and down. The bells were cleaned, quarter-turned and rehung on ball bearings by Tom Blyth & Co, who also provided a new headstock for the treble (replacing the old bar headstock), adjusted the wheels, clappering and hanging to slow the front bells down, altered the roping of the front four to form more of an arc, and installed a double rope guide. New lightweight ropes (with half-length sallies and Dyneema tops) were provided by Avon Ropes.
The transformation is nothing short of incredible; from a once challenging peal which were miserable to ring, these bells are now a joy; they handle nicely, and can be heard inside. The ringing area is much improved, and the lighting also shows off the beautiful West window. Congratulations must go to all concerned for a fantastic job well done.
My thanks to Simon R for the information and, and to Becca for the use of her photos and footage. And of course to Kinsey for being such a magnificent mascot and model!
Tenor 6-0-21 in B
dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
www.didbrookbells.org.uk/
My video from here pre-restoration can be found here:
• Lowering the Taylor Fi...
One of the belfry pre-restoration, filmed by James Joynson, can be found here: • Bell Ringing in the Be...
And a look round the church, showing the ringing area prior to the work, can be seen here: • Didbrook, St George’s ... 
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Great job! also nice to see Tom Blyth continuing the use of HMA green, who his first bellhanging job was with
They're beauties 😍
Cute dog!!
I noticed 2 of the bells have been quarter turned..
It was lovely to see you simon. Thank you for a lovely visit to St Petrock’s. Hopefully see you again soon.
It was lovely to meet you too - hopefully I look a bit more familiar in this video than my Liskeard effort! Hope to ring with you again at some point. (Currently I am in Cornwall for the week - St Keverne and St Stephen in Brannel tomorrow... the wrong end of the county for you!)
@@simonbellringeris the captain the one with the blue shirt with red arms and glasses
@@bellringer22 yes, it is
@@simonbellringer cool I was looking to go up there at some point do you ring there as well sorry about all these questions
@@bellringer22 I don't ring there but the bells are available and rung fairly regularly - contact details can be found on the Gloucester & Bristol website 🙂
These are quite a nice ring of five! Odd how you have the front 4 bells all swinging the same way but I guess thats because of the odd ringing circle. These have quite a story then...
They are very pretty, and now actually worth ringing on. The odd ringing circle is exactly because the front 4 bells all swing the same way together - a quirk of the old frame and I think so the rope circle didn't block the throughway into the church (as access is only via the West door underneath the tower - so the ropes arced out of people's way). Every tower has a story, some more interesting than others!... :-)
@@simonbellringer i like that dog
I must say they sound pretty good for a ring of 5
Does anyone know of any churches in or near london where you can visit the bell tower
Good video. Shame your phone distorts the bells.
Thank you - yes, it is a bit of a shame, but not bad considering it was right next to the 4th. There wasn't really anywhere I could balance the phone otherwise without giving no view of the bells, the cubby holes in the tower walls were all at the wrong height!