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Recognised as a Ringing Centre and Recipient of a Founders'
Company Grant in 2002 |
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| Please note - The Ringing Centre will be out of use
for major restoration of the bells from the beginning of September 2009
until at least March
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Index
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St Peter & St Paul Shiplake, Oxfordshire
BELL RESTORATION PROJECTShiplake Church bells have rung out over the village for more than 400 years. They continue to be rung by an enthusiastic band whose ages range between 11 and 80+ for all principal services, as well as weddings and special occasions. Our tower is one of the leading facilities in the South East for teaching the unique English art of bellringing (campanology), and we won the prestigious Founder's prize in 2006 for the best UK 'Ringing Centre'. However........The bells are becoming increasingly difficult to ring well and tonally they leave a lot to be desired.
So....We are aiming to protect the future of this valuable heritage by installing a completely new ring of bells. The new bells will be the very finest examples of the 21st centrury bell-founder's art, cast by the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry, hung in a new metal frame built to a modern design.
How much will it cost?The total project is estimated to cost approximately £90,000, of which £51,000 is for the new bells and their fittings, £20,000 is for the new frame and the remainder for other works including dismantling of the old bells and installation of the new ring. Please look at the Project in more Detail as this describes the background and the progress to date. Update. On Friday 24th July, the project to
replace the existing bells at Shiplake with a completely new ring of eight
bells hung in a new bell-frame took a major step forward when five of the
new bells were cast at the Whitechapel Bellfoundry in London.
The
furnace had been lit at 6.30am and by the time a small party of Shiplake
ringers, donors and project supporters arrived at 11.30am, a ton of molten
bell metal (comprising 77% copper and 23% tin) had reached a temperature
of 1150o C and was ready to pour into the moulds of the two
largest bells. The Shiplake party watched from a safe distance as the
Whitechapel Foundry staff carefully transferred the molten metal into a
crucible and then manoeuvred it so that it could be poured into the moulds
of the two largest bells. The furnace was then recharged with more bell
metal and later in the afternoon the process was repeated when bells 4, 5
and 6 were cast. The three lightest bells were cast on 21st
August. After tuning, the new bells will all be delivered to
Whites, Church Bell-hangers of Appleton near Oxford so that they can make
the new bell frame and fittings for each bell.
The
Whitechapel Bell Foundry is the oldest registered company in the The
existing bells will be rung for the last time on a Sunday on 6th September
with the last practice being held on Tuesday 8th
September. What
Next? Stripping out the
existing installation will start from 7th September. That will
include stopping the clock, removing the training aids, protecting the
tower ground floor tiles, removing all the ‘furnishings’ and ultimately
removing the old bells. By 7th or 8th October all
the old bells will be on the ground floor of the church ready for
collection by the Bell Hangers. The Church will be kept locked until they
are collected and may need to be kept locked at other
times. Building and
construction work in the tower will continue for about 2 months until the
frame for the new bells arrives for installation just prior to Christmas.
The new bells will arrive early in the New Year and will be hoisted up the
tower for installation in the new frame. Testing of the new
bells is likely in the second half of January
2010. If you would like to discuss a potential donation or would like more information then please contact: Bob Partridge (Project Co-ordinator) on 0118
940 1907 or
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