Wimborne Minster Society of Church Bell Ringers
Repairs to the 7th Bell at Wimborne Minster were completed on 11th April, in time for the Easter Day morning and evening services, and a Peal Attempt on Easter Monday.
The photos show the process of re-installation of the bell, by Whites of Oxford, assisted by the Minster Steeplekeeping team.
Tuesday’s practice night at Wimborne came to an abrupt halt after Alan, who was ringing the 7th bell, realized something was very wrong:
“It was like a bad dream. The bell was dropping, no matter how hard I pulled”. Further investigation revealed that the bell had not just “dropped” into its normal resting position, mouth down, it had well and truly dropped askew out of its normal position due to a broken gudgeon.
The diagram shows that the bell’s “gudgeon” is equivalent to the axle on a wheel, so a break here puts the bell out of action and, due to the weight of the bell, at 350kg equivalent to a large touring motorbike, puts a strain on the surrounding components.
Not only was it unringable, but the bell was teetering in an unstable position, so a team of the ringers led by Rob Child, the Steeple Keeper, worked carefully to secure the bell in place using ropes, prior to a bell hanger from White’s of Appleton being called in to inspect and advise.
The Bell Hanger attended on Wednesday morning, safely removed the bell from the frame and took the cracked stay, and damaged wheel and headstock back to Oxford for inspection. The Steeple Keeper is awaiting the results of the inspection in the next few days.
A decision about whether to continue ringing the remaining 11 bells, or to suspend ringing until the 7th is reinstated, is expected at the weekend.
Meanwhile, if you miss the sound of the bells – here is our new video of the Ringing for the Queen in February:
Wimborne Minster Bell Ringers 