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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...
www.didbrookbel...
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 ...