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A partial view of Abbey Bell, this model is one of the first model ever built, completed in November 2005 only the 'Titanic Bell' is older, although both bells underwent modifications in the following months, a bigger, better wheel was made and the frame improved.

 

 

 

Unlike the Abbey bell, this model was completed in March 2009 making it the more recent of the models, as it was painted not varnished this model took far longer to build, Abbey and Britannic bells are almost identical in size and weight but have a different 'pitch' or tone when being rung.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both the images above are of Britannic Bell, above top is the model in its very earliest stages with the headstock being made, the second image is of the bell with its assembly completed waiting for its frame to be built.

 

 'Fools Bell' is very light for its size, some bells which are half the size can be as heavy or heavier, the reason this bell is so light is that its cast from Tin not Brass or Bronze as the other bells are. This model had an overhaul in June 2007 with a new wheel, stay, slider and headstock, some improvements were made to the frame as well.

 

This image of 'Fools Bell' shows it in its raised position. Fools Bell emits a very tinny 'donk' when rung, due to the fact that it is cast of Tin and only weighs about 1lb.

 

The Monastery Bell above is one of the largest models made, only the North Bucks Bell model is bigger.

 

A partial view of the Monastery Bell, its frame was originally unvarnished as it was hung in an attic but when it was removed from the attic the frame was varnished. 

 

  

The North Bucks Bell above is the largest and heaviest of all the models made. Bells that are larger than each other does not always mean they are heavier- The Monastery Bell is double the size of The Tbilisi Bell but only half the weight of The Tbilisi Bell.

 

 

Another view of The North Bucks Bell in the 'down' position. This model has to be clamped to the frame of the shed where it lives in order for it not to fall sideways while being rung.

 

 

This view is of The North Bucks Bell is before it has had its supporting frame built, it sits at ground level and can't be rung with a rope until it is placed onto its supporting frame.

 

The Priory Bell above has been clamped onto the frame of the 'Bell Shed', making ringing far more stable as the frame will not move during ringing as the shed takes all of the force of the swinging bell.

 

A partial image of the Priory Bell showing its headstock, wheel, stay and rope. Also part of the frame can be seen with the 'cross-half' joints at the far end instead of the usual 'cross-braces'.

 

 

TheSwiss Bell above is cast from Brass and and has a pleasent sound to it- not too 'tinny' like some of the other Brass bells. In this image it is shown in the 'up' position. 

 

This birds-eye view of Swiss Bell reveals the headstocks 'staybox'- instead of the stay which is bolted onto the side of the headstock, a box is made for the stay to be bolted into, this feature is totally unique to the Swiss Bell.

 

The picture above is of the old 'Red Bell' before it was replaced with new fittings and bell and re-named 'Swiss Bell', the frame remained un-altered.

 

The above image of a 'Bergholt Doubles' bell was how the Saxon Bell was before it was converted into a full wheel tower bell. Saxon bell was made to replicate an East Bergholt bell- like the Bergholt Doubles mini-ring is but when Bergholt Doubles was made, the existing Saxon bell was converted with a wheel, stay, slider and rope.

 

The Saxon Bell after it was made into a rope and wheel bell, the simularities between it and an East Bergholt bell are plain to see- blue headstock with red bolts, clapper, cannon straps and gudgeons/bearing caps. The clear wheel, stay and slider contrast well with the blue and red gear and the dark oak frame.

 

 

A SHORT DESCRIPTION

 

This page gives a short description of each of the models, It explains their weight, When they were made and why they are named as they are etc. Beginning with the Single Bell Frames and then the Mini Rings. 

 

Single Bell Frames

 

ABBEY BELL

Made from solid brass and weighing 3lbs.3oz, Abbey bell is larger in size but much lighter than Tbilisi due to being cast of a much thinner and lighter material. It was hung in October 2005 with a much smaller wheel and wooden dowel gudgeons before being refitted with threaded steel gudgeons and a much larger wheel, enabling more effective ringing.

 

 

BRITANNIC BELL

With all previous models, the woodwork such as the headstock and frame were coloured with varnish. Varnish was used to colour the light coloured softwood used to make these models to simulate other types of wood such as mahogany or oak etc, but with the Britannic Bell, instead of being varnished the wood was painted instead with a bright red headstock supplemented by a ‘Royal Blue’ frame. This process took far longer to complete compared to the traditional varnish as first the wood had to be undercoated before the two top layers of gloss could be applied which took many hours to dry, screws, nuts and bolts were painted yellow to blend in with the blue and red woodwork. This bell weighs in at 3lb 3oz, about one third of the weight of the present heaviest ‘North Bucks Bell’ which weighs around 9lb 5oz.

 

 

FOOLS BELL

Centuries ago, people used to try and find gold in the hills and valleys of Britain, when they found a shiny, gold-coloured material, they must have been convinced of discovering real gold, but this gold-like substance was actually ‘Iron Pyrites’ which looked like gold but was virtually worthless, it came to be known as ‘fools gold’- it would take a fool to think they have found real gold when they have found iron pyrites. Fools bell has the appearance of a brass or even bronze bell but is only made of lowly tin but like gold and iron pyrites alike, this bell could be mistaken for something much more than what it is, hence the name ‘Fools’ Bell.

 

 

MONASTERY BELL

This is the second largest bell hung so far but not the heaviest, weighing 4lbs.1oz, Monastery bell is only half the weight as the Tbilisi bell but is cast of bronze. This bell along with North Bucks Bell has the largest wheels due to their size. Built to be housed in an attic with the rope going through the ceiling into a bedroom, the frame is much more elongated than the other frames because the distance of the roof beams meant it had to be 32 inches long to be securely bolted down. The bell was removed from the attic just two days after installation because it was thought to be a shame that such a nice model should hidden away for nobody to admire.

 

 

NORTH BUCKS BELL

This bell by far is the heaviest bell, weighing 9lb, 4oz

It weighs more than Titanic, Abbey and Number 33 bell combined, the gudgeons (pivots at each end of the headstock in order to enable the bell to swing) had to be driven over two inches into the headstock to prevent them coming loose when this huge bell is swinging, also the clapper staple which holds the clapper in tight had to go through the bells crown and over an inch into the headstock- that’s a heavy clapper and needed a good staple to prevent it from falling out during ringing. The frame is built in much the same fashion as the Monastery Bell frame but is slightly wider and North Bucks Bell is over twice the weight of Monastery Bell. This model was in some ways more difficult to built than others because of its enormous weight, some parts had to be strengthened to allow it to ring properly.

 

 

PRIORY BELL

 Built in August 2006 Priory Bell was the first in a series of smaller single bell models which are much more practical than the larger models due to there smaller and lighter size, the frame or pit as it is otherwise known incorporates cross-half joints instead of the more traditional cross-brace supporting beams found on most of the other bell pits, these cross-half joints are far more tricky to cut and take considerably more time. The wheel and stay are coloured with red mahogany varnish instead of the usual dark oak, also the colouring of the frame is unique among the other models, because the pit has cross-half instead of cross-brace joints the slider running block does not need stops at each end as the edges of the cross-half joint almost touch the running block and act as the stops (to stop the slider sliding too far when coinciding with the stay).

 

   

 

SWISS BELL

 

This bell, which is made from brass and weighs 1lb.4oz replaced a steel bell which was hung in this frame and named ‘Red Bell’, The frame was also improved with a new wheel and stay. Swiss bells headstock is unique because it incorporates a ‘stay box’, Instead of a straight or curved stay being bolted directly on to the side of the headstock, A straight stay sits inside a plywood ‘stay box’, However these ‘stay boxes’ are extremely time consuming to make and would almost certainly split open if used on a much larger, heavier bell. Swiss bell was named as so because of the Swiss emblem on the bells waist, just as on the handle of a Swiss army knife.

 

 

SAXON BELL

 This model actually began life as a large single bell model of an East Bergholt bell but after the building of ‘Bergholt Doubles’ it was decided that the ‘East Bergholt’ bell as it was then known was to be converted into a traditional church bell with a wheel, stay and slider etc. This conversion required the pit to be widened in order to make space for a wheel and the stay end cross-half joint to be replaced with two cross-braces as the cross-half joint was at too tighter angle for the frame to take a slider block. As this model was meant to resemble a Bergholt bell the headstock is painted blue rather than being varnished, also the bolts that hold the bell gear together are of bright red-just like the bells at East Bergholt, the white wheel and stay contrast well with the blue and red along with the dark oak frame. This model was built as a Bergholt bell in June 2007 but converted into a tower bell in February 2008

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MODEL CHURCH BELLS

 

 

NUMBER 33 BELL

 

 Started on January 1st 2007 and completed on January 21st 2007, this brass bell which weighs a little over 3lbs was named ‘Number 33’ because it was the thirty-third bell hung. This bell is very similar in size, weight and material to that of ‘Abbey bell’ but has a slighter deeper tone. In order to make ringing one of these larger bells more like ringing a 5 cwt tower bell, setting the bell at ‘hand’ stroke and ‘back’ stroke would have to be as ‘deep’ as possible so that ‘setting’ the bell in the inverted position would be much easier.

 

 

OLYMPIC BELL

There are now three models which are named ‘Titanic’, ‘Britannic’ and ‘Olympic’, these were named as such because of the inscription on the ‘Titanic’ and ‘Britannic’ bell’s waist which read ‘TITANIC 1912’- the year the great ship ‘Titanic’ famously struck an iceberg and sank. That ship had two ‘sister’ ships which were named ‘Olympic’ and ‘Britannic’, all three were to prove unlucky as the Olympic was almost lost after a collision with a naval vessel and Britannic was sunk by a torpedo strike in 1916 during the First World War- (she had been converted into a nursing ship to carry wounded allied soldiers). This model which weighs 1lb 7oz was named ‘Olympic’ to match the existing Titanic and Britannic bells and was built between February and March 2009.

 

 

 

TABLE BELL

The problem with the other one-bell frames is that they are rather large and cumbersome and can be difficult to transport around if you want to demonstrate to people how a church bell rings, so a much smaller model was made, this frame is so small and light it can be taken anywhere without any difficulty and displayed on a table- hence the name ‘Table Bell’, models such as the ‘Monastery Bell’ are up to six feet four inches tall- not very practical to place on a table!. Table bell has dummy canon straps made of wire on its headstock, also the headstock is much taller than its width- almost all of the other bells have a completely square stock without canon straps. This model was made in September 2007 but the frame the pit sits on wasn’t made until March 2008. this frame took only a day to make because of its small size however the bell pit model took two weeks to complete.

 

 

TBILISI  BELL

Discovered in Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, in February 2006,   the Tbilisi bell is of solid bronze, weighing 8lb. 2oz it is the second heaviest of all the bells hung with the North Bucks Bell weighing 9lb, 4oz being the heaviest. With every church bell creating a sideways force of four times its own weight regardless of size, the Tbilisi bell creates a sideways force of over 32lbs when in motion, meaning it has to be clamped to a much stronger structure to stop the frame from literally falling sideways during ringing. 

 

                                      

 

TITANIC BELL  

Named because of the ‘TITANIC 1912’ engraved on the bells waist, it is made of brass as is Abbey bell and is fitted with the same size wheel as Abbey and Tbilisi bells. The bell has a straight ‘stay’ which means the slider runs and stops are positioned more ‘off centre’ in the frame below the bell, if the bell was replaced with a curved stay like on the other models the slider ‘runs’ will have to be moved to a more central position in the frame below the bell. Titanic bell weighs 2lb. 4oz, making it the lightest of the larger bells.

 

 

 

 

SOUTH BUCKS BELL

This model along with the North Bucks Bell is the largest and heaviest bells hung so far, South Bucks Bell weighs 9lb 4oz which is almost ten times the weight of Fools Bell and five times the weight of the Saxon Bell. Because bells of this weight create a lot of sideways force when ringing, they have to be clamped to the frame of a much stronger structure in order for them to able to ring properly without the risk of them falling sideways, also certain parts of of the bells gear have to be made with extra strength, which includes the gudgeons- they have to be driven into the headstock at least an inch so as not to fail while the bell is in motion, the stay and slider system cannot be too weak although the stay is designed to break on bells of this weight when over pulled. The clapper of South Bucks Bell is heavy for the weight of the bell- about 2lbs and has to be firmly secured inside the bell, this model stands 6ft 2in tall which is slightly shorter than the North Bucks Bell which is 6ft 5in in height, also North Bucks Bell is slightly deeper in tone than South Bucks. This Model took three weeks to complete and will probably remain the joint heaviest with North Bucks Bell for a long time.

 

 

CHAPEL BELL

Chapel Bell is the latest model to be made since the construction of the 'South Bucks Bell' back in September 2009, the frame contains the more unusual 'cross-half' joints which are far more difficult to measure and cut than the more common 'cross brace'. Chapel Bells headstock is painted white and is decorated with 'signal red' dummy cannon straps, nuts, bolts, gudgeons and washers. When the Olympic Bell had its wheel replaced with a much larger wheel, the smaller wheel was left over so when it came to making the Chapel Bell a wheel was already available and a new wheel did not need to be made from scratch, this shortened the time it took to make this model by several days and the wheel that once belonged to another bell had a new lease of life in the Chapel Bell model. Certain methods of how this latest model was made makes it unique in certain ways with the other models. The bell is actually hung on top of the frame rather resting in the frame as with all the other models. The bearings had to made separately from the frame to allow the bell to sit in its bearings above the frame, this method of hanging is a first since the first model was made in September 2005. Chapel Bell was built in February-March 2010 and took two weeks to complete.

 

  

 

Mini-Rings

 

CROSSROAD BELLS

Although this model is classed as a 'Mini-Ring', it only contains two bells which hang side by side to each other and swing in opposite directions, this model was made to be a small demonstration model like the single 'Table Bell'. Both of the bells are cast from Brass and weigh about 10oz each and being of almost the same size the bell gear is the same size such as the wheel, stay etc. As both the bells swing in opposite directions to each other, their ropes hang far apart from each other below the bells. This model was made in April 2009 and took about three weeks.

 

 

                     

 

OAKSLIDER DOUBLES

This Mini-Ring which contains five bells (hence the name 'Doubles') has the heaviest ring of bells in any Mini-Ring, although the frame is smaller than 'Caters Campanile' and 'Monks Minor', the bells are heavier with the Treble (smallest bell) heavier than the Tenor (largest bell) in 'White Wheel Doubles'. The treble bell in Oakslider weighs more than the number four in 'Monks Minor' and the number ten bell in 'Caters Campanile'. The reason this model was named 'Oakslider' is that the frames sliders are made from oak so the name 'Oakslider' was derived. This model was made in April-June 2008 and the bells are hung in the anti-clockwise fashion.

 

 

CATERS CAMPANILE

 

Although this frame contains tens bells, they where originally hung in a nine bell frame which was the first model ever to be built but where re-hung in a new, much improved frame and a tenth bell was added. This first model which was simply known as the 'Nine Bell Frame' was built in Sept-Oct 2005 and was made up of nine very old Brass bells which where probably used as servants bells in a large household in days gone by. In December 2005 a new frame was made in order to re-house these bells and add another bell which made it a ten bell frame. It was only when a couple of models had been made that they where given names, 'Titanic', 'Abbey' and 'Caters Campanile' where the first models made by January 2006. A 'Campanile' is a bell tower which is not attached to a religious building and has no connection to any form of religion. 'Caters' is the name given to change-ringing on nine bells so was given to this Mini-Ring which actually contains ten bells!.

 

   

 

CATERS CAMPANILE WAS SCRAPPED IN JUNE 2010

 

 

WHITE WHEEL DOUBLES

White Wheel Doubles began life as 'Doubles Ring' but the bells where re-hung in a new frame, Doubles Ring consisted of the same bells (although the number two didn't have a white wheel) hung in a similar size frame but as workmanship improved as more models where made, many of the earlier models where improved with most of the bell gear being replaced, in this Mini-Rings case the entire frame was replaced along with the number two bells wheel which has a clear varnish to it, that is how this model got the name 'White Wheel Doubles'- because of the white wheel attached to the number two's headstock.

 

  

                                                 

 

BERGHOLT DOUBLES

Bergholt Doubles is the only model made which is based on a real life ring of church bells, East Bergholt in Suffolk contains a very unusual ring of bells, they are not hung high in a tower like other bells but hung at ground level and housed in a cage which is situated in the churchyard. They do not have wheels, sliders or ropes but are rung by hand, a platform surrounds the entire outer side of the frame which the ringers stand on, lean over into the frame and push the bells over, the bell will then swing full circle on its headstock and the ringer would stop it on its return swing, timing is vital, each ringer has to catch and stop their bell at exactly the right moment- and keep out of its way during its swing, the tenor (heaviest bell) weighs one and a quarter tons (25cwt) and the bells at East Bergholt are the heaviest ring of five in the country. Ringers have to become very experienced and compatant to ring one of these bells unaided and the chance of very serious injury if a mistake is made. This Mini-Ring is a faithful reprodution on a mauch smaller scale but gives an idea of how the very unusual bells at East Bergholt are rung, it was made in October 2007 and took about three weeks to complete.

 

 

                                                               

 

MONKS MINOR

This Mini-Ring was constructed in June 2006 and at the time contained the heaviest bells of all the Mini-Rings, the tenor is very large compared to the size of the other bells, as was used because of a shortage of bells at the time of construction- it was the only bell of the right size at the time. The frame is coloured 'Dark Oak' along with the wheels and stays and is suplamented with 'Mohagany' headstocks, sliders and bearing caps. The small sliders sit on a beam below the bell and work as well as the more common (and much difficult to make) curved sliders which run the full width of the bell pit. Monks Minor was the finest of the Mini-Rings when it was made because the quality of workmanship was always improving and models made after Monks Minor where always that little bit neater and well 'turned out'.