Fishing West Bay, Dorset, saturday

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Phil A, Sep 9, 2010.

  1. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :wink: Some tower looking at it from that angle Zig.. My hobby is ringing church bells... So have gotten to up a few towers now.. :wink: This is a church I want to visit now.. St Anne's Lundy Island.....
     
  2. Phil A

    Phil A Guest

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    http://www.btinternet.com/~bob.caton/story.htm

    Cool young Marley. I declined that work as I didn't fancy the 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off work arrangement, kinda wished that i'd done it now.

    Thats great that you're a campanologist, will find some pics of what the bells do to the structure of a church tower.
     
  3. Penny in Ontario

    Penny in Ontario Total Gardener

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    That is quite an angle with the ladder.......i would have been a little freaked too!
     
  4. andrewh

    andrewh Gardener

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    The Jurassic Coast is lovely. We actually have lots of amazing coastline in Britain - southern Cornwall around St Austell, North Devon in the Croyde area

    and my favourite - Northumberland, roughly from Almouth to Berwick - beaches, cliffs, castles, it's got the lot.

    Sometimes I wonder whether Brits really appreciate what's right on their doorstep.
     
  5. Phil A

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    Found one, St Brannocks church in Braunton, north devon.

    Look at the vertical cracks in the lower part of the tower, they've been filled with a lighter coloured mortar. This is caused by the bells swinging.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Penny in Ontario

    Penny in Ontario Total Gardener

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    What a beautiful old church....had to Google it, it says that its over 700 years old!!!
     
  7. andrewh

    andrewh Gardener

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    i used to live round the corner from that church, Ziggy!

    Not that I ever went there, heathen that I am.

    I do like poking round old churches if I'm out in the country though, just for the history.
     
  8. Phil A

    Phil A Guest

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    Tis a small world, did you see it burn Andrew ?
     
  9. andrewh

    andrewh Gardener

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    No, moved away in 2001. Didn't go back to visit till 2 years ago.

    The village has lost a big of it's charm since I lived there. Poor old White Lion in the village used to be a lovely pub - it was my local, many a happy night.

    Now it's a wierd trendy bar / curry house hybrid <shakes head sadly>
     
  10. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :thumb: Hi Ziggy, you know I am not surprised that the swinging of the bells can affect the actual structure... They are very heavy items.. 6 bells is a popular number for most Parish Churchs to have.. We have 6 here the Tenor is often 12cwt in most towers & sometimes more.. Our lightest the treble is only 3cwt, I prefer a heavier bell myself, but in some towers you can feel the floor move when you ring..... :yez: That is a bit freaky I can tell you..... :D I am intrigued by your photo, so I shall have to go & have a look around our tower then to see if we have had any movement.. I shall be ringing tonight so will try to have a look... :wink: I too love raking around Churhes & churchyards, amazing what local history you find out.. A church in the next village is about to have it's bells re-hung & that is all very exciting too..!! :gnthb:
     
  11. Phil A

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    Hi Marley,

    I get nervous when masonry starts to move, old lime mortar can be quite friable & if water has been getting in, the core of the walls can get washed out. We fix that by grouting, pouring a lime based slurry into the walls. Messy business, you never know where its going to come out.

    Heres the bells in Piddletrenthide church in dorset.
    [​IMG]

    Andrew, I think the fire was around 2003, couple of kids set fire to the organ & the fire hoses washed the floor out, so we had to reset most of the ledger stones.

    Heres a finger bone set in some old lime mortar we found while doing the work.

    [​IMG]

    Vicar said he was going to re bury it with the next fresh one, bit of company in the afterlife.
     
  12. Penny in Ontario

    Penny in Ontario Total Gardener

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    I love seeing pictures of old church bells, so much history with them.

    Wow.....kind of a gross find, the finger bone.....looks pretty old!

    Thanks again, Ziggy for the great pictures.
     
  13. Phil A

    Phil A Guest

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    Pleasure to share Penny:thumb:

    Always finding bits of people when working on churches, teeth are the most common, bones crumble away but teeth last ages. The medieval ones are worn & cracked but have no decay. They only had honey & natural fruit sugars in their diet.
     
  14. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :scratch: Amazing what damage can be done from what I assume is vibration of sound through the walls, more than anything else, from the bells being struck..??? Zig.. Our bells were re-hung in 1908 using ball bearings & are so smooth it is wonderful.. I will try get a photo if I can..

    :scratch: Wow Zig I can't even find a listing for Piddletrenthide in Dove's...!!! :scratch:
     
  15. Penny in Ontario

    Penny in Ontario Total Gardener

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    I`d love to see a picture, Marley.
     
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