Bell Frame

The frame is of heavy oak timbers with substantial cross bracing. This photograph shows the frame around number three bell. The frame itself is strong enough, the problem is that the frame is moving within the tower. We are going to have to dismantle and remove all the timbers, build a steel frame and anchor it to the walls of the tower, and then rebuild the wooden frame exactly as it was before.

This may not be as difficult as it looks. The eighteenth century craftsmen who built the frame carved roman numerals into the wood at each joint. All that we will have to do is reassemble the components with the beam end marked 'VII' fitted into the joint marked 'VII'. Just the same as building a wardrobe from a self-assembly kit.

A small problem is that the nuts and bolts on the frame were made before Sir Joseph Whitworth introduced standard screw threads and hexagon heads. We may have to make some special spanners to fit.

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