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Towers and Belfries Committee
NEW (1 June 2006): Clapper Notes published
NEW (16 February 2006): General Trends in Tenor Weights updated
NEW (16 February 2006): Analysis of Ringable v. Unringable Towers updated
Terms of Reference
To make available advice and assistance on and information about the installation, maintenance and security of rings of bells, the maintenance of towers, and related matters.
The Committee Chairman
Christopher M Povey BSc CEng MICE MCIWEM
Three Ways, Wormington, Broadway
Worcestershire WR12 7NL, UK
email:
The Chairman will deal with a Parochial Church Council's letter of formal request himself, or he will pass it to a Towers and Belfries Committee Member living in the locality from which the request was made, or to a Towers and Belfries Committee Member who has special knowledge in relation to the PCC's particular request.
The Committee Members
Peter S Bennett BEng CEng MICE FCIWEM
James Clarke MCIOB MIMBM
George A Dawson BSc
Adrian Dempster BSc CEng MIStructE MICE
Alan J Frost LVO AADip RIBA DCHM
William K Jones BEng (Hons)
Andrew J Preston BEng AUS
R Hugh Routh DipEd ACR
Adrian Semken BA
Arnold J Smith PhD BSc ARCS DIC CChem FRSC
Bernard J Stone
James R Taylor MA CEng MIMechE MIEE(rtd)
Harry M Windsor MBE CEng MIEE
The Early Days of the Committee
The Towers and Belfries Committee came into existence in 1912 to fulfil a particular function i.e. to discuss with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings some questions relating to bell frame design and installation. However the Council's very first publication in 1892 was a "Handbook on Preservation and Repair of Bells, Frames and Fittings". The first Committee consisted of Sir A P Heywood, the Rev C D P Davies, J H B Hesse, E H Lewis and E A Young. Much of their early work was published by Heywood in "Bell Towers and Bell Hanging".
The Present Day Role of the Committee
Once the Council had set up a team of people with theoretical and practical experience of the mechanics of bells, it was not long before the Committee became an advisory body, and that remains an important function. A wide range of expertise is offered to the Exercise, with architects, bell historians, surveyors and engineers included in membership of the Committee.
Members accept no fee for general advice given on any topic and are willing to visit any tower provided that out-of-pocket expenses can be met. Specific problems on which advice can be given include sound control, cracked towers, belfry maintenance, loose frames, cracked bells, rehanging and augmentation.
As well as carrying out inspections all over the country and dealing with other problems by post, members give their services as lecturers and instructors on belfry maintenance courses. The Committee has also embarked on a series of seminars on various aspects of towers and bells. Certain members serve on Diocesan Advisory Committees, as Bells Consultants to Diocesan Advisory Committees and as members of the Bells and Clocks specialist Committee of the Council for the Care of Churches.
Recent Work of the Committee
- Provision of information about, and advice on, the internal and external acoustics of church towers with bells rung full-circle for English change ringing.
- Provision of both procedural information and, separately, technical information for PCC principal officers and ringers in respect of any proposal made to install radio aerials and telecommunications equipment in a church tower.
- Provision of Towers and Belfries Committee technical and procedural information on the Internet at the web site of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.
- Investigation of the effects on towers of the inertia forces produced by church bells rung full-circle for English change ringing.
The Committee's Terms of Engagement
Advice may be sought, and is freely offered, on all aspects of bells, bell hanging, bell towers and bell maintenance. The only provisos are that a letter of formal request is received from a principal officer of the Parochial Church Council, specifically the Incumbent, a Churchwarden, the PCC Secretary or the PCC Treasurer, and that in it an undertaking is given to pay reasonable out of pocket expenses.
The letter of formal request should be addressed to the Chairman, who will suggest the Member appropriate to take on the case, or to a Member. The arrangements as to the date and time of visit are best conducted with the Member who accepts the case. It will be appreciated that, if a Member's services are called upon and they are given voluntarily, there may be slight delays before the Member can find time to make the visit and before the report is received. Best efforts will be made to meet specific deadlines if they are made clear within the letter of formal request.
Due to the increasing cost of the Personal Accident Insurance carried by the CCCBR to cover Committee members undertaking on-site inspections, a £10 charge will be added to the expenses claimed from the Parochial Church Council by the Committee member undertaking the inspection. The member will subsequently pass this £10 amount to the Honorary Treasurer of the CCCBR.
The Form of Committee advice
A Member of the Committee will inspect the bell installation and tower, will write an unbiased comprehensive report for the PCC on what has been seen and will answer questions to the best of his or her ability.
Unless permission is denied, a copy of the report will be passed to the Committee's Chairman for the time being, to be kept in a central file. The report will be regarded as confidential between the Towers and Belfries Committee and the principal officer of the PCC requesting the report. It will contain the standard disclaimer concerning advice given by the Committee. The fixed form of the standard disclaimer is given in the following paragraph.
The Standard Disclaimer concerning Advice Given by the Committee
Attention is drawn to the fact that while reports and advice are given in good faith they are given gratuitously and without reward and no liability can be accepted by the Member or the Towers and Belfries Committee or the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers in respect of the contents of such reports and advice. A report by a Member of the Committee is provided for the sole use of the Parochial Church Council and it must not be passed to or copied to or used by or relied upon by any third party.
Specific Professional Advice
If more detailed professional help is needed, it may be that one of the professionally qualified members of the Committee will be prepared to give it, but anything more than the visit and report outlined above is likely to attract normal professional fees. Separate negotiations for such help must be carried out with the individual directly and are of no concern to the Committee.
Specialised Publications about Towers and Belfries
The Council has produced several publications relevant to the Committee's work, written by present and former Members.
- The Towers and Belfries Committee, a fan-folded information card similar to this web page.
- The Towers and Bells Handbook, an illustrated hardback covering all aspects of bell towers and bell hanging.
- The Faculty Jurisdiction, A Guide For Ringers.
- A Bells Project from First Principles, an information card.
- The Bell Adviser, a paperback directed to those giving advice about bells.
- Sound Management, a booklet for ringing masters on the internal and external acoustics of towers.
- The Maintenance Handbook, a paperback for the person in charge of day-to-day care of bells.
- A Schedule of Regular Maintenance, a paperback for the person in charge of day-to-day care of bells.
- A Practical Analysis of the Interaction between Church Bells and Towers, a technical addition to the range.
- Tower Changes, guidelines on procedure for work to bells and bell equipment.
These may be obtained from Central Council Publications, Mrs B Wheeler, 2 Orchard Close, Morpeth NE61 1XE, UK.
Articles accessible on the Internet
Several of the Committee's articles are accessible on the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers' web site.
- The Faculty Jurisdiction, A Guide for Ringers
- A Bells Project from First Principles
- Sound Management
- Radio Aerials & Telecommunications Equipment in Church Towers, a general article for PCC officers and their ringers which covers management issues, principles, procedures, actions and responsibilities.
- Radio Aerials & Telecommunications Equipment in Church Towers, a technical article.
- Clapper Notes, a technical article.
Further articles by the Committee will be added to the Central Council's web site in due course.
Change level indicator: jrt: g524InCd.doc
2006 May 24th
Advice from English Heritage
English Heritage may be contacted direct for advice on tower and bell-related subjects by email to Bells@English-Heritage.org.uk