TALKS GIVEN DURING THE SERVICE CELEBRATING THE 10^TH ANNIVERSARY SERVICE OF THE RE-CASTING AND RE-HANGING OF THE BELLS IN ST GERMAN’S CATHEDRAL

1 – HISTORY OF THE BELLS

When this church was opened for worship in August 1884 the peal of eight bells had already been installed in the tower having been cast by Warners of London in 1883.  The Tenor weight was 8 ¼ cwt.  The tower is built of brick and sandstone and, although it looks quite large, the walls are three feet thick which considerably reduces the size of the bell chamber – it’s only 11 feet square.  With a bulky oak frame it was necessary to hang the bells on two levels, six on the lower level (swinging east to west) and two above (swinging north to south), which must have made ringing difficult.  It is not recorded whether the bells were rung in celebration of the opening of what was then “The New Church” although there were reports of mutterings among the townspeople about the cost of maintenance needed for such a large building.  (sounds familiar!).

However, the cost of the bells was borne by local people, as shown on the larger stone tablet in the church porch by the tower door.  More information about these donors can be found In Janet Ferris’s excellent book “The Bells of St German’s”.

Having bells in the tower was all very well but people to ring them were needed.  Help came in the person of Charles Henry Hattersley, a visitor from Sheffield, who arrived in June 1884 and took on the task of teaching a band.  This was no mean feat:  it is relatively easy to teach one or two learners within an experienced band;  teaching a whole band from scratch single-handed is quite another matter.  Nevertheless, by November they were able to ring a plain course of Grandsire Triples, so Mr Hattersley must have been a patient and gifted teacher.  There are no records of the names of any of these ringers but there appears to have been an active band from 1884 to 1907.  A contemporary report says that “they could ring Bob Major as well as any band”.

In July 1888 visiting ringers rang 2 Full Peals.  The Yorkshire Association and the Ancient Society of College Youths were the visitors involved and at least the first Peal was conducted by our friend Charles Henry Hattersley.  The visitors reported that the bells were “a very pretty ring – their go was everything to be desired”.  A third Peal was recorded in 1890 involving the same groups.

So everything went well, with a new church, which was eventually dedicated to St German, and bells to call the townspeople to worship.  However, almost 20 years later, disaster struck.  On 27^th February 1903 a mighty storm hit Peel.  The west window of the church was blown in and the wind lifted the roof off the nave.  Part of the roof fell inwards, bringing the upper part of the wall with it, resulting in severe damage to the west gable.  An architect from Liverpool carried out an inspection and reported that there were cracks in the tower, but he did not consider that they were structurally serious.  Repairs were carried out by Ambrose Kelly (Canon Kelly’s grandfather) and the church reopened on 7^th July – only 5 months after the storm.  This was remarkable considering the estimated cost of £2000 had to be raised.  But in 1905 the Annual Vestry Meeting reported that “the work is complete and the debt is wiped out”.

Again, all was well for a few years until, in December 1906, a surveyor’s report stated that the tower and spire were in a dangerous condition due to the subsidence of the foundations.  Initially, the spire was demolished and the stones numbered and stored in the churchyard, leaving the tower alone.  The bells were removed and stored.  It was in 1909 that plans were submitted for a new tower and spire.  The architect had condemned the tower and suggested that it be taken down and rebuilt.

In July 1913 building work restarted, again being carried out by Ambrose Kelly under the supervision of the architect.  The work was completed the following year, but the plans were modified and the tower was capped as it is today.  The spire was never rebuilt and the stones lay in the churchyard until quite recently when they were removed to be used for repairs elsewhere on the Island.

In the meantime, the bells were still in storage and it was not until 1915 that the Vicar and Wardens considered the replacement of the bells and clock.  At this time also, for reasons not recorded, it was decided to have the two trebles recast.  This was done by Warners in 1916.  John Smith & Sons of Derby were asked to replace the clock and they advised that this should wait until the recast trebles were in position.  In 1917 Warners came over to tune the remaining bells and rehang the complete peal.  Including a fought-for discount the cost came to £74.

With the intervention of the Great War, there were not enough local men to ring the newly hung bells and, for a time, they were rung mainly by volunteers from the internment camp at Knockaloe.  Although, during the war, the ringing of church bells was forbidden in Britain except to warn of invasion, there is evidence that the bells of St German were heard in the summer of 1917.  On 18^th November 1918, the Armistice was celebrated with street parades and church services and a relay of volunteers kept the bells ringing all day long.

When the bells were back in place in 1917, Smiths of Derby gave a quote of £87 to replace the clock.  However, when they were requested to come and do the work in April 1918, they replied to the effect that they were short-handed and had to concentrate their efforts on government work and that, when they were in a position to do the work, the cost would have to be re-estimated owing to the great increase in wages and the cost of materials.

This was not good news.  Parishioners were becoming impatient.  They had been paying for continuing building work for 14 years and were still without their church clock;  a lot of working people relied on it, very few of them being able to afford a watch.  In 1921 it was agreed that an estimate from the local clockmaker, Mr Kee, for the replacement of the clock be accepted.  More pertinently, they also agreed to his recommendation that the chimes should be fixed and, therefore, the bells would not be able to swing.  Probably due to his having no experience of towers with full-circle ringing and a chiming clock, he gave a choice of bellringing or a clock, but not both.  By this time, ringing had again ceased as the bell frame, made from unseasoned oak, had started to warp and wedges had been inserted between the frame and the wall – now generally agreed to be a dangerous practice.  The clock was duly installed which involved fixing hammers to strike the outside of the bells, the wheels on the two upper bells were cut away to allow for maintenance of the clock.

And so, the bells and their fittings gradually corroded in the moist Island air and dust and sand blew in to cover everything.  The jackdaws also added to the mess with their nest-building in the louvres.

This situation continued, with the addition of an Ellacombe Frame so that wedding bells and service ringing were possible until 1997.  A rope was attached to one bell for use as a tolling bell, accessible from the porch.

Enquiries were made in the early 1980s and again in 1992 to see whether the re-hanging of the bells for full-circle ringing was feasible.  Although estimates were obtained, no action was taken mainly due to lack of money.

And then, along came Sam Ferris ……………

2.         A DECADE OF BELLRINGING

Yes – along came Sam Ferris.

Sam had started learning full-circle ringing in 1992.  He had been living in Peel so, of course, was aware that there were bells in the tower and that they were classed as unringable (i.e., couldn’t be rung full-circle).  Through his contact with other ringers on the mainland he had heard about bell restoration projects in other places and, in 1993, spoke to Canon Kelly and learned of the estimates already received.  He then approached the Bishop, the Right Reverend Noel Jones, who liked the idea of having bells in his Cathedral but was adamant that the Church could not provide any money as other work was more pressing.  He suggested that Sam should see how much interest there would be in the proposal.

Enquiries showed that there were several ringers on the Island, unknown to each other, and, eventually, in January 1996 an informal meeting was arranged to discuss the possibility of restoration.  The meeting was attended by ten people of whom seven were ringers.  All were enthusiastic as were the Friends of the Cathedral.  It was realised that small-scale fundraising over a number of years would not be a good idea as people would probably lose interest long before sufficient money was raised.  So it was decided to set up a Charitable Trust, which might attract some large donations and might also be eligible for grants.  After much time and effort searching for the right people to be trustees, The Manx Church Bells Restoration Trust was formed in August 1996 under the patronage of the then Lieutenant Governor Sir Timothy Daunt.  Although the interval between the idea of restoration and the forming of the trust had been over three years, after that things started to move more quickly.

The Trustees had several meetings and it was decided to treat the bell restoration as a Millennium Project.  In order to have a band of ringers trained for January 2000 the old bells would have to be removed by October 1998 and the new ring installed by April 1999 at the latest.  A scheme called “Ringing in 2000” meant that towers all over Britain were aiming to restore old bells or install new ones, so there was a lot of competition for a slot in the Bell Founders’ schedules.

Estimates were obtained and the one from Taylor’s of Loughborough was deemed the better bet.  In order to qualify for Zero VAT the order would have to be placed by 30^th September 1996.  At the time, the Trust had £169 in the bank.  The trustees took a leap of faith and placed a provisional order, one of the Trustees making a loan of £1000 for the deposit.

It was decided to have a concentrated publicity campaign leading up to a public meeting.  Press releases were sent to the local papers and Manx Radio, invitations were sent to individuals and organisations, posters were displayed and leaflets delivered around Peel.  The mainstay of fundraising was a brochure with illustrations, a brief history and a “shopping list” giving costs for the bells, frames and fittings.  For example, a bell rope with sally was £67 and the Tenor Bell would cost £3,584.  Six clock hammers to provide the Cambridge chimes would be £3,588.  The overall estimated cost was given as £55,262.

Donations were invited both in cash and kind as the cost of £55,000 odd did not include transport and building materials or extra labour.  There was also a suggestion that some may like to hold fund-raising events. 

A public meeting was held in this Cathedral on 19^th February 1997, a wild and stormy night which reminded some that the roof had come off 96 years previously, almost to the day!  However, about 60 people turned up for a visual presentation, using a computer and a large screen, together with a display of photographs and plans.  After this meeting financial institutions, firms and individuals were approached by letter, telephone and visits with the brochure as a selling point.  Grants were promised from the Manifold Trust and the Lancashire Association of Church Bell Ringers.  The Isle of Man Government contributed a substantial sum, considering the bells to be a Millennium project for the whole Island.

Gradually, money started to come in and by mid-March 1997 there was £11,000 in the kitty.  41% of the money came from individuals – there were some very large donations but many consisted of a £5 note thrust into the hand of the Vicar.

By the end of June 1997 the fund held £39,000 with a further £11,000 promised and donors had come forward for all eight bells.  This meant that the provisional order to Taylor’s could be confirmed.  It had been decided by the Vicar & Wardens that they would prefer to have the original bells melted down and recast rather and Taylor’s agreed to this proposal.  A deposit of £15,500 was paid and the foundry gave a date for casting as 9^th October 1997 and would send a bell hanger to remove the bells on 29-30 September.

This sounds simple when you say it quickly, but a lot of preparatory work was needed before the bell hanger arrived.  Insurance had to be arranged and a schedule of works drawn up – and, not least, volunteers to help with the labour were required.  In mid-September temporary ladders and new lighting were installed and the clock was removed and put into storage.  RSJs were installed at the top of the tower to provide a lifting point and the trap doors were enlarged.  On 29^th of September 1997, Taylor’s bell hanger, Rod Walker, assisted by volunteers, removed the bells from the tower.  The transport from Peel to Loughborough and back was given free of charge by several local companies.

There was still much to be done.  While the bells were out of the tower a local builder, again assisted by volunteers, carried out the various works needed to prepare the tower to receive the new frame and bells.

This included removal of floorboards, old wheels and clappers and a large quantity of rubbish including birds’ nests.  The floors were re-installed at a different level to facilitate hanging the bells lower in the tower.  New trap doors and ladders were fitted as well as a handrail at the top of the spiral staircase.  Sam, of course, was in the thick of it all.

The new bells were cast on 9^th October 1997 and a party of 14 people from the Island flew to Birmingham and went to the foundry to witness the event.  During the casting, the names of both the original and the new donors were cast on opposite sides of each bell.  A saint’s name was added to each bell and the date of casting was recorded on the Tenor.  During the following weeks the new bells would be finished, tuned and polished.  The new ring would be slightly heavier with the Tenor weighing 9 ½ cwt.

On 1^st February 1998 the new bells with their frame and fittings came home and were lined up outside the Cathedral to be photographed.  They were then taken inside and placed in a row in front of the font. (I believe there was some concern as to whether the floor would take the weight of nearly 2 tons of bell metal – but, thankfully, it did.  They built well in the 1880s!). At the Service of Blessing on 3^rd February Bishop Noel blessed and anointed each bell and named it after a Celtic saint.  All but one of the donors were present and there was a large congregation.

Rod Walker, the bell hanger, had already installed the frame in the tower and the day after the service of blessing, again with the help of the unflagging volunteers, he began moving the bells up into the frame.  His job was completed by Thursday 12^th February and, ten years ago today, a test ring was held to check that all was in order before his departure.  (This ringing apparently stopped a rugby match as the players were so surprised to hear the bells!).  That evening there was an opportunity for ringers and non-ringers alike to go up to the ringing room and try the bells.  (I know, ‘cos I was there!)  The following Sunday, 15^th February ringing for morning service took place for the first time in over 80 years.  This was only a year after fund-raising was begun, a truly wonderful achievement.  By the end of 1998 the fund had reached £93,000, more than enough to cover the extra costs involved in the re-ordering of the tower and the installation of a state-of-the-art electric clock. 

In August 1998, a Service of Dedication was held and when the Bishop commanded “Let all the bells ring out!”, eight very nervous new ringers (with minders) pulled off and rounds were heard.  Very ragged rounds, I might add;  I, for one, had only had four lessons.  All these ringers were chosen because they lived in or near Peel.  After the service there was open ringing for the more experienced Island ringers and the many visiting ringers.  (And, by the way, there will be open ringing tonight after this service.) 

Eventually, in addition to the installation of the new clock, wood panelling and seating were fitted around the ringing room, blinds were hung at the windows and the ringing room was carpeted.

As soon as the bells were in place, training began.  By common consent, Sam Ferris was appointed the first Tower Captain.  10 people had expressed an interest in learning and, with the help of the resident experienced ringers and visitors from across, training continued apace.  In late March 1998, Jeff Kershaw and Helen Rigby from the Lancashire Association visited Peel at their own expense to train ringers and teach beginners.  this was very useful and helped the experienced ringers who would be teaching bell handling.  Most of the teaching was done by Geoff and Mary Riglar assisted by Sam Ferris, Trudy Haddouche, and Teri Monks.  Some stays had to be replaced with alarming regularity!  However, steady progress was made and we, and St George’s in Douglas, have continued to enjoy a hobby that is also an English tradition handed on through the generations.

As the last ten years have passed we have reached some milestones:

On Easter Saturday, 11^th April 1998 the bells were rung for their first wedding.

On 19^th June 1999 the first quarter peal was rung by a mixture of Island and visiting ringers.

On 1^st January 2000 16 ringers rang in the Millennium – 2 years and 11 months since the start of fund-raising.

The first full Peal was on the “ back six”, 5040 changes of Plain Bob Minor, rung on 7^th July 2001, to celebrate Tynwald Week and in thanks to Geoff and Mary Riglar wishing them well as they moved away from the Island.

The first full Peal on all eight bells was 5040 changes of Plain Bob Triples, rung on 25^th April 2004 celebrating the installation the previous January of Bishop Graeme Knowles.  Seven members of this band were Island residents, only the conductor was a visitor.  4 were ringing their first peal and one ringing her first peal inside.

Over the past decade some ringers have left and new ones have arrived.  Many more weddings have been celebrated, and quite a few Quarter Peals have been rung.  Practices and Sunday service ringing continues – we rarely have to cancel.

We owe a debt of gratitude to many people:  the trustees of the Manx Church Bells Restoration Trust who set the ball rolling, those who responded so magnificently to the initial fundraising appeal, the volunteers who provided practical help preparing the tower and transporting the bells to and from the Island, the people who took on the task of teaching new ringers.  Most of all we thank Sam Ferris without whose enthusiasm and physical hard work the re-casting of the bells would never have happened.  We are sorry ill health prevents him from being here tonight.  But his name is often mentioned and we hope that Janet will carry our good wishes back to him.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has come here tonight to join our celebration of 10 years of bell ringing at St German’s and to those who couldn’t attend but who have sent their good wishes.

M I Warrilow (Tower Captain)

February 2008

Before this service a Quarter Peal of Plain Bob Major was rung in 48 minutes and dedicated to the occasion.