Although not properly finished, we were able to ring bells 1 – 4 and 6 to call changes before the Mothering Sunday service
On Wednesday, 18 March Chris Cozens arrived with his full tool kits and the repaired clapper for bell 5 and the new under frame cross braces for bell 6.
Volunteers moved the kit up the tower. Chris with help then fitted the clapper and braces. Each bell in turn was then adjusted to get the clock chime hammers in the optimal positions to give the best sound.
Each bell was then rung up to check that the clappers were correctly centralised and that there was adequate movement of the sliders for the bells to set readily mouth upwards.
Work then moved down to the clock chamber where the 5m lengths of timber were assembled into ”flapboards” with hoops to guide the ropes (or stop them flapping!) through the 17ft high chamber.
All was ready for the bells to be tried out on our first home Wednesday evening practice night in 2026. The new ropes were still a bit springy and will take a bit of getting used to for a while. We anticipate that all the new bits will soon get run in and will settle down for a long life!
A final clean up and touching up of the paintwork remains to be completed and repair of the cctv which unfortunately stopped working just before this phase of work started.
Look out for details of Badby Bells & BBQ on the afternoon of Sunday, 28 June.