Report from Paul, 14 March 2026: “Martin from Nicholasons has been working solidly in the tower for the last nine days. He thought the bell chamber was in generally good condition and spent four days grinding old paint of the frame (see the wire brush!), cleaning all the dust from under the carpets and the carpets themselves. Martin has removed nine bags of rubbish, mostly dust, paint flakes, rust, bricks and bits of wood and old wiring and general detritus! The bell chamber and ringing chamber are quite clean and I am impressed with the work done to date. The final article will look wonderful!
He has spent several days applying a zinc-based primer paint to the frame and headstocks. The wheels will get a coat of lignum-based preservative, apparently bat friendly. (I pointed out the only bat we’ve got is Bob). The final frame coat will be a lighter grey gloss paint. The new chiming hammers will get a coat of paint too. We need to have a competition to guess how many litres of paint they will finally use!
The clappers, bearings, 11th headstock, tenor stay and two slider bars are in Bridport for refurbishment/replacement/painting as required.
Martin and Chris will be back w/c 23 March to do the final painting and reassembly and also fix the twiddle pin on the 9th. They expect to be there all that week with a couple of days contingency w/c 30 March, so we should be on for our spring clean on Saturday 4 April and first ring on Easter Sunday. The bells are likely to be louder and possibly a little brighter until the clappers new strike points bed in.”
