Ranmoor Ringers - News - Work in the Tower 2001/4

2001 - 2004
Work in the Tower

During the past year or so various non-ringing related work has gone on up the tower, but the bells have kept going through the difficulties.

2001-2002: Sound control and safety work.

This work was undertaken in the belfry to provide a hand rail above the bells, and improve sound control by replacing the old shuttering with adjustable ones, and included a sliding door to replace the trapdoor that had to be lowered using your head.

	New hand rails (black) above frame
	New shutters as sound-proofing

2003-2004: Mobile phone aerials installed above the bells

The bells have kept going through the difficulties, despite the obstacles found when turning up to ring on several occasions.

	Initial Mess, as holes were about to be drilled for the aerial cables, showing original panelling
	Initial Mess2
	Scaffolding in place for work on the mobile phone aerials
	The east mobile phone aerial
	Aerial cables in ringing chamber, showing new panelling, partially removed for inspection.
	Cables entering the ringing chamber, from the transmitter in the basement, via the church roof-space, after additional brickwork.
	Cables going up above the staircase, through to the bell chamber

2004: The "Opening" windows

Further disturbance ensued when access to the opening windows in the ringing chamber had to be improved as one of the widows fixings corroded away.

	There are 12 windows visible from the outside of the tower (3 on each side), but only 6, originally 8, are visible on the inside. The extra 2 (one each on the east & west sides), the only ones with opening windows, had been fully bricked up many years ago (possibly in 1934) leaving a single brick grilled opening for the windows controlling wires to run. Picture shows the East side with the hidden, opening window in the centre
	The brickwork beginning to be cut away
	The new opening being enlarged
	The Mess yet again. It is likely that the framed Address to Sam Thomas was lost during this time
	The original grilles (visible in the picture above) - the only access through to the opening windows
	The new panel covering the hole