The bells leave the church

Bell Restoration Project

Friday 22nd March, mid-day. As soon as the last of the school children had left the church the team raced into action to set the church to order and get the bells on their way.

First came the not inconsiderable task of getting the bells out of the church. It turns out that moving half of a ton of metal work around the church on a pallet truck was peanuts compared with pushing the same metal work up the ramp designed to get it out of the church. Patrick McClaughry and Kit Bardsley worked nobly with the first five bells, but the tenor needed a bit more effort and we were glad to have Owen Borlase and Andrew Worth around to provide a little extra help.

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No sooner had we got all six bells out of the church and lined up on the path to the lychgate than Chris and John Facey arrived with their tele-lifter to get the bells over the coffin stone and out onto the road. With consummate skill everyone worked together to get all the bells through the lychgate.

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Chris Facey then placed each bell into the Cyril Worth and Son lorry and gently nudged them into the positions where Andrew Worth wanted them. It was real team work, even the photographer from the East Cornwall Times arrived in time to capture the key moments. Before long all the bells were in the lorry and it was time to load the wheels, clappers, stays, sliders and all the other odds and ends associated with bells.

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