Fifteen ringers, including one visitor from Hertfordshire, climbed the Victoria Tower in Chatham on Saturday 15th June for what could have been the last ring on the bells before they are relocated elsewhere.
The practice didn’t begin quite as planned, during the process of getting the bells up there were some sounds heard from the 4th that required investigation. After re-adjustment of the old clock hammer by Tim Wraight and turning the clapper over on the 7th that had gone up wrong even with 2 people on it, everything was ready for us to get started.
Despite the poor lighting conditions we managed a nice variety of ringing including plain hunting, Grandsire and Stedman Triples, Plain Bob Major and half a course of Yorkshire Surprise Major. Although not the easiest bells in the world to ring, they so sound great and in a way it will be sad to lose them if they do go as expected. It is, however, in the best interest of the bells for them to be moved to a tower where they can be rung regularly.
A couple of pictures and a video from the practice are below. Watch this space for any news on the bells over the coming weeks and months.
Note: if the video isn’t showing above, you may need an updated version of Adobe Flash Player which you can get here.