Andrew Nicholson & Martin Lloyd Arrive to commence
removal of the bells. |
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| View of the tap door through which the bells will finally
reach the floor of the church. |
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| Sequence of shots covers the lowering of the final bell |
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| I was so surprised on my arrival at the Church to see that
bells had already been lowered through three floors to the central tower. |
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| This poster caught my eye as I left the Church.
It brought back the following memory. |
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| On returning home to Burton Mill one day last summer, I
was so thrilled, albeit very concerned, at seeing a bat on the ground
outside our garage door near the entrance to the Mill. As you can see,
this very brave little creature was definitely prepared to defend itself.
I encouraged it towards the wall of the Mill and it was very difficult
for the bat to cover the ground. It just had to scrabble its way along. |
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| Yes, it did 'make it' and in no time at all it had scaled
the wall, set itself up and away it went. The contrast between the helplessness
on the ground and its fantastic command of the air was really something
to behold. It was one of those magic moments in life that just happens
out of the blue and leaves you with a treasure memory. |
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| Two bells had already been moved up the aisle and 'parked'
close by the Font awaiting their turn to be wheeled out of the Church. |
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| Wednesday: 12th January 1994. It was 1.00 pm
when I arrived at St Mary's Church and all but one of the remaining bells
had been lowered. This is the sight that greeted me in the North Porch. |
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| Mrs. Sue McDougal with two of the bells. Shortly after this
snap was taken she very kindly invited me into the Rectory for a cup of
tea to warm me up. It was a pretty dreary, chill day and I had got thoroughly
cold. Such a very kind thought and a most welcome treat. "Thank you!"
Sue. |
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| Easy does it - Andrew carefully manoeuvre the first bell
to the gateway. |
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| Mr. David Powell, Headteacheer of Burton Bradstock Primary
School captures a photograph of both the historic bells and some of his
pupils. |
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| This, as you can see, is a very tricky operation because
the jib of the hydraulic hoist has to pass beneath the metal arch. |
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| Up, up and away |
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| This gentleman should feel very proud of his skill and effort. |
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Friday: 4th March 1994 - WELCOME HOME
Mr. Harold Percy kindly advised me that the church bells would be returning
'home' to-day during the late afternoon. Rather like the day they left
for their refurbishment it was again a dull, chill and dreary day with
poor light in the afternoon so bear with me with the following rather
murky snaps. I arrived at St. Mary's Church just after 5.00 pm and I could
hardly believe what I was seeing. There, in the distance, sat five splendid
bells awaiting their return to the Bell Tower. They looked simply magnificent.
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| Andrew and his helpmate tackle the tricky task
of wheeling one of the bells back into the church. |
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| "Goodnight Bells - I will pay you another visit in
the morning". |
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| All is peaceful as I leave the confines of the church to
head for home. |
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