Work began in the bell tower on the 18th August 2014. The first job was to do a big clean up and the afternoon was spent with several trips to the rubbish tip. The next day was spent getting together the equipment required to start on the bell frame. All the dried on oil and grease needed to be removed from all six frames before being painted with a rust preventative. There was also the top oak frame which needed to be treated with a wood preserver.
Painting the frames with blue Hammerite paint finally started on the 4th September. All in all a very dirty job from start to finish.
Work has now begun on fitting a soundproof floor between the existing floor and the bell frame and also a new oak floor above the bells.
Finally on Friday May 15th 2015 the walls of the ringing chamber had the last of four coats. This has seemed a never ending job so our two volunteers who took on the task are hugely relieved. Work is now almost complete. A new aluminium ladder from the ringing chamber to the bell chamber will be purchased to replace the old wooden one which has been deemed unsafe.
The pictures below show the bell frame before and after along with some of the volunteers.