Mirfield parishioners and bell ringers travelled over 80 miles earlier this month to watch the re-casting of St Mary’s six smallest Church bells at the John Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough.
The group of 25, led by the Revd Hugh Baker, Vicar of St Mary’s Church, watched the process from the viewing platform in the Foundry as the metal costing £10,000 per ton was cast and moulded by Taylor’s employees.
The image on the left shows St Mary's bells with Ruth Edwards, Church Warden, and Ian Ackroyd, Bell captain.
Chris Breare, Lay Chair of the Mirfield Team Parish PCC who joined the group on the trip, says, “The procedure was awe-inspiring!"
During the process, the bells’ castings were buried beneath the sand inside the Foundry and only the entry point for the metal was visible.
The bell metal was heated in a furnace and then transferred into a crucible before being poured into the casing for each bell.
Chris says, “We witnessed the red glow of the molten metal in the furnace - it was incredible!
"As the crucible was poised in front of the first bell, Revd Hugh blessed the process, the bells and all the people that they will call to worship when they will ring out in Mirfield again.”
The bells were left for two days to cool before metal was scraped from the inside of the bells until they were all in tune after both manual and electronic checks.
Chris explains, “The first bell, the treble, will be called Uncle John in dedication to Ruth [Edwards, the Church Warden]’s brother.”
John Crossland’s family donated £10,000 to St Mary’s for the re-casting of one of the Church’s bells.
Chris continues, “The other bells have dedications to the bell ringers, the Yorkshire Association of Bell Ringers, the Vicar Churchwardens and the Bell Captain.”
The bells were initially taken from St Mary’s tower and transported to Taylor’s Foundry in October but it is hoped they will be back in place before Easter.
Chris mentions, “We hope to receive the bells back at St Mary’s on Friday March 4th 2016 and have an open Church on Saturday 5th March 2016 so that all are welcome to view them before they are hoisted back into the Tower the following week.
“It will be a joyful Easter as the bells ring out again!
“We are always open to welcome new bell ringers.”
A lot of work has already been done to restore St Mary’s bell tower and the topping out of the work was marked as Revd Hugh and Barry Firth, Maysand’s site manager, placed a weather vane on one of the Tower’s landmark pinnacles.
Revd Hugh Baker, Vicar of St Mary’s Church, says, “The whole process of making the tower safe and refurbishing the bells at Mirfield has been a very exciting time.
“It’s not every day you get the chance to meet a gargoyle face to face 180 feet up on the outside of the Tower or weave and scramble through the bell frame to help lower ten bells to the floor a dizzying distance below.”
Revd Hugh continues, “Once the bells are returned they will take their accustomed place alongside the congregation in calling the people of Mirfield to worship and carrying God's blessing to them.
“They will do so the more sweetly for their time away. My thanks go to everyone who has made this project possible.”
Mirfield Town Council also provided St Mary’s with a grant to re-gild the face of the church clock, saving costs in the long run as the expensive scaffolding will not have to be paid for a second time.
It became obvious that the Church needed work after large chunks of masonry began falling at random from the Tower, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
After 144 years, the Mirfield bells were rung for the final time on Easter Day in 2015 by the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers who recorded the performance so a comparison can be made with the new bells in place.
The Tower restoration has been partly funded by a grant of £181,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £10,000 from the National Churches Trust, while the bell ringers raised £80,000 by running Saturday cafés and other events and Revd Hugh took part in the Great North Run to raise more funds.