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New Bells

The Parish and Priory Church of St Andrew
NEW BELLS ARRIVE IN SWAVESEY

On Wednesday 23rd February, a cold bright morning, about fifteen people gathered at the Church, not to view the latest traffic calming improvements or even to watch the plastic recycling lorry collect another load but to welcome the arrival of two new bells to the village. The last occasion when bells came to Swavesey was in 1755, two hundred and fifty years ago.

The arrival of the truck brought the two new bells, four pieces of bell frames, a steel girder, two bell wheels, two clappers and lifting tackle & bell hanger's tooling. All were unloaded into the church with the great help of Robert Smart and his forklift tractor.

The tools and lifting gear were raised up inside the tower by the use of a pulley block hoist. The lifting gear was then attached to the old tower roof beams and the second bell was lifted out of the frame to give a clear path to bring the steel joist up to the bell chamber, eighty feet above the ground.

Two holes in the tower wall had been made the previous week by Paul Hendry to allow the 17½ foot RSJ to be placed into position to support the new frame pieces on which the bells will be hung. The holes are to be filled with concrete to attach each side of the tower wall to the beam and so increase the strength of the tower.

A short late lunch was taken as four classes from the primary school visited to see, hear and strike the new bells. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for these children and many sensible questions were asked, such as; How heavy the bells were? How they would get up the tower? and How far it was up the tower? Several other visitors came during the day to view the bells.

The next parts to be lifted to the bell chamber were the four frame sides, which are used to support the bells. These are fabricated from steel and each section has to be precisely located to ensure the rectangle enclosure (called a pit) it is forming is exactly parallel, untwisted and is accurately level with the opposite piece. Once located, holes had to be drilled so that the frame pieces could be bolted to the RSJ beam and rechecked to ensure correct alignment.

Of the original six bells, the two smallest bells were moved from their spaces to the two new pits. This is to allow the bell ropes to fall in a circle with the bells being rung in order. Despite the two not having been moved from their pits for seventy years, once the bolts were undone they lifted easily. The bells were then located in the new pits to ensure the best ringing circle was achieved. This involved several attempts and careful measuring of the distance to the other bell ropes. The bell bearings were then securely bolted to the frame sections.

The two new bells were raised slowly up the tower on Thursday afternoon and placed into their positions. This was done by a manual hoist and took over an hour to complete.

Further work is still to be undertaken such as the installation of the bell wheels, ropes and clappers; also holes need to be cut to allow the new ropes to drop to the ground floor. The concrete fixing the beam has to harden which will take about three weeks.

We hope to be able to ring the original six bells for Easter Day services. All eight bells will not be heard until the special service on Sunday 17th April at 3:30pm when the Bishop of Ely will dedicate the new bells and they will ring out for the first time across the village.

Please do come along to the Dedication Service, which will be followed by a traditional Ringers Tea.

For further information and to have a go at ringing, please contact Andrew Stevens, telephone: 231433 or email: steeplekeeper@elyda.org

Background information on the new bells.

Bell Hangers
Whites of Appleton, Oxfordshire. The oldest bell hanging company in England.

Bell Founders
Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London. The oldest manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. They have been casting bells since at least 1420 and have been in their present works since 1570 in the heart of London. 

The new Treble Bell
The bell weighs approximately 4cwt-2qrs-14lbs (approximately 235Kgs) and has a mouth diameter of 2' 3" (686 mm). It bears the following inscription:

Front side:

TO CELEBRATE
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF
H.M. QUEEN ELIZABETH II 

Rear side:

WHITES OF APPLETON
CHURCH BELL HANGERS

JOHN-DAVID YULE   VICAR
KEITH LOFTS  ANDREW STEVENS   CHURCHWARDENS 

2004
WHITECHAPEL

The new Second Bell

The bell weighs approximately 4cwt-3qrs-14lbs (approximately 248Kgs) and has a mouth diameter of 2' 4" (711 mm). It bears the following inscription:

Front side:

THE MITHAM BELL
IN THANKSGIVING
FOR OVER 250 YEARS RINGING
IN THIS TOWER BY
THE MITHAM FAMILY 

Rear side:

WHITES OF APPLETON
CHURCH BELL HANGERS 

JOHN SHEPPERSON, BENEFACTOR 2004 

2004
WHITECHAPEL

BORED TEENAGERS WHAT CAN WE DO?

There is a problem in the village with groups of youngsters "hanging around" in the evenings and Swavesey is not alone in this. We can however try to see if we as a community can work together to try and solve it or at least decrease it.

How?

What these youngsters need is a place where they can meet which is warm dry and has basic facilities. So we have a Youth Centre at the college but we do not have any leaders so this is one way in which we can try to help. If you have time to spare and would like to get involved then look out for advertisements in this magazine and the local press and apply.

Parish Councillors, the Area Youth Leader, the Principal at the Village College and other people have discussed what can be done to provide evening facilities but this also needs the input of teenagers themselves and their parents. 

Where could such a club or youth centre be based ?
What activities would you like to see take place there ?
When would you like it to be open ?
Would you make use of a mobile youth centre ?

There is also a local project the "Connections Bus" which is a mobile Youth Club with internet facilities and visits villages for 2 hours in the evening. The times are 4,30pm - 6.30pm and 7pm - 9pm. We have been offered one evening but the 4.30pm time slot which is not the best, but if you or your teenagers think it could work then let us know. The cost is £50 per session and the bus needs to be able to connect up with an electricity supply so where do we put it? .  For more information on this please see their website: www.connectionsbusproject.org.uk

Do you feel the Youth Centre could be used more in the evenings? Again get in touch, do you have any other ideas for premises, some youngsters do not want to "go back to school" in their free time so is the answer to have somewhere else for them. Would an internet café be a good idea?

There has to be an adult "presence" during any sessions that are run but it is a legal requirement. However this presence could be fairly "low key" and not necessarily involve the adult in doing anything other than being there. Sometimes our young people just want to be able to relax and have a laugh with their friends and do not want to be "organised"

We really need you come forward with your ideas and offers of help, and even though we know the young people do not read this magazine (definitely uncool!) we would like their ideas as well. There is support and possible funding; to help set up and run something; from the Parish Council and other bodies but we have to organise ourselves- look at the Play Area committee as an example.

In order for something to be provided it needs the support of those who would use it and their parents.  If you would be interested in being involved in trying to set up and run young people's activities within the village, then please contact editor@swavesey.org.uk

Teenagers may not be cute but they need somewhere to "play" just as much as the little ones.    

Mayfest 2005

The Fifth Annual Swavesey Mayfest will take place over the May Bank Holiday week-end, April 29th & 30th, May 1st & 2nd.

The Beer festival at the White Horse will commence on the evening of Friday April 29th, where, as in previous years there will be a selection of 25 Ales on tap. The Ale House will be open for business through-out the week-end, though please note 24 hour drinking will not be with us yet (and probably never in most parts of the Country!!) Remember drink sensibly and responsibly.

The entertainment will also start this evening when we are proud to have Steve Lockwood & Chris Newman to open the musical proceedings. For those who have never seen them before, this is your chance to see & hear two of the best musicians the county has to offer.

At the time of going to press we are currently negotiating with other acts for performances on the Saturday and Sunday, please see local ads for details, we can confirm however that the main act on Sunday 1st will be "Syncaphew", a good-time party band who can play a bit & will no doubt put on a good show.

Please see programmes for full details of the week-end's events. Any offers of help will be greatfully received, volunteers please contact either Will, Pat or Martin MacDonald.

Miss Lilian Brand

Miss Lilian Brand came to Longstanton with her family in 1936 and found  work at Chivers in Histon.But when her father took over the shop close to the Over road there was enough work at home for her and her elder brother.Lilian worked in the business until  it was sold in 1969,but during this time she helped care for her parents who had become frail through age and illness.Lilian's last place of employment was at Addenbrookes Hospital where she worked in the Artificial Limb department,and there are people around today who she helped to get mobile again.She retired in 1982 and this gave her more time to spend with family and to expand her interest in other things,especially in flower arrangeing.

    Because of Lilian's death the Bethel Baptist Church have lost a much loved and respected member.She joined the Church soon after arriving in Longstanton and became an active member of the Young Peoples Fellowship,but it was not long before her talent at the organ began to be made use of and by the early 1950's she was recognised as the official organist,a position she retained for over forty years.Lilian became a byword for her reliability,puncuality and her desire to do things properly.She displayed grace and humour as in later years she began to encourage others to play, realising that one day she would no longer be able to.

    In the mid 1970's Lilian was one of the first women to be elected to serve on the deaconate,which she did for a number of years,also maintaining her rolls on the Catering Committee,in the Women's Meeting and in flower arrangeing.

    Her later years were marred by illness which she bore with stoicism and grace,never losing the twinkle in her eye and the smile that has meant so much to so many over the years.With her passing a life of service to God and others has ended.