Trevenson bells ring again
A set of eight tubular bells, that have lain dormant for decades, will ring
again to celebrate Trevenson Church’s Bicentennial Harvest Festival.
Church council minutes record the
anonymous gift of the bells in October 1938.We now know that they came from
the Church of the Good Shepherd in Portreath, which had recently closed. By March 1939 it was recorded that the bells were ‘practically installed and the work would be finished soon after Easter.’
Older members of the congregation recall the hymn ‘We love the place, O Lord’ frequently being played on them. They continued to be rung until the early 1950’s, but then fell into disuse. In more recent years the tubes and ringing mechanism have languished, damaged and neglected, in a corner of the tower.
The striking mechanism was expertly
refurbished by John Christian. The task of
completing the installation and making it all
work fell to Bob Lee, who regularly does
carpentry work for us, ably assisted by his
son James. It was no easy task, since there
are no drawings or photographs of the
original installation. As Mike Kippax
commented, “It’s a bit like working with a big boys’ Meccano set.”
Right: Bob and James Lee make a final
inspection of their work.
