Dust and stone debris on bell wheels
  • Alison Hodge
    151
    While checking a couple of towers when we were planning to start ringing after the Covid restrictions were relaxed, we noticed that a surprising amount of stone dust and debris had collected on the top arcs of the bell wheels. We brushed this off before ringing to prevent it working into the ropes.

    Has this been noticed elsewhere?

    The spiders have also been very busy but i am sure that they have had a great 18months undisturbed in many towers!
    Alison Hodge Options
  • Paul Tucker
    4
    My routine check list for the tower at St Tudy in Cornwall does not include looking at the top of the wheels for debris so I will add it to the list. My first thought was that as soon as the bell is rung debris would fall off. However, during the winter when the tower is damp, debris could stick to the top of the wheel.
    Paul Tucker, St Tudy, Cornwall
    Paul Tucker Options
  • John Harrison
    511
    ↪Alison Hodge
    it will depend on the tower. Whatever normally accumulates in the bell chamber will settle on any surface undisturbed for a long time. In our case it's blown dust and pigeon down but we have a wooden roof above the bells. If there was a sandstone spire above then stone dust would be in the mix.
    John Harrison Options
  • Samuel Nankervis
    23
    Dust does come off the walls, and settles on the bell frame too. This dust can then attract moisture when it's damp, which isn't good, so a general dust/clean off once/yr. could be beneficial.
    Samuel Nankervis Options
  • John de Overa
    568
    Our spire is empty above the bells and the wind tends to spiral inside and dislodge anything loose from the stonework. Before the rehang we had literally inches of stone dust and dirt on the floor under the bells. Apart from the damp it traps, it can also get inside pulley bearings - our old ones were rubbish anyway, but where destroyed by grit ingress. About every 6 months or so I vacuum all of it up.
    John de Overa Options
  • Susan Hall
    22
    Our sandstone broach spire rises directly above the bells. During lockdown spiders made webs over the bells and fittings, which caught the falling stone dust. We use a vacuum cleaner to remove the stone dust and webs (to avoid sweeping and causing dust clouds). We also 'sweep' the stone stairs by vacuuming.
    Susan Hall Options
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