The present installation started life following a visit to Tanfield, County Durham for a practice night in 1997. In the room below the ringing chamber was a set of six brass bells hung from bicycle wheels in a long thin rectangular frame, 3 side by side swinging mouth to mouth with the other 3 side by side. It was the removal of these with Andreas Schrocksnadel (their builder) to a safer place (they were getting in the way) that lead to the planning of a refurbished installation.

In the meantime the old frame was stored in the bedroom of my student house in Newcastle, sat on top a wardrobe. Prior to dismantling they were rung once more, the frame moved to span between two wardrobes and 4 ropes just about accessable to ring. The whole lot wobbled, a lot! The clappering wasn’t quite right either so the resultant double clappering and squeaking wardrobe was definitely unusual! Not to mention what my housemates must’ve thought of the amusement and sounds eminating from my room!

With everything in bits we planned their resurrection. I moved house (to a flat this time) and still everything was in bits. A test frame was constructed and a single balsa wood wheel made with cardboard disks as shrouding. One of the brass bells was hung straight from threaded bar off this and the wheel attached. A clapper was made from acrylic and counterbalanced with nuts and remarkably, for a prototype, it worked well.

Five more balsa wood wheels were constructed but the sole and shrouding were never finished. Ideas for the frame came about having seen one of Matthew Higby’s early mini-rings on loan to Michael Williams in his student house in Durham. A design for a radial frame was hatched. It was initially constructed in my parents garage in Somerset over the summer holiday of 1998, but was very flimsy. It needed a solid base instead of 6 spokes on which the uprights sat. But that was where things ended for a while as Finals and Glandular Fever got in the way.

Having graduated in 1999, got a job and moved into another shared house, thoughts were put into finishing the frame. The weak frame was retrieved from Somerset and went north on the A1 along with a solid base in the form of an inch think 1 metre square board of MDF. Construction of this radial frame was slow but steady and eventually by summer 2000 it was finished. A square base with 6 uprights on top of which sitting cross pieces for the bearings to sit on.

Headstocks were constructed at North Shields Grinding using box section and threaded bar as gudgeons during summer 2000. The ball bearings were purchased from Heaton Bearings and slipped onto the gudgeons, held in place by self locking nuts. The benefit of threaded gudgeons being the adjustability of the pit width.

With the frame and headstocks finished I turned my thoughts to clappers. It was at this time I realised how small the brass bells were, largest 3inch diameter and about 7oz in weight! Although hung as a ring of 6 they really formed a diatonic 5 with a sharp 3rd (or was it flat 3rd?).

Following pricing up of some larger alternatives it was decided perhaps flower pots would be a more suitable sized but a cheaper temporary alternative. The clappering would be a lot less fiddly and the existing fittings would be easily adaptable.

A move of jobs in January 2001 and back to Somerset meant moving the whole lot back down the country. A slight rehash of the wheels followed, the original balsa wood ones being too narrow and then the soling was put on 2 of the widened balsa wood wheels and 2 wooden spoked wheels were also made with soles. A 5th disk wheel was also planned and cut out but never put together. Another move of house in June 2001 to Cam, Gloucestershire meant packing everything up again. But whilst there, a good selection of pots was acquired from Garden Centres.

The basis of the present "ring" being 1,2 and 4 which are from Peter Barratts in Killingworth, T&W, made in Italy and 3,5 and 6 being from Wyevale, Milbury Heath and Highfield, Whitminster, Gloucestershire, made in Germany. You do get funny looks from other customers picking up each pot in turn and tapping it for its note!

A final move to Berkekley in December 2001 and the construction of a shed in February 2002 meant that I had a workshop and a home for the whole installation, although still in bits!

The pulling together of all the parts and construction in the beginning of 2002 meant the end was potentially in sight. The clappers were finished in June 2002 and comprised of B&Q door knobs as clapper balls and flights (slightly reshaped by turning in a laithe), with threaded bar as the shaft and wooden boxes as the free to swing connection to the staple pin. A no. 5 bolt with 2 self locking nuts to secure it to the crown staple. (The future plan is to replace the wooden boxes with metal alternatives eventually) Counterbalances were made using old lead pipe, primitive but effective!

Pulley boxes were purchased from Mathew Higby in late 2001.

The 4 existing wheels were completed in Summer 2002 with the addition of the shrouding. The design of 5th wheel (being the disk wheel) was slightly rehashed again and an additional 6th wheel planned in a similar style to the spoked wheels. The resultant collection of differing styles of wheel construction were used to demonstrate how effective each design is and it is intended in the future to refurbish the whole installation with the best design.

In the end the balsa wood wheels didn’t turn out any lighter than the others, in fact they were an ounce heavier than the spoked ones, presumeably due to the shrouding disks required to create the strength and rigidity. The spoked wheels also proved how easy it was to built a slight warped wheel, no matter how much care was taken to construct it flat!

A permenant home had been found in the form of the loft hatch over the landing, however the effect of this was that a new frame needed to be constructed. The old radial frame proved too heavy and large for positioning anywhere, although still produced an idea basis for both a test frame in the workshop and a portable frame, if legs are ever made for it. The new frame will be constructed with the intention to provide a suitable rope circle to fall within the constraints of the loft hatch (0.52m x 0.62m) and also narrow enough to be able to fit through the opening. The resultant design is based on the frame consisting of 3 pairs of 2 pots, 2 pairs swinging mouth to mouth roped together with the final pair inserted at right angles between the others roped opposed. The resultant circle should be very good but quite cosy, the widest gaps between ropes probably being approx 30cm.

As a temporary measure and in attempt to actually be able to ring the pots the radial frame was adapted by cutting it in half to fit through the loft trap in May 2003. Once all the fittings were finished then at least they could be rung. The drawback being that all the pullies needed to be in the centre of the frame in order for the ropes to fall down through the loft trap, the result being a rope circle of a very cosy 35cm diameter! The frame is also mounted on a runner so it slides back to gain access through the loft. The first sliding bellframe?

Progress over the Summer of 2003 gathered with pace as the end was in sight and also as Michael Williams had managed to persuade me to agree to an grand opening date (of 15th Nov 2003)! The 5th disk wheel was completed (and proved to be very heavy) and the last wheel was constructed of an "A" shaped spoked design. Fine tuning of the counterweights on the clappers meant that by the weekend of the 26th October after fitting pulley's it was possible for a test ring on 5. This was the light 5 as the sharp 3rd (which was successfully tuned down a semitone using a spare 2nd) was hung on the tenors fittings

Ropes were made using 5mm thick nylon rope and sally’s from woollen pom poms! A prototype was made early in 2003 and fitted on the portable 1 (1lb 13oz in Eflat, a real bell too! To see this one click picture 1 and picture 2). The result is reasonably lightweight and pretty good (if I do say so myself!) however they do resemble bumblebees when in motion (quote from opening ringing!)

19th Oct 2002 - Wheel brackets bought

25th Nov 2002 - All wood bought for new frame and the last wheel.

25th Jan 2003 - Took Photographs of the installation so far

1st Feb 2003 - Wheel brackets fitted to headstocks. Long clapper staples constructed

3rd Feb 2003 - Initial investigations into attaching weights to clapper staples.

16th Feb 2003 - Wheel and extra weight attatched to 5th headstock, pulley fitted to test frame and rung with rope for first time. :o)

19th Feb 2003 - Wheels attatched to headstocks of treble, 2nd and 4th

1st Mar 2003 - Extra weights made and attached to treble, second and 4th

8th Mar 2003 - Clappers remade and all 6 counterweights added

May 2003 - Radial frame dismantled, the base sawn in half and transferred from shed to the loft.

Sept 2003 - All metal fittings painted and frame heightened by 2 inches

18th Oct 2003 - Wheels painted and tenor wheel finished

23rd Oct 2003 - The spare 2nd (in E) pot tuned down to Eb to become the #3rd and therefore temporarily form a major 5.

25th/26th Oct 2003 - Pots 1,2,#3,4 & 5 assembled and hung in frame (The #3rd hung on the tenor's fittings). Pulley's attached, rope holes drilled and ropes fitted. The first ringing and Try out of the pots was at 5:30pm.

1st/2nd Nov 2003 - Started on the last wheel for the 3rd. The tenor pot replaced the #3rd on its own headstock. Ringing on 1,2,4,5 on 2/11. Started making sally's for ropes. 3 completed

8th/9th Nov 2003 - Extra weight added to tenor wheel and counterbalance to make tenor clapper correctly. The last wheel for the 3rd was finished and assembled. Test ring of 4,5and 6 all together by me! The runners for the frame were also fitted.

10th Nov 2003 - Assembled 3rd and test rung "on the wheel". Took photo's of whole installation.

12th Nov 2003 - The last sally finished. All pulley's re-drilled and re-alligned

13th Nov 2003 - The weight was added to 3rd staple, garter hole drilled and pulley fitted.

14th Nov 2003 - The rope bosses were attached and all ropes fitted.