Augmentation


Our augmentation story, with pictures, is best read from the bottom of the page up.
Plan view of our new thirteen bell peal
Click to see the bells going in


Click to hear our augmented ring of 12



The project has been supported by kind donations from the following bodies:





Bath and Wells Diocesan Association .
of Change Ringers








Our project delivery partners are:

Stephen Adams
SJB Adams and Son
Rhode Farm
Rhode Lane
Bridgwater TA5 2AD


Saturday 17th May 2025.
The final act of our bell augmentation was for project delivery partners Bridgwater Photographic Society (BPS) to present a photographic archive of the whole project to the church as a historic record to be retained indefinitely. The leather bound archive contains significant candid photos taken by BPS members and printed using the best colourfast inks on high quality paper.
Rev. Suse Osmond accepting the photographic archive from Martin Barber (BPS Chairman)

L-R Rev Suse Osmond, Rt Rev Ruth Worsley
 and Brian Gale
Sunday 12th June 2022.  3pm in St Mary's Church was the service of dedication by the Bishop of Taunton Rt Rev Ruth Worsley.  At this service the bells were formally handed over to the church as a finished project. The works began in December 2019 and after delays have finally been completed.


Unexpected Bishop In Ringing Area!

Before the dedication service began Bishop Ruth made a welcome visit to the Monmouth Ringing chamber to see what it was all about.  Not being one to miss an opportunity Tower Tutor Richard Lee managed to get the Bishop on a tail end for a brief ring.  The instruction of ......'..hands up, hands down, thumbs towards the floor....'.. had almost the whole room recounting it in their heads.  Bishop Ruth was a good sport and joined in the fun of the event.



Friday 10th June 2022.  Margaret Lee, Tower Captain and Richard Lee present a cheque to project delivery partners Peter and Candie from The Old Vicarage Hotel, St Mary's Street.  This is a contribution towards a joint secure cycle parking facility that when completed will be for the use of customers to their hotel and visiting bell ringing cyclists.  

Thursday 9th June 2022.  St Mary's Flower Festival entitled 'Let The Bells Ring Out' was opened by the Mayor of Bridgwater, Liz Leavy.
L-R Richard Lee, Alex Glassford, Mayor - Liz Leavy, Rev. Suse Osmond,
Tessa Moss and Tower Captain Margaret Lee 


Martin Barber and Margaret Lee
Thursday 26th May 2022.  Tower Captain  Margaret Lee presents a cheque to Martin Barber, Chairman of the Bridgwater Photographic Society (BPS).  Project delivery partner BPS has been with us to record the augmentation project in high quality photos, they will also provide a carefully selected number of significant images which will be printed in the best colourfast inks and presented to the church as a historic record of the whole works.


L-R Mary and Steve Adams, Tower Captain
 Margaret Lee and Rev Suse Osmond 
Wednesday 25th May 2022.  Project news.  Today saw the unveiling of a sign and the blessing of 13 oak saplings at Rhode Farm. These saplings were planted by the children of St Mary's School Bridgwater on 21st November 2019.  It is hoped that as these trees mature they will recover all the carbon produced during the casting of our 5 new bells.  Another sign has been placed near the 14th sapling in St Mary's Churchyard to commorate the whole project.


Thursday 9th June - Sunday 12th June 2022 - Advanced Notice.
To bring our augmentation project to a close St Mary's Church will be holding a 4 day flower festival finishing on Sunday 12th June when the Bishop of Taunton will dedicate our bells in a service at 3pm.
During the 4 days of the flower festival the tower will be open for guided tours and the cafe open for light refreshments. 

Thursday 23rd September 2021.  
Work began to fit a new carpet in
the ground floor tower room and ringing chamber as part of our augmentation project.  This is expected to take a few days. 



            
The Monmouth Ringing Chamber has gone from this.......

                                                                            ....to this.
An excellent job done by Crown Carpets, Bridgwater.


Tuesday 17th August 2021.  The inaugural ring on our 12 bells by some of the ringers and towers who have supported the augmentation project.

Thursday 15th July 2021.

 DURLEIGH ELECTRICAL LTD

Domestic - Commercial - Industrial


Darren French started work to replace the ageing and worn out light fittings throughout the tower.  As part of our augmentation project commitment is to be carbon neutral all the old bulkhead and fluorescent light fittings, including the difficult to reach flagstaff and illuminated clock face, are being changed for the latest low energy LED units so that the Church will benefit from lower energy usage.  Visitors to the tower will also benefit from safer and brighter illumination to the ancient tower steps and rooms.  


Thursday 3rd June 2021.  Tony Shearsby, friend of St Mary's Bells, used his wood working skills to modify the clapper ties to fit our augmented bells.  We use these wooden ties to secure the clappers in the mid position when teaching bell handling to newcomers.  Also we have the facility to tie 12 bells and with the use of an Abel simulator can ring with the bells silent for practice or training with the sounds produced through a laptop in the ringing chamber.  Our three heaviest bells now have clappers with square profile wooden shafts for easier ringing. 


Friday 14th May 2021.  
Simon Gilchrist fitting and fine tuning the chiming hammers to our newly augmented bells. During the project the five bells used for clock chiming are in a different location from where they were which required a complete re-installation of the associated mechanism.

This picture taken during the work shows how the clock chiming hammers are connected to the clockworks by the use of high quality custom made cranks and stainless steel wires.  The use of a wooden platform allows the wires to cross over without interference.  



Wednesday 17th March 2021.  Work begins by Simon Gilchrist, turret clock specialist, to restore the clock to full working order subsequent to our augmentation project when it was necessary to disconnect the drive to the clock face.  It is planned that by the weekend the clock will display the correct time and the chimes will soon ring out on the quarters and hour.  The chimes will be silenced between the hours of 21.00-07.00.  Unusual timings of the chimes may be heard during the work.  This work has been delayed by the Cv-19 pandemic.  This picture shows the high quality engineered solution for diverting the clock dial drive around the bells.


Tuesday 22nd December 2020.  Taylor's returned to complete the Sound Control system, we now have the facility to operate this from the ringing chamber.

Saturday 19th December 2020. Congratulations to John Taylor & Co.  '...The Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust has been awarded a grant of £3.45 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.  This will at last enable the major scheme to restore and develop the Foundry buildings and site to begin.
This major grant will be added to matched funding of £1.5 million already raised, together with money from other sources, and major donations in kind. A further £1.3 million pounds worth of repairs has already been successfully completed in the past two years, giving a total spend approaching £7 million! What a lovely Christmas Present...'
  

Tuesday 8th December 2020.   Taylor's began work today to install the triple glazed units of the environmental sound control system to each window in the belfry.  We will have the facility to operate this from the ringing chamber during practices or extended periods of ringing.  Also today the commemorative oak sapling, planted in the churchyard one year ago but did not come out of last year's hibernation, was replaced by Steve and Mary Adams of Rhode Farm.

Thursday 19th November 2020.  Tower Captain Margaret Lee says a big thank you to the Heritage Lottery Fund for supporting our bell augmentation project.  #ThanksToYou #NationalLottery
'We are the newest ring of 12 Bells in the Country and it's all thanks to YOU for playing the National Lottery.  Thank you from St Mary's Bellringers Bridgwater Somerset'


Friday 4th September 2020.  Ringing has resumed at St Mary's on our new peal of bells 🙂   We have asessed the risks in accordance with the current guidelines and we now hold a 15 minute, invitation only, 6 bell rehearsal on Friday afternoon with the same band ringing their bell again on Sunday morning for service. 

Wednesday 2nd September 2020.  We have a new spider in the tower.


Sunday 30th August 2020.  For Sunday service, and the final by our Vicar Preb Trish Ollive who leaves us to retire, 6 bells were rung keeping our distance.  We are smiling underneath and are very happy for Trish and Mike.

Friday 24th July 2020.  They're in, thanks to the skill of Andrew Ogden, but the project has a long way to go till we get to the finish line. 
.
Test ring of our new bells by the people who worked together in the CV-19 bubble during the whole installation.


8th July 2020.  The wheels and fittings are hauled up to the belfry.


29th June 2020.  The bells and castings (H frames) are lifted up into the belfry.




Clockwise from top left: Andrew C. Ogden (Taylors), Anthony Hart (Taylors), Richard Lee (Tower Tutor), Margaret Lee (Tower Captain), John Hallett (Westonzoyland ringer and B&W Bell Advisor)

Click here to see the tenor bell being raised up to the belfry 📽
May not work on all formats.

..... and a very heavy spider.


25th June 2020.  The bells return from the foundry.





18th June 2020.  New bell frame almost complete.

11th June 2020.  The new bell frame arrives at the Church.


8th June 2020.  One of 4 belfry windows ready for the remote controlled triple glazed sound control unit.


Our bells in readiness at the foundry

Our new 5th bell in the tuning shop.  This bell will become the flat 6th in our augmented peal of 13 bells.
The frame with bell fittings in assembly.


Thursday 5th March 2020.  The final visit to the foundry on a Berrys coach to see our last new bell cast, the frame under construction and the bells in the workshop.


  
Our current 6th bell, or 10th in the new peal of 12, in the workshop.

Empty belfry - not seen for over 100 years


20th December 2019. After two arduous weeks our 8 bells and frame have been removed and transported to Taylor's foundry at Loughborough.  We look forward to the Spring of 2020 when a peal of 13 bells will be returned and installed to St Mary's tower.



12th December 2019.  Second Berrys coach trip the the foundry at Loughborough to watch the 2nd and 4th of our 5 new bells cast. 



21st November 2019.  Tree planting morning by the children of St Mary's School.  13 oak saplings, planted with kind support from project delivery partner Steve Adams at Rhode Farm, will create St Mary's Copse. It is hoped these trees will, throughout their lifetime, sequester all the carbon that is emitted to atmosphere during the casting of 5 new bells.  A further single oak sapling was planted in St Mary's churchyard by the Vicar, Prebendary Trish Ollive,  Joyce Barclay-Allen, from the congregation and Margaret Lee, Tower Captain, to commemorate the whole augmentation project.



3rd October 2019.  The first Berrys coach trip to Taylor's Bell Foundry to see the 1st and 3rd of our new bells cast





4th September 2019.  Tower Captain Margaret Lee at a site meeting with project delivery partner 
Stephen Adams at Rhode Farm near Bridgwater.  Rhode Farm has kindly allocated a plot of land which will accommodate 13 saplings provided by St Mary's ringers as part of their exciting bell augmentation project.  As these trees mature they will sequester more than all the carbon produced during the casting of 5 new bells which will ring out over Bridgwater, just visible in the background, for hundreds of years in the future.