Bell Repair Fund Secretary’s report

There has been very little new activity on the Bell Repair Fund scene during this year, though the Bell Consultants have been kept busy.

Alfreton’s application for a faculty was before the DAC in December and is awaiting permission from the Chancellor. Fund raising is going steadily. Shirland are in the process of fund raising and hoping to apply for lottery funding. At Sandiacre the faculty has not yet been applied for as progress has been held up due
to English Heritage wishing to keep the old frame in situ. Work on the clappers at Killamarsh has now been completed.

You may have read in October that the firm of Taylors, Eayre & Smith went into administration. The outcome of that has been that the firm has started again as John Taylor & Co and is now back in business again.

If you have any concerns about the bell installation at your church, then please contact the bell consultants. They will be happy to inspect your bells, write a report
on them and come to speak to the PCC if necessary to advise them. Such inspections are carried out free of charge to the parish: the cost is borne by the Bell Repair Fund. If it is found that necessary work to the bells will cost in excess of £1000, then please apply to the Fund for a grant; then please contact the Secretary. The trustees of the fund meet twice a year: in March and September, when grant applications will be considered. It is advisable to get applications in a month in advance. If funds permit, we aim to give 10% of the cost of any work required, but we do not give grants towards any building work or towards buying new ropes.

A Guide to the Rules and Conditions of Grants and Loans from the Bell Repair Fund can be found in the Annual Report & on the website.

Pat Halls

The Bell Repair Fund Affiliation Scheme

This scheme invites the support of Parochial Church Councils in the Derby Diocese on a regular basis in carrying out the aims of the Fund. When the Fund was established in 1961 the annual subscription was fixed at £1. Nowadays subscription amounts are left to the generosity of individual PCCs. We are grateful for all the donations, which are used towards keeping the bells of the diocese in good ringing order. During the year subscribing PCCs are sent a report on the Fund plus a copy of the Association’s Annual Report.

Parochial Church Councils affiliated to the Bell Repair Fund 2009
The Association is grateful to the following PCCs for their continued support for the Bell Fund.