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Hacheston church has a fine ring of six bells installed by Hayward Mills in late 1999/early 2000. The bells were dedicated on Easter Sunday, 2000. The ring includes three bells from the old ring of five and three new bells, cast by Taylors of Loughborough in 1999, housed in a new galvanised steel frame. The original mediaeval wooden frame was preserved in situ above the new steel frame, with the old tenor bell repaired and restored to its original pit to be used as a service bell. The photograph shows the fifth (Brasyer circa 1450) and sixth (Darbie 1683) bells with new canon-retaining headstocks waiting to be installed in Hacheston church on 5 March 2000.
Prior to restoration and augmentatiion, the Hacheston bells had been largely silent for the whole of the C20, though they were chimed for services within the memory of the older members of the congregation. Three of them were cracked, with the old tenor having an 32" crack from canon to soundbow, the old fifth having a crack in the soundbow, and the old treble being broken at the top and held together by an iron band. The wooden frame had movement in it which caused pieces of flint to fall into the silence and ringing chambers. A detailed history of the Hacheston Bells 2000 restoration project, and details of both the old and new rings, can be foundĀ on the Hacheston bells website.
Sadly, during the pandemic, the bells have not been rung, apart from tolling the tenor for funerals.
David Clough - Tower Captain
May 2021