And Finally…. after 447 years….
The six bells at All Saints, Cuddesdon, are due to be rehung in a repaired bellframe over the next few months, and £78,000 has been raised to cover the cost of this exciting plan, so that they will ring out again after many years of silence – a remarkable achievement….
BUT …. what is also even more remarkable is the fact that the treble bell, (that is to say, the lightest. at 5cwt.) was due to be recast as a part of the project… but nobody could foresee when this was envisaged that it was destined to be among the very, very last of the bells cast at the world-famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry…. on Wednesday, 22nd. March, 2017…. the last day casting took place !!
Founded in 1570, Whitechapel is the oldest manufacturing company in the country, and has been casting bells there for 447 years ! Sadly, the Foundry premises have been sold, and as yet we do not know where subsequent bells will be cast – so All Saints, Cuddesdon’s new treble bell will be among the very last and proud descendant of such famous bells as…. Big Ben in London and the Liberty Bell in New York !