The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 4, Damp)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
Specialist wood treatment time, so we call the experts.
http://www.dampcurewoodcure.com/index.html
who cover every single piece of wood in there 'crazy mayonnaise'...
The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 3, Dodgy Legs)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
With the dome and decorative sections removed, it was time to turn the 'tower' section up-side-down, all 1.1 tone of it.
As you can see the feet and first 100mm (4") of the legs have been removed using a router to a laser datum, along with all the rotten timber and replaced with new Iroka hardwood, fixed into place with stainless steel screws and glue.
The Sound of Wycombe
(Part 6, Steaming and Bending)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
It was time to refit the dome, we had made strengthening brackets for The sides, all we needed to do now was bend some straight wood into a curve sections using a home made steamer.
Simple...
The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 9, It's all about the base)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
Although the Bell Tower is finished, there is still the small matter of the clock tower and the base it sits on. A new Sapele Hardwood base was made to support the bell tower and cap the clock tower.
This included 400 kg of beautifully hand crafted lead work.
The Sound of Wycombe.
(Part 1)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
In 2014 the Bell Tower, that has sat on top of the clock tower at Wycombe Abbey since 1897 was removed to undergo a full restoration,
This is how I and a few of my new friends, restored this amazing piece of Buckinghamshire history, it will be reinstalled later this month to 'chime the time' for the next 120 years...
(Click on the Photos for the slideshow)
The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 8, Copper)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
The new copper dome is stunning, it was fitted by CEL who also did the new dome on the Wycombe Council House clock tower last year.
http://www.celroofing.co.uk/
Coppersmiths for CEL Leadworks Ltd were
Martin Lowe, James Love & Mark Carroll.
The Copper used was 0.6mm Natural Soft copper,
Approx. 100kgs was used.
The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 5, The Fun bit)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
Finally we start to put the Bell tower back together again.
Most is original, but a couple of the internal bits had to be made from scratch 'like for like' except we can't seem to find the instructions online...
So its back to old school hands on carpentry and joinery,
Luckily I know a really good joiner.
The Sound of Wycombe
(Part 7, The Bells)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
They made them in the first place so who better to restore them?
'white chapel bell foundry'
http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/
The two bell-hangers that dismantled the bells / reassembled the bells were Neil Thomas and Peter Scott.
The Blacksmith Peter Trick carried out the modification and repair to the weather vane. (As you will see in Part 10, The Finale)
The sound of Wycombe
(Part 11 Big Boys Toys)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
Today was the big lift,
once we had got it out of the work shop that is...
The plan was simple.
Take the Bell Tower out of the work shop on a trailer.
Lift the base using a specialist lorry.
Drive them both to the Abbey.
Attach one to the other then, using a £750,000 85 Ton Crane, pop them on top of the clock tower.
How hard could it be..?
The Sound Of Wycombe
(Part 10, The Wycombe Swan)
Wycombe Abbey Bell Tower Restoration.
The Bell tower is set to be lifted back into place tomorrow 31/03/2016 (weather permitting) so today I refitted the Weathervane that is also the main support for the bells.
The top of the vane is a Swan in flight (yes I think it looks like a duck too, please direct any Avian related questions to Bill Oddie...) It was Fire forged by White Chapel Bells and now pivots to show the direction of the wind.
The Sound Of Wycombe (Part 2)
After the bell tower was removed from Wycombe Abbey, the top section was dismantled, this was the easy bit...
As you can see from the photos all the metal work, nuts, bolts, screws, brackets etc had corroded badly, resulting in the wood splitting from the 'expanding metal' amongst other things.
So, using various drills (in the same way you might core an apple) the offending metal was removed and new wooded plugs made from part of the original timber, it helps if the age and environment of the wood has been the same for the last 120 years, as this will prevent expansion and/or shrinkage and also help match the colour and grain.
All original parts have been painstakingly repaired.
I removed about a bucket full of rusty metal and screws to prevent any further damage.
All new fixings will be wood and/or stainless steel.