Hagley Historical and Field Society

Prior to the main business at our April meeting, Joe Hawkins spoke on the project to restore the park at Hagley Hall.  He appealed for old photographs taken in Hagley Park which might reveal features in the landscape which are no longer visible.

The speaker was David Struckett on the subject of ‘Bells: A History and some local examples’. David began his talk by showing pictures of a variety of bells including the Tsar Kolokol in the Kremlin, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the calling bell at St. Saviour’s Church in Hagley.

After a brief look at their history he went on to describe the two traditional methods of bell production in use today. The first, still used in Belgium, is lost-wax casting and the second is pouring molten metal into a mould. The bells are then tuned by turning on a lathe.

The bells hanging in St. John’s Church were cast in the Loughborough foundry and hung in 1885. The original calling bell in use at St. John’s Church prior to 1885 was moved to St. Saviour’s Church when it was built in 1908.

Later in the month David led a visit of over twenty members to the bell tower at St Mary’s Kidderminster.