Adelaide consultant Mr Hervey Bagot (on right) makes last minute adjustments to the apparatus for the bell high up in the fleche of the Chapel while his assistant Mr Drago Barbis checks the clapper.
A BELL FOR THE CHAPEL Seventy years after its opening, the Horsfall Chapel of the Holy Trinity has a bell. Its name is George, its note is F sharp, and it weighs óver three hundredweight (or 150 kilograms). It is a perpetual memorial to George Tracy, who sang here in the Canterbury Fellowship Choir each week for almost fifty years, and is a gift of his many friends in the Fellowship and the Royal School of Church Music. It was secured from Holy Trinity, York, in Western Australia through the efforts of the Reverend Paul Harvie acting on behalf of the R.S.C.M. The College gratefully accepted the gift and an offer from Mr Robert Cripps to assist with its installation as part of the restoration of the Chapel. Mr Cripps himself was once involved in casting a bell and has taken a close interest in this latest project. Mounting a heavy bell securely in the fleche of the Chapel was no mean feat. First, an enormous cherry-picker placed two men, a selection of carefully prepared steel girders, and equipment for hoisting and mounting the bell into a small open space just below the green copper spire. After securing the girders firmly in position, the men had to cut an opening in a heavy wooden trapdoor high above the organ console. This had been locked by sliding bolts on the underside—and there was no easy way of putting a man (or woman) up there to undo them. A small platform was built on the organ bridge to protect the organ from the possibility of falling debris. Meanwhile, the bell itself, the large wheel for the ringing cable, the clapper, and the various metal parts from which the bell swings, had all been restored to new condition under the direction of Adelaide consultant, Mr Hervey Bagot. Much of the work was done through the skill of Mr Robert Cripps' engineering staff. It was seriously considered whether the bell should be rung electrically or by hand. The decision became easier when it was learned that electrical ringing involves costly annual maintenance. In any case, the traditionalists were in the majority.
By mid-August everything was in readiness. The bell was carried by four men, not without danger and difficulty, on a wooden pallet up on to the organ bridge. Cables dangled from the now open trapdoor high above, and before long the bell began its precarious final ascent by means of a hand operated winch. To ring it, stainless steel yachting cable, passing out from the tower, was threaded through pulleys attached to the outside and then slipped through a pipe which penetrates the roof. At the bottom of the cable there is attached a sally, a traditional hand-plaited rope, which is concealed in a slender locked cupboard when the bell is not being rung. The first official ringing—one suspects that there will be more than a few trial runs, authorized and otherwise, before the official date—will be at a great Service of Thanksgiving for the Restoration of the Chapel at 3:00 p.m. on 11th October next. And now the discussions are beginning—how often should the bell be rung? The Warden, thinking nostalgically of hurrying to King's College Cambridge for Evensong while its majestic bell tolled for ten minutes each darkening afternoon, wants the whole community to know that we have our own magnificent choral Evensong every Monday and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. during term. The Chaplain thinks that the College should be more aware of the College Eucharist each Thursday evening at 9:30 p.m. The Canterbury Fellowship will make its presence known to Parkville on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.. But what about weekday services at 7:30 a.m.? "Just three rings", says Fr. John Davis, the Assistant Chaplain. "Have mercy on us!" respond the residents of Cowan. "But in Ormond, the clock bell rings seven times at 7:00 a.m. and no-one complains", counter the early-rising theologs. One thing is certain—the Chapel will have an increased presence now it has a bell. "Always remember," say the Warden, "it tolls for thee!"
A PUBLICATION OF TRINITY COLLEGE WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE Registered by Australia Post—Publication No. VBG 4336.