Norton in Hales
Contributed by Jim Vallings

Getting the right advice for restoration has been a very lengthy process: experts in this field are few and far between. Of the 4 quotes we received, all made different recommendations, so trying to establish what was vital, what desirable and what was luxury was difficult. Fortunately I got an independent review from someone in the mechanical/fairground organ restoration business who put me in touch with a retired clockmaker/bellhanger..the ideal combination. As a result of his report we were able to get the final spec. agreed.
We have been promised a £5000 grant from Shropshire Historic Churches Trust which will help fund the work and to add night silencing, so as to avoid complaints when the whole system is up and running again.
This video was shot in the tower clock room, just under the belfry. The room is tiny, about 10 feet square, and houses both the clock mechanism and carillon. The actuating wires to the carillon hammers can just be seen, along with the bell ropes running in the wooden guides from the ringing chamber below.
The Victorian engineering of the carillon can be seen clonking away as the bells chime and the modern electric motors that drive the carillon whir away in the background. Originally the the carillon was powered by weights. The carillon plays one of three tunes, at three, six, nine and twelve o’ clock, morning and evening, every day, following the Westminster Chime for the quarters and hours. The tunes are “Home Sweet Home”, “There’s Nae Luck About The House” and “We Love The Place O’ God”. Feel free to hazard a guess at the tune in this performance. After restoration it might be a bit easier!