1. In the Beginning
In 2017 Paul Crosland, a member of the Village Hall Committee was approached by several local residents, who were former pupils of Fiddington Primary School, When the School closed in 1954 the building was gifted to the Village by its owner local farmer Albert Meaker. A charitable trust was set up and the building was converted to its new use as a Village Hall. The group of elderly ex-pupils, aware that the Village Hall was about to undergo significant refurbishment, asked whether the work might include the re-instatement of the former Bell Turret, which at some time in the 1950’s, it is thought, had been removed.
After Church one Sunday morning in 2017 Paul talked to local resident, and retired principal of HSD Architects in Hertfordshire, David Scott, and asked whether he could advise how best to go about re-instating the original Turret, preferably with a working bell.
David said he would be happy to look into the matter and do the architectural work on a voluntary basis. Thus started the chain of events which has now culminated in the completion of the work of reinstatement in February 2019.
2. Initial Design
David was presented with the only piece of hard evidence that a Bell Turret had indeed existed on the original building which was constructed in 1891, namely a grainy photograph reproduced in Appendix A to this document.
Based on this an architectural design was developed which as far as possible faithfully reproduced the original Turret. Unfortunately, there was no information available about the materials originally used, so David opted for traditional seasoned oak and lead on a timber structure with a view to minimising maintenance, given that access to the ridge in future was likely to be difficult and costly.
3. Finance
Paul Crosland investigated the possibility of securing a grant to finance the work without success and so, undaunted he set about raising funds from the village and wider area. In parallel Paul Phelan of PAP builders, who was already contracted to carry out a series of improvement and upgrading work for the village hall committee, was asked to price the job based on David’s drawings and this he did. So commenced a round of fund-raising which, due to the generosity of many people, was eventually successful and enabled the project to go ahead. Local Timber Merchants and joinery manufacturers Grandfield and Son generously donated the seasoned oak posts and boarding.
4. The Bell
The original school bell had disappeared along with the Turret and so Paul Crosland, together with Church Tower Captain Clive Cridge, procured a genuine Bronze Bell originally cast by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough and dated 1869. The next step was to commission Messrs Nicholson’s to provide a new clapper and mounting and to design the ringing mechanism, all to fit within the Turret Design. The bell and its mounting were financed separately by means of a donation from a village resident and his wife, to whom grateful thanks are due.
5. Necessary Approvals
Now that a clear way forward financially could be seen David Scott was asked to finalise his design and to obtain the necessary Planning and Building Regulation Approvals. At this stage David Bearman became involved as Structural Engineer with a brief to prove that the existing hardwood principal trusses would be able to accept the loading imposed by the new structure, that the live load imposed by the movement of the bell could be accommodated, and that the timber structure designed by David Scott would cope with all superimposed dead and wind loads. This proved to be the case and in October 2018 both Detailed Planning and Full plans Building Regulation Applications were made. After due process both approvals were secured; Planning at the end of October and Building Regulations in Mid November 2018.
Of particular interest were the comments of conservation officer Charlotte Westwood who stated in her 15th October 2018 report that in her view. “The proposals would reinstate lost architectural detailing, which has been clearly justified.” and that “The proposals would have a very limited impact on the setting of the nearby listed Church and structures in the churchyard.”
6. Construction
PAP were instructed to implement the work in accordance what had become by now a comprehensive set of Planning and Working drawings, and to arrange for the necessary Building Control site inspections and final certificate of compliance. Paul Phelan of PAP opted to build the timber structure in his yard with a view to minimising the time required on site, and to ensure that everything fitted together accurately. This was done and the turret structure broken down into a set of pre-cut components for assembly on the ridge of the building. This had the effect of speeding up the construction process, and as a result the Turret was actually built very quickly between January 28th and February 23rd 2019 when the final mounting of the Cast Lead Pine Cone Finial on the roof peak took place.
7. Credits
Builder: PAP Building Services Ltd.
Leadworker: Matt Culpin
Bellhangers: Nicholson Engineering of Bridgport
Oak Posts and Soffits: Grandfield and Sons
Architectural Design and Constructional Detailing: David Scott
Structural Engineer: David Bearman
Building Control: Somerset Building Control Partnership
Planning Authority: Sedgemoor District Council
Client. Fiddington Village Hall Committee. Paul Crosland
