Bell Restoration Fund (BRF)

1. TITLE

   The fund shall be known as the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund.

2. REGISTRATION

   The fund shall be registered as a charity.

3. AIMS

   The object of this fund shall be to provide financial assistance by way of grants to Churches, within the Diocese of Winchester and the Diocese of Portsmouth, incurring expenditure on the provision, maintenance, improvement or acoustics of their bells and bell installations, or for the maintenance of the fabric of their towers and belfries, to enable their bells to be properly rung in full circle.

4. DEFINITIONS

   References to ‘the Guild’ shall mean the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. References to ‘the Executive Committee’ shall mean the Executive Committee of the Guild.

5. TRUSTEES

   The Trustees of the fund, referred to hereinafter as ‘the Trustees’, shall be the Master, the Honorary General Secretary and the Honorary General Treasurer of the Guild, and two Trustees, one from each Diocese, elected triennially by the Annual General Meeting of the Guild.

6. HONORARY INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

   The Honorary Independent Examiner of the fund shall be the Honorary Independent Examiner for the time being of the Guild.

7. ADMINISTRATION

   The fund shall be administered by the Trustees.

8. GRANTS

   1. An application for or proposal to make a grant from this fund shall be considered only at a General Meeting of the Guild or at a meeting of the Executive Committee, provided at least one month’s notice in writing has been given of such application or proposal to the Honorary General Secretary.
   2. Following notice duly given, the Trustees shall consider such applications or proposals and shall make recommendations to the meeting of the Guild or Executive Committee at which the application or proposal shall be discussed.
   3. Grants shall be made from this fund only for the purposes outlined in the objectives in rule 3 above. A grant may be made, subject to the requirements of rule 8a above, if approved by two-thirds or more of those members of the Guild present and voting at a General Meeting of the Guild or at a meeting of the Executive Committee. To be eligible to vote on such matters, members must fulfil the requirements of the Guild on voting. The Trustees shall inform the Guild of any grants approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee at the next General Meeting of the Guild.
   4. Following such approval a grant shall be made, except that the Trustees shall be given absolute discretion to reduce, but not to increase, a grant, in the exceptional circumstances that they unanimously feel it in the interests of the fund and of the Guild to do so. They shall inform the Guild of any such action at the next General Meeting of the Guild.

9. DISBURSEMENT

   Any payments drawn on this fund under rule 8 above, or required under rule 11 below, shall be made over the signature of the Honorary General Treasurer for the time being and one other Trustee of the fund. No payment shall be made until the work is satisfactorily completed. All administrative and other expenses incurred in respect of the fund other than those specifically relating to the acquisition and realisation of investments shall be borne by the Guild.

10. ACCOUNTS

    1. The Honorary General Treasurer shall prepare accounts, consisting of a balance sheet at 31st December each year, and an income and expenditure account for the year ending on that date.
    2. These accounts shall be presented to the Independent Examiner of the fund who shall satisfy himself as to the correctness thereof.
    3. These accounts, duly independently examined, shall be submitted for approval to the Annual General Meeting of the Guild next after the 31st December to which the accounts of the fund have been prepared.

11. INVESTMENTS

    The Trustees acting together shall have the power to invest or otherwise deal with the assets of the fund and such sums as the members of the Guild shall contribute or from time to time decide to transfer to the fund, in such manner as they think fit in the best interests of the fund.

12. DISSOLUTION OF THE FUND

    1. If it shall be decided to dissolve the fund, such decision being taken only at an Annual General Meeting of the Guild, one month’s notice having been given by the Honorary General Secretary to Tower Secretaries of such intent, the assets shall be disposed of to either or between both of the following:-
       
       1. To other charitable Bell Restoration Funds as the Guild may select
       2. To the Cathedrals of Winchester and Portsmouth for the religious and charitable purposes of the said Cathedrals.
    2. In the event of the Guild becoming defunct, it shall be allowed for the Registrar of Charities after five years non-working of the fund to cause it to be dissolved and its assets applied as under rule 12 a ii.

13. CHANGE OF RULES

    1. No amendment of, addition to, or deletion from these Rules shall be made which would cause the fund at any time to cease to be a charity in law.
    2. No alteration or addition to the above Rules may be made except at a General Meeting of the Guild, or Special Meeting called for the purpose, when the number of eligible members voting in favour must be at least 20 and double those voting against the proposal. Notice of any such proposed alteration or addition must be given in writing at least two months before the date of the meeting to the Honorary General Secretary of the Guild, who shall inform all Tower Secretaries of the Guild of this proposal at least one month before the aforesaid meeting.

During the mid 1990s there was a growing awareness within the Guild of the need to take a more pro-active stance in fostering the restoration, repair and maintenance of the bells and belfries within the Guild’s area of operation. While focusing primarily on bells hung for change ringing, there was also a recognition that the Guild’s influence could, and should encompass all of the bells within the two Dioceses of Winchester and Portsmouth that we, together with our fellow Church members hold in trust for current and future generations. This new thinking focused both on a new and more positive approach to raising funds for the Guild Bell Restoration Fund, and also towards the practical elements of care and maintenance of bells – leading to the formation in 1994 of the Belfry Stewardship Committee.

The Belfry Stewardship Committee developed policies to support the BRF Trustees, Parishes and Ringers with advice and guidance on belfry maintenance and restoration matters; to support the Guild Education Committee (and through them Guild members) in providing training in belfry maintenance skills, and to develop relationships with Diocesan Bell Advisers and others to enhance common purpose and best practice.

Early in the deliberations of both the BSC and the BRF Trustees was the need for a clearer view of the condition of the heritage of bell installations around the Guild (the Bell Stock) to inform the likely requirement for BRF grant support into the future, and to assist in gauging the sort of practical advice and assistance that would be required around the two dioceses. A key factor contributing to the lack of knowledge was the state of the only documentary record of bells and belfries in Hampshire – Hampshire Church Bells. This is a slim volume, compiled in 1920 by Rev W E Colchester, from various sources dating back over the previous 30 years, and notoriously inaccurate and incomplete. It soon became clear that better data was required, and when in 1995 the BSC was asked separately to offer input to an attempt to build a national inventory of historic Peal Records and Peal Boards, and also co-ordinate a response to a Central Council nationwide survey of three-bell towers, this led to the concept of a Guild-wide bell stock survey embracing all aspects of the bell content of each church in the area covered by the Guild.

The concept evolved into a “self-completion” questionnaire supported by detailed notes for guidance, with the intention that members of the local towers/parishes would provide the data to compile the survey. A pilot scheme was run in the Deanery of Petersfield (Diocese of Portsmouth) which was sufficiently successful to warrant a Guild-wide implementation in those towers with three or more bells believed to be hung for ringing. The survey forms and notes for guidance were distributed for manuscript completion during 1998. During the ensuing eighteen months over 55 towers responded, the volume falling away towards the end of this period. In only one occasion was the response a flat refusal to contribute! On the contrary despite some supposed misgivings that tower members were capable of making a satisfactory response the overall standard of returned forms was excellent, with some outstanding examples of quality of information and presentation provided.

The CCCBR Bell Restoration Committee

The Committee supports ringing societies and individual towers by providing information and advice on fund raising; bell restoration funds; charitable trusts and other resources. It also administers bell restoration funds on behalf of the Council.

Fund-raising advice

Committee Members can assist with advice on such topics as the following:

• suggesting fund raising ideas,
• loaning ‘Appeal Brochures’,
• suggesting charitable trusts which may be sympathetic to your cause,
• suggesting a range of consumable and souvenir items which might appeal to the general public, and
• suggesting ways of involving the local community in your project.

See also:

• CCCBR Major Projects
• Guidance for Fundraisers