All Saints Church, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

All Saints Church is a Grade I listed building which has remained an important
religious and historical focus within High Wycombe since the Norman period.
The church has had a set of bells, almost certainly since the medieval period, which
has been replaced or augmented at intervals but in recent years cracks have appeared
in the walls of the tower housing the bells and since 2008 it has not been possible to
ring the largest four bells for structural reasons.
Investigations were undertaken which concluded that the current structure was failing,
particularly the wall-plates which were infested with death watch beetle, and needed
replacing. A reinforced concrete ring beam would effectively tie the tower together
and a new bell frame was needed so that the bells could be orientated differently to
reduce the stresses on the south wall. Many of the bells were of poor tonal quality, so
it was decided to take the opportunity that these works presented to replace the entire
ring with a new set of 12 bells plus 2 semi-tones.
Prior to this work Oxford Archaeology undertook recording of the bell frame and this
was followed by further limited recording during the dismantling works.
The main bell frame was constructed in 1909 for a peal of 12 bells although minor alterations were undertaken in 1963 to allow for the insertion of a 13th bell. The frame
is a typical structure from this date constructed of oak and cast iron members. The main foundation beams in the clock room below also appear to date from 1909 but the
wall plates within the walls are older and almost certainly survive from a previous arrangement