Our first task in the Leigh Bell Restoration project was to open up the trap door in the floor of the ringing chamber so that the bells can be removed from the tower for retuning. We needed to do this in advance as a new glass ceiling was going to be installed in the tower below the ringing chamber and once this was in place it would be more difficult to access the floor of the ringing chamber from below. We had discovered that there was a trap door in the floor but it had been boarded over on both sides at some time in the past.

We have now made the trap door openable again. These pictures show the work being performed by Leigh ringers Ian Tucker, John Davis and Jackie Davis. The photos are by Chris Cudmore.