Help: Frames
Dove records sufficient information to describe the key attributes of a frame as they appear today, e.g. component dates, makers, materials, level in the tower, truss types and layouts. Modifications and extensions to frames are noted separately. Dove does not aim to give detailed information to allow frames to be reconstructed simply from what is in the database.
When describing frames, Dove describes the parts upon which the bearings sit or a bell is mounted. It does not try to record details of foundation beams or frame ends that connect frame sides together.
The basis for describing frames is laid out in the book Bellframes, A practical guide to inspection and recording (ISBN: 0951232118) by Chris Pickford, with a few small modifications. Anyone offering public updates is advised to read this. It is now out of print, but available online. You may also find The Archaeology of Bellframes, Recording & Preservation by C J Brooke (ISBN 0900986131) helpful.
Frames in the scheme are mostly aimed at bells hung for full-circle ringing. There are some frames where bells were formerly hung in this way but since rehung dead, possibly in slightly different positions. Dove aims to describe such frames as it was intended in terms of trusses.
Dove does not aim to catalogue all lost frames, but as the database evolves, so will the scope to include lost frames.
When offering updates on frames, we ask that users do not rely on photographs or videos posted online from others. The best way to ascertain frame details is to inspect in person.
Each tower has a frame record in 3 parts:
- The existing frame(s). A summary of how the frame(s) look today with a list of components and materials. This will allow frames with common components/materials/makers/dates to be searched.
- A narrative of the history of the modification of each frame. It doesn’t layer up the modifications in a database searchable form, but it will allow the reader to understand how each frame developed.
- Footnotes give more descriptive information as required.
The frame number represents different frames and their vertical position in the tower, with frame 1 at the bottom, normally holding the heavier bells. Number 2 is commonly used for an additional frame above the principal frame. A much higher number (often 9) is used to indicate a frame for bells not hung for full-circle ringing such as a service bells. Where frames are distributed between different towers in the same building or place, a deliberate gap in the sequence of 1 is introduced to represent a change of tower.
When two frames are at the same level in the tower, we add a suffix:
- Non-connected independent frames on the same level housing different bell collection use suffix letters, such as 1A and 1B (with no frame 1).
- Frame extensions added at a later date use numeric suffixes; for example frame 1.2 is the second extension to frame 1, and frame 1A.1 is the first extension to frame 1A.
- If the non-connected independent frames house the same collection, they are treated as a single frame if they are of the same age, or as a frame and extension otherwse. A footnote may provide further details.
The list of bells in each frame is given. Where a bell straddles between two frames, it is deemed to be in the newer frame.
Defined as when the frame was installed in its current form, even if the components were made in an earlier year or sat in a workshop for several years. This applies to second hand frame sides, although the additional details that make such frames interesting are recorded in the footnotes.
Where an authority has described a bell as mediæval with no more specific date, we enter this as c1499; similarly, pre-Reformation bells are entered as c1599. Where installation takes place over a year end, the year would represent the date installation was completed.
A dagger (†
) alongside the date indicates that the frame is
listed as historically significant.
A list of the materials that can be found in the frame sides is given. Materials only used in foundation beams or frame ends are not normally included.
For timber frames, the detailed timber type (e.g. oak or iroko) is given where known. Such information is rarely available from simple inspection and often needs to be advised by a contractor or particular expert.
Care is needed when advising the team of the presence of metal frames, as there are distinctions between cast iron, wrought iron and steel. It is easy to get these confused.
This is defined as the contractor who constructed the original frame, before any modifications.
If the designer of the frame was different from the manufacturer, this is included in the footnotes. If the installer of the frame originally constructed (in the workshop) is different, this also appears in the footnotes. If a frame constructor used second-hand components, we would still identify the constructor. Details of the components appear in the footnotes.
Details of the makers of any modifications are included in the narrative associated with modification events.
The truss types that can be found in the frame are listed using the codes from the Pickford Scheme. You can view a list of Pickford truss types.
Note that the scheme allows some variation whilst still achieving an exact
match (for instance curved braces vs straight braces, end posts vs no end
posts). For true variants (i.e. a truss that is just marked as similar to
one in the scheme) the variant is shown with the ~
symbol and reference
is made in the footnotes.
Efforts are made to ensure that the truss type and frame materials are consistent, as the different truss types, by definition, only apply to certain materials.
Where the truss type is defined as a two-tier truss type (e.g. type 8.1.H.a – c), the frame is noted to appear twice, once for each layer.
If there is no exact match between the examined truss and the Pickford Scheme, it might be that a similar truss is displayed and noted as being similar, or a new (unallocated) truss type is identified. However components from the right hand end of the designator are sometimes dropped until a match is achieved. For instance, a low-sided cast iron frame can be marked 8.3.A if it doesn't match any of the specified sub-types or a king-posted timber frame can be shown simply as truss type 5.
The layout of the frame is based on the Pickford Scheme, but used in a slightly modified way. You can view a list of Pickford layout codes, as used on Dove. The layout number is based on the number of pits, not the number of bells because there might be empty pits.
Definition of a pit
A pit is defined as the space in which a bell hangs. Where a frame is empty or contains a converted chime, the pit is defined as where a bell was originally intended to hang as indicated by the position of the truss. Dove makes this distinction as there have been occasions where a pit originally for one bell has been adapted to hold two.
Bell to pit mappings
The pits in the Pickford Scheme for 8 bells and below are labelled with letters. Dove does not attempt to match numbers to letters, nor align the order of the letters to the order of the bells.
Layouts not in the scheme
The Pickford Scheme used in Dove has been provisionally extended to allow a greater range of descriptions. These all contain the letter X pending the issue of a ratified scheme. Those layouts that are irregular enough not to appear in the provisionally extended scheme appear in the form 6.X (6 bells), 8.X (8 bells), etc. with a description in the footnote (and possibly a diagram).
Diagonal layouts
The orientation of a layout is part of each Pickford Scheme reference. Dove
however uses a modifier for the equivalent non-diagonal layout. This means
that Dove does not use the diagonal layouts 3.2, 4.8 and 5.6, and instead uses
3.1, 4.2 and
5.5 marked with the diagonal indicator (a
D
suffix, e.g. 3.1D
).
Reversed layouts
The Pickford Scheme provides separate codes for the inverse of the same
layout. Where there are two layouts that are the inverse of each other, Dove
uses the earlier numbered one with the reverse indicator (an R
suffix,
e.g. 5.9R
).
This means that Dove does not use layouts 5.10, 6.3, 6.6, but uses instead
5.9, 6.2 and
6.5.
No designator appears if the frame is simply rotated through a multiple
of 90 degrees from the layout shown in the booklet.
Variant Layouts
Where the layout is topologically similar, but has a variation, Dove shows
it is a variant using a ~
prefix and describes the variation in a
footnote. Types of variations could be:
- one or more pits are substantively longer/shorter than the diagram;
- a gap might be present within a frame for a ring of bells to accommodate a bell not part of the ring.
Unknown layouts
Where the layout is unknown but the number of pits is known for sure (i.e. not just assumed from the number of bells in the tower), then the number appears with no suffix.
Resultant layout
Where more than one frame is put together to produce a wider recognisable layout, the Resultant Layout appears against the base frame to reflect the wider layout pattern it produces.
A frame modification is given (along with the date, contractor and description of the modification) when, for example:
- a frame is dismantled and reassembled, possibly in a different orientation or location, or with a different frame layout;
- frame trusses are added, replaced, removed or modified from one type to another; or
- existing frame trusses are strengthened.
Frame modifications don’t appear when:
- a frame extension is added (all that information is contained in the frame record for the extension);
- a frame is painted; or
- frame ends or foundation beams are added or modified.
For these latter examples, frame footnotes may appear giving further information.
The narrative associated with each frame modification contains details of what has changed. It focuses on what was in place before the modification was made and might include details concerning:
- whether the frame was dismantled/reassembled;
- a description of any change in orientation or location;
- details of what has changed with the layout (i.e. what was it before the modification);
- details of what has changed with the frame trusses; and
- details of any materials introduced or removed.