Early in the morning of Thursday, November 25, Court street in downtown Simcoe was closed to allow specialists from the Verdin Bell company (of Woodstock), along with a general contractor, to carefully remove the historic 800lb bronze church bell from the bellcote at Trinity Church.
The bell was cast in 1893 at the Meneely Bell Foundry in New York. After 128 years of calling the faithful to worship, the internal clapper mechanism was… well… clapped out and the support bolts that hold the bell in place were threadbare. This situation made it a safety risk to operate. It might also explain the squeaking noise that could be heard when ringing!
The landmark bell is due to be reinstalled in the spring with a new striking system. "We are most grateful to one of our incredibly generous parishioners who is funding this project."
Rev. Paul Sherwood