Lynne About Loughborough: COVID memorial

Showing posts with label COVID memorial. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 September 2024

Hope Bell Installation

As I mentioned in my post last week, the previous weekend had seen some of Loughborough's buildings and organisations taking part in the Heritage Open Days events. A couple of days before that, I had been fortuitously walking through town, and passed the ever-beautiful Queen's Park. My thought was to walk home through the park, but of course, I'd forgotten it was closed!! So instead, I spent a couple of hours standing on Granby Street watching the exciting events unfolding in the park!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might remember that back in March 2023 I was lucky enough to be at the Taylors Bellfoundry to see the Hope Bell being cast. This bell was created to be a memorial to those who died or suffered during the covid pandemic, and as a lasting message of thanks to NHS staff and other key workers. It is actually a chiming set of bells that will ring out regularly, and seems appropriate for a town that hosts the UK's last remaining dedicated bellfoundry.

Anyway, the positioning of the bell had been under discussion for quite some time, and preparatory work began earlier this summer, adjacent to the Swan Maze, which was created by local sculptor, David Tarver in 1988, to commemorate the centenary of the Incorporation of the Borough.

So, on 3rd September, I watched as the Hope Bell arrived at the park, and was hoisted into place, next to the Swan Maze. The park was a hive of activity as people worked together to get the first stage of the project installed. There is still much work to be done before the bell will be operational, but it looks great, and it will be exciting once it is finished.

Preparation July 2024

August 2024

Late August 2024

3rd September 2024

And here follows some pics taken on 20th September once the bell structure was in place, and was sitting peacefully in the park!

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Dyer, Lynne (2024). Hope Bell Installation. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2024/09/hope-bell-installation.html [Accessed 29 September 2024]

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Sunday, 9 April 2023

Casting of the Hope Bell

Over the past couple of months, for one reason or another, I seem to have spent quite a lot of time down at the bellfoundry. On one particular occasion, I was lucky enough to visit during a time when a bell casting was taking place. I’ve seen quite a few bell castings, but this one was especially meaningful and poignant, as it was the Hope Bell.

Following the pandemic, which resulted in many unexpected deaths, people around the UK have been installing public memorials to those who lost their lives. Some towns have created public benches – at Grantham, for example – other places have created memorial gardens – like that at Melton Mowbray.

The WW1 memorial bench in Grantham

The COVID commemorative bench in Grantham

COVID memorial garden at Melton Mowbray

COVID memorial garden plaque at Melton Mowbray

After much consideration and consultation, it was decided that an appropriate memorial to commemorate those from the Borough of Charnwood would be to create a clock chime installation to be sited in Queen’s Park. This would comprise bells made by the last remaining dedicated bellfoundry in the country, which happens to be in Loughborough.

You can find out more about what has become known as the Hope Bell from the Charnwood Borough Council website where there is also more information about the casting.

The casting and the associated event were filmed so there is a video available for you to watch.

And here follows a few of my own photos from the event, with apologies for the blurriness of some of them!