Mystery over 'new plaque' on town centre lifeboat bell
By Prue_Reid | Thursday, February 07, 2013, 16:51
A BELL that used to hang in Battery Point lighthouse has gone on display in the town - but it seems as if some people have their own idea about what the plaque which goes with it should say.
A ceremony, attended by officials from Bristol Port Company, town councillors and local residents, was held on Wednesday to officially unveil the bell which is now in pride of place at Wyndham Way.
The plaque, which details how the bell was installed by the town council in the Queen's jubilee, was covered with the Portishead Town Council flag.
The flag was removed as part of the unveiling ceremony to show the stainless steel plaque underneath.
However just hours after the unveiling a new sign had been placed over the plaque, we believe paying tribute to Carols Thomas and Annette Hennessy who brought the bell back to Portishead.
Portishead People do not know exactly what the sign said, as it was removed by representatives of the town council before it could be viewed.
The bell, which weighs two tonnes, used to hang in the Battery Point Lighthouse and automatically sound to warn sailors travelling along the Bristol Channel of treacherous weather conditions.
It was put in the lighthouse when it was built in 1931 but removed 12 years ago because of concerns surrounding the structural strength of the lighthouse.
The town council paid £1 for the bell after local residents Mrs Hennessy and Mrs Thomas tracked it down to a dusty warehouse at Portbury Docks.
The project has taken nearly two years to come to fruition and cost the council £18,000.
The ceremony was attended by Bristol Port Company Chief Executive, Simon Bird, director Martin Downey, Roger Henley and director of communications Sue Turner and project architect, Paul Brookes.
Also attending was Mrs Hennessy and Mrs Thomas, town councillors including vice chairman Pete Burden and town centre councillor Reyna Knight and local residents.
Comments
When will this site get anything right? I have just been in converstaion with a young chap in the High Street and he said the new 'plaque' amounted to a small piece of tape with a few words written on it. Is this really newsworthy, or for that matter did it really require representatives of the town council to remove it before it was read, surely whoever read it could just as easily peel it off? I'm sure that due to the ridiculous decision by the council to locate it in such a place, future acts of real vandalism are just waiting to happen.
By Hillcran at 16:43 on 08/02/13
ReportYep, my old account got banned too for providing a link to "the truth".
Not that I care.
By Three2One at 12:26 on 08/02/13
ReportFrom a circulated email I can tell you that the truth will be heard and seen elsewhere, even if it cannot be read on media websites. The sign seen regularly around the town that says "Portishead, the best town in the world except for its politics" is certainly true at the moment. What a terrible shame. Those words I printed some time ago from a local songwriter ought to be added to now. To remind everyone, it says,
"The Bell is tolls for no one, it is absent from its station
Where once it served a purpose to steer clear of this location
They ought to bring it back again, it's needed here more now that in the past".
The Bell certainly needs to be tolled to steer people into the Folk Hall Council Offices to protest at the truth being denied here locally.
After the factual comments I have seen removed, I will NEVER purchase a copy of The Post again.
By thurti365 at 11:48 on 08/02/13
ReportI heard from jojo it seems he cant post any more very strange perhaps there is a problem with the site server who knows
By johnstorm at 11:15 on 08/02/13
ReportI tried to leave a comment in support of another posters factual comments correcting The Post article which was riddled with inaccuracies and it was removed the moment I had posted it. It used to be said that truth was the first casualty of war, it appears that saying has been rewritten by those local media outlets that are betraying their very purpose. Truth seems to be the first victim of a council/media relationship that is starting to smell very suspicious.
By Hillcran at 11:01 on 08/02/13
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