Friends of Belan Association

Restoration

 All the artefacts pictured below have been fully or partly restored with funds raised by the 'Friends'. 

FOBA covered  50% of the cost of a detailed survey of the Fort and Dock in order to establish the extent of the work needed to preserve the fabric of the buildings.

 It is a 'Forth Bridge' project!

Up-date 2023

It is a pity to have to report that the tower, tabernacle and sundial pictured below, which were restored between 2006 and 2010, are again showing the damaging effects of the weather.  The combination of salt air and high winds etc have wrought havoc and the damage needs to be re-addressed. 

Though this is only to be expected, it is hard not to be discouraged.

The 24lb cannon at the moment of firing!

The two cannon pictured below

These are two of the  three which live on the green. They were originally restored with the help of Centec International, as were two smaller cannon which are on either side the South Gate, as seen on the 'Welcome ' page of this web site.

After many years the weather and salt air took their toll and the Anglesey Hussars worked to renovate them and restore several of them to full working order.

The Sundial

This was erected in the 1890's at the time of the building of the Watch Tower and was made by Francis Barker,  one of the most important makers of sundials and scientific instruments of his period.  Each dial was made  individually for its intended location.  The sundial at Fort Belan tells us that we are precisely 53 degrees 7 arc minutes North and helpfully adds “Slow of Greenwich 17 mins”, which is very unusual to see on dials. 

The dial was re-painted by a specialist sign writer. 

The Watch Tower

The Tabernacle and Flagpole

The Forge

The Anglesey Hussars, in conjunction with FOBA, have restored the Forge and adjoining room in the dock area. The roof has now been re-slated but 'torching' remains to be done. 

The Anvil

The anvil, being put to good use in the Forge by Alex Livingstone and Gavin Rennie.

The Turret Bell

Restoration of the Bell

The bell which bears the date 1854 was restored at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London.  It was attached to the north-facing wall of Tower House.  When work was carried out on the roof it was seen that the bracket was unsafe and both it and the bell needed attention.  At the Hussars' suggestion we contacted the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London and this proved to be the very best possible advice. The foundry records showed that not only was the bell cast at Whitechapel, but they were able to tell us the names of the people who did the casting! They believe that the bell is likely to be one of those ordered and supplied to the 'Board of Ordnance' who may have been responsible for equipping the Fort.  When the foundry was asked if they would be prepared to undertake the task of renovation, their pleasing response was: "Of course we would be happy to carry out the work to the bell; after all we made it, so this is 'return custom'!' They pointed out that 150 years is a pretty typical interval before major work is carried out on a bell and so, they said, ’this will be its first service'!