The Appledore Bell

Overview
Location
Tides
The Appledore Bell
Appledore, Devon (installed 27 May, 2009), in North Devon, on the Taw and Torridge estuary, an ancient shipbuilding town with connections east and west, through export of domestic ceramics to the West Indies as part of the slave trade, to ball clay still being shipped to Russia. Here are some of the highest tides in Europe, the base of the bell marks the moment the water is over the bar and ships may leave or enter the estuary. It is an important and historic port.

The first of the bells, by Sandy Brown

It was thrilling to be part of the beginning of Marcus Vergette’s Time and Tide Bell project, as right from the start it was clear it would be a major new artwork.    It brings together art, sculpture, the environment with the rising sea levels, and music.  A true innovative artwork!    Even the Bell itself is […]

Citizen Science and iNaturalist in Appledore

We are continuing to develop our Citizen Science programme, after the long break enforced by the lockdown, furloughs, etc etc. At the heart of this project is the enormously powerful tool iNaturalist. We have created what the platform calls a 'place' - see below. It is deliberately somewhat larger than the immediate environs of the […]

Appledore Citizen Science meeting

Our first Citizen Science day was on February 26, and well attended by about 15 people, all of whom had an excellent briefing on the subject by Jack Sewell from the Marine Biological Association. After a session exploring the foreshore near the bell the afternoon was spent developing ideas for a citizen science project linked […]

New signage for the bell

For some time the Appledore bell has been very much present near the heart of the town, but perhaps a little hard to understand if you are a casual passer-by - and if it is low tide. It now has a beautiful sign, made by ceramicist and long-time supporter of the bell Sandy Brown; it […]

Visiting the bell

The bell is very accessible - as long as it isn't high tide. It's immediately adjacent to Churchfields car park.

Installation of the bell

Watch a short film of the installation of the first bell

Tidal range

The huge tidal range at Appledore means that there is plenty of foreshore visible at low water. Wikipedia goes into this in some detail. And here are illustrations at various states of the tide.

Our inscription

Each bell has an inscription chosen by the local community.

 Registered Company   No: 11575853
 Charity No: 1182967
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