It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that ding!

…or Dings ain’t what they used to be!

5th August 2008
Mostyn House School, Parkgate

We set off around midday feeling refreshed and as ready as we ever could be to see more carillons!

None of us had ever heard of Parkgate let alone visited it before but it turned out to be a most intriguing place and well worth a visit. The village first grew in the 1680s when ships began to call there. Until around 1815 it was a well-used terminal for passengers going to Dublin. Parkgate was also a well-known resort where people came for sea-bathing cures until the 1830s. Parkgate died as a port when the course of the river was changed (by man) to run along the welsh side. The coming of the railway on 1866 helped to inject new life into what had become a struggling fishing village but by 1940 the tide had all but ceased coming in twice a day and marshlands grew out in front of the village instead.

It’s a most unusual sight as you walk along what looks like a sea-front but isn’t. The marsh in front of the village is now a bird reserve and attracts many visitors for that purpose – Parkgate has been a conservation area since the 1970s.

A visit to Nicholl’s Ice Cream parlour is a must, though, it’s been there since 1935 and still serves the most exquisite flavours of ice cream – obviously the ice-cream is a bit more recent than 1835, or at least we presumed so!

The carillon in Parkgate resides at Mostyn House School. The Mostyn Arms Hotel was popular with sea-bathers but, as the trend declined due in part to competition from New Brighton, the property changed hands a few times until it was leased by Edward Price in 1855 as Mostyn House School. The name Mostyn comes from Sit Thomas Mostyn who owned the entire village of Parkgate until it was sold by auction in 1849.

We arrived at the school at 2pm – it stands in lovely grounds and was very quiet due to the summer holidays – we were first greeted by a young fox enjoying a frolic on the lawns in the sunshine. The carillon bells hang on a frame outdoors and are clearly visible on the roof next to the chapel. A 31 bell carillon was installed as a war memorial to former pupils who were killed in the First World War. Other publicity we have obtained says there are 37 bells so there may have been more added later.

We were met by Beverley Tudor and taken through the school to where the clavier is situated. It’s a beautiful school and felt like something straight out of Hogwarts. We had a peek in the chapel first where the pupils have morning assemblies and where weddings are also held.

I wonder if the students appreciate what a wonderful building they are being educated in – if they don’t now, they certainly will in the future.

And now … about the carillon …

We have talked a lot about what we can write here so as not to cause offence after we were kindly given permission to see the clavier and the bells and to take photographs of them and we have decided that honesty is the best policy so as not to affect the reliability of our comments about the other carillons we have visited.

The clavier is in a very sorry state and made for quite a sad sight. Caroline did try to play a tune but many of the batons are hanging loose and the transmissions are in urgent need of attention; in fact the whole thing needs some intensive TLC. We were all a little bit stunned by it to be honest. Apparently the carillon is used by the pupils on a regular basis and it certainly looks like it’s taken a battering along the way.

On a positive note, we are told that there is ongoing fundraising for maintenance of the carillon, so perhaps there is a refurbishment on the horizon. We hope so. The school has such a rare and unique instrument in their possession and we hope that, if anyone from Mostyn House happens upon this blog, they can see, by looking at the other carillons in the UK, the potential of the instrument they have.

We’d like to thank Beverely Tudor and Mostyn House School for agreeing to our visit and to our taking pictures and footage of the clavier and the bells. We wish them every success with the fundraising for the carillon.

Next stop St Helens ...