麻豆社

In 2001, Marcus Vergette was 'trapped' on his Devon farm for six months.

Marcus and his wife Sally lost their stock of Angus cattle and Devon Closewool sheep as a result of the foot-and-mouth epidemic, and they were unable to leave their farm at Highampton because of the restrictions.

So when they were 'freed', they and their neighbours - also farmers who had lost everything - felt the need for a communal gathering.

"We hadn't seen our neighbours for six months," said Marcus. "When the restrictions were lifted, my neighbour went to the church in Highampton and rang the bells. We went up into the tower as well.

"These bells are medieval sculptures and communication devices, and they're in every parish in England. This was the first time all this had occurred to me.

"Then, I was asked by my neighbour to do something to capture the hardship of the area during foot-and-mouth."

Ringing the bell for the first time (M. Vergette)

Marcus' permanent reminder to the awful events of 2001 is a bell, which hangs beside the village hall in Highampton.

It was while seeing that bell tuned at Whitechapel bell foundry that he had the idea for the Time and Tide bell - a unique wave-driven bell which plays a different tune every day.

Marcus, who is a sculptor, film-maker and musician, received Arts Council funding for his Time and Tide Bell project.

The first of 12 planned bells is in place at the high water mark on the River Torridge in Appledore, North Devon. It was positioned on 20 April 2009 and will be officially unveiled in a ceremony on 27 May.

The brass bell - co-invented with Dr Neil Mclachlan - took four years to make, and involved scientists and highly skilled craftsmen. It's the same brass as used for ship's propellers, and the bell sits of a stainless steel structure on the banks on the Torridge.

"The point is that bells function in many ways," explains Marcus. "They signify loss, warning, time-keeping, celebration - lots of communal things.

"This bell makes a song with the sea, and with every tide, it will play a different set of notes - so it's a piece of music which never ends.

"The water moves under it, and at certain tides, the bell will be completely submerged."

The sound will change with the tide movements

The Appledore bell has temporary planning permission for a year, to see if it proves a noise nuisance.

But Marcus hopes the bell will survive the test of time: "I'm very excited by it. I'm confident we can make various adjustments. In fact, I know I can control the volume.

"There have been a lot of things about this which have been so nice - meeting the bellringers and learning about the traditions of bellringing; meeting the engineers; learning the physics; and working with amazing craftsmen with fantastic skills.

"And we have had great support so far. I said 'I've got this idea' and Appledore had the courage to say 'yes, let's do it'.

"It's just been so rewarding."

Marcus is looking to install another 11 bells in carefully selected positions around the British Isles - including the Jurassic Coast, the Meridian Line in London, East Anglia, where the sea is encroaching, and a remote beach in Scotland.

"Being an island, we have a close relationship with the sea and this is a positive way of looking at our relationship with the sea and the environment."

The bell is a piece of art, but there could be a practical element as well: "If the bell starts ringing more and more, it's a sign of rising tide levels and global warming. In which case it would be a warning bell."

You can find out more by visiting Marcus' website, which is linked from this page.