The bells hung within a massive timber bell frame, 10ft (3 meters) high. Part of the solution to the problem of how to accommodate the big bells within a relatively small tower, some 15 ft (4.48 meters) square at this height, was to carve deep curved channels into the adjacent tower walls, through which the bells’ rims could swing. Two of these can still be seen in the tower, level with the top of the upper bell cage. They show that the Tenor bell was hung parallel and close to the North wall of the tower.
The radius of the bell, from gudgeon pins to rim was 7ft3” (2.2 metres). The Third was hung against the West wall, had a radius from gudgeon pins to rim of 5ft6”(1.67 meters). The grooves make a sixty degree arc rather than being a full circle, as would be expected as at this stage in their history the bells were being chimed rather than rung to a full rotation of the bell.
1600’s
The bells and bell ringing was accorded great importance at the time. During the l7th century constant attention was paid to the bells and high levels of expenditure lavished. During a period of 30 years £92 was spent upon them out of a total church income of £550, a large sum for the period. (For prices in 2006 terms, adjusted for inflation, see appendix 3)
1611. The churchwardens employed Roger Purdue (spelt Purdie) to cast a new treble to weigh 11cwt. 3qrs. 21lb. (588kg) There were thus five bells by this time.
1621. The Churchwardens employed Roger Purdue to re-cast the 4th bell within the limits and precincts of the parish – for £8, weight etc., carefully secured. Recasting was done when a bell had developed a crack, either in the body of the bell or in the canons.
1628. Roger Purdue re-cast the 3rd and 5th bells: “att the bell-pitt in the backside of the now dwelling houses of one Josias Breans situate in Wrington”. The churchwardens and any inhabitants were allowed to watch the proceedings, provided that they behaved themselves. Great care was taken over the weight of the bells, and Roger Purdue was paid £20 for the work. Bronze was a precious material and there was always concern that there should be no losses, and that the newly cast bell would have a similar size and note to the previous one.
1633-4. This year is taken at random from the Wrington church seventeenth century accounts.
Bell maintenance was expensive – They must have been extensively used. High frequency of replacing ropes and repairing bell clappers continued.
Church accounts relating to the bells, for this year, read as follows: (figures in italics are 2006 prices, adjusted for inflation)
Paid for 8 ropes for the bells. 4/6d £31.32p
Commissioners viewed the bells when they viewed the church . 1/0d £6.96p
John Coombe and Richard Lawrence and Thomas Wilshire,
Dec. 12th, for mending upper frames and bells. 6/0d £41.76
William Wreach for ironwork the same time. 7/2d £49.88p
Paid him for mending the great bell clapper. 6/6d £45.24p
Paid him more for mending the third bell clapper. 10/0d £69.60
William Wreach more for mending the great bell clapper. 5/0d £34.80
John R for 2 wheels for 3rd and 4th bells and for 4 days work. £1/19/0d £271.47
William Wreach for ironwork and a guarding for 4th bell 13/4d £92.81
and for wedges, spikes and oil for them . 2d £1.16p
William Wreach for mending the 3rd bell clapper and for 6 pounds of wedges. 6/2d £42.92
Richard Lawrence and Thomas Wilshire for mending the bells. 1/0d £6.96
About the bells 11 th Dec. 6d £3.58
It should be noted that the 3rd and 4th bells were given wheels, enabling change ringing. The 5th Tenor “great bell” was still without a wheel, and probably was still being chimed, lying behind, hanging from the “upper frame”. The stress on the wooden frame from the swinging of such heavy bells is reflected in the need to wedge the frame in a range of places, as well as damage requiring mending. “About the bells” seems to have been a meeting with its associated refreshments.
The bells were appreciated. :
Paid to ringers 27th March 4/ 2d £29
Received of Lord Poulett "for tolling the bell as the body went through the town" 6/8d £46.40
1642. 3/10d. was given to the ringers for ringing to celebrate Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. as she passed through Wrington on her way to France.
1650. The ringers received 3/0d. when they rang to celebrate the quelling of the Montrose rebellion.
1651. The bells rang to celebrate the defeat of Charles I at Worcester. During the Civil War this represented very public support in the village for the Roundhead side.
1660. The bells were rung to celebrate King Charles II being proclaimed King, after the republican Protectorate! For the latter the ringers and drummers received 13/0d.
The churchwardens took constant care of the five bells. Between 1633 – 62 they spent £92 14/7d on the bells. In the period 1633 – 74 they bought 41 new ropes, (an average of one per year). The 3rd, 4th and Tenor each had a new clapper, whilst the 2nd had four new ones. The Tenor clapper had to be repaired in: 1633, 1639, 1640, 1650,1653 and 1655. This indicates very active bellringing in this period. The Treble and Tenor each had two new stocks, and the 2nd and 4th bells had a new one. A new stone corbel was put in, to improve structural support for the bellframe or “cage” in which which the bells hung. The timber bellframe itself was repaired. Purdue cast a new set of “brasses”(bearings) for the bells in 1639. The cost of this work was £3 3/4d.
1697 – 1700. The Churchwardens paid £50 for the casting of the bells. There is no mention of which bells they were, nor who did the job.
Prior to 1700 the bells probably weighed:
Treble 11-3-21 (0.61 Tonnes) Purdue 1611
2nd 12-3-25 (0.659 Tonnes) Unknown 16th Century
3rd 20-3-16 (1.062 Tonnes) Purdue 1628
4th 33cwt (1.676 Tonnes) approx. Purdue 1621
Tenor 38cwt (1.93 Tonnes) approx. Purdue 1628
The 18th Century
1702–3. The Tenor was taken to Gloucester and recast by Abram Rudhall, to a weight of 38 cwt. (1.9 tonnes).This indicates improved road conditions as it was now not necessary to cast a heavy bell in a bell-pit in the village. The bell apparently went to Gloucester in the Autumn of 1702. The bill was paid in 1704 and was made in instalments. The cost of this was £58 4/, but there were other incidental expenses: viz; going to Gloucester to take the weight of the bell, and entertaining Rudhall and his son when they came to Wrington to collect the money that was due them. The labour involved in carting a heavy bell as far as Gloucester, and also the clapper that had been forged in Bristol was reflected in the bill for beer amounting to £6 17/7d. Travel time would have been in the region of one week each way. Total cost was £65 1/7d. (For prices in 2006 terms, adjusted for inflation, see appendix 3)
1710-11. Bells were taken away to be recast. Which bells were not specified, nor how many of them. The old 3rd (currently the 9th, weighing 20 cwt 3q 16 lbs (1.055 tonnes)) is known to have been recast in 1712, so it must have been one of them. Bilbie, of Chew Stoke did the recasting, probable Edward Bilbie. The Bilbie foundry had been established in Chew Stoke in 1698 by "ould Edward Bilbie" as he called himself, and it lasted for over 100 years. Bells from the foundry are numerous in Somerset. The cost of transport was £1 2/6d each way. The accounts of 1711 – 19 are missing, so it is not known much was spent on the re-casting.
1733-4. This year is taken at random from the Wrington church eighteenth century accounts.
Bell maintenance was expensive – They must have been extensively used. High frequency of replacing ropes and repairing bell clappers continued.
Church accounts relating to the bells, for this year, read as follows: (figures in italics are 2006 prices, adjusted for inflation)
Paid for 8 ropes for the bells. 4/6d £31.32p
Commissioners viewed the bells when they viewed the church . 1/0d £6.96p
John Coombe & Richard Lawrence & Thomas Wilshire, Dec. 12th, for mending upper frames and bells.
6/0d £41.76
William Wreach for ironwork the same time. 7/2d £49.88p
Paid him for mending the great bell clapper. 6/6d £45.24p
Paid him more for mending the third bell clapper. 10/0d £69.60
William Wreach more for mending the great bell clapper. 5/0d £34.80
John R for 2 wheels for 3rd and 4th bells and for 4 days work. £1/19/0d £271.47
William Wreach for ironwork and a guarding for 4th bell 13/4d £92.81
and for wedges, spikes and oil for them . 2d £1.16p
William Wreach for mending the 3rd bell clapper and for 6 pounds of wedges. 6/2d £42.92
Richard Lawrence and Thomas Wilshire for mending the bells. 1/0d £6.96
About the bells 11 th Dec. 6d £3.58
It should be noted that the 3rd and 4th bells were given wheels, enabling change ringing.
The 5th Tenor “great bell” was still without a wheel, and probably was still being chimed, lying behind, hanging from the “upper frame”. The stress on the wooden frame from the swinging of such heavy bells is reflected in the need to wedge the frame in a range of places, as well as damage requiring mending.
About the bells” seems to have been a meeting with its associated refreshments.
The bells were appreciated. :
Paid to ringers 27th March 4/2d £29
Received of Lord Poulett "for tolling the bell as the body went through the town" 6/8d £46.40
1743. A new timber bell “cage” or frame to hold the five bells was made by John Bush, and the bells re-hung at a cost of £34/15/1½d. (£5,508) The new cage was designed to be able to hold six bells. At this time there were meetings to consider breaking up the Great Bell (Tenor) and recasting the resulting bronze to make two bells, to bring the resulting number up to the six required for Method ringing. The Churchwardens consulted Bilbie about the bells (1748), and also the Chancellor. It was decided to retain the Tenor intact.
1749–50. The old five bells were made into a peal of six. Bilbie’s contract for this still exists (1749). All the bells, except the third (currently the 9th, the oldest bell now in the tower,) were taken to Chew Stoke,. The old third became the 5th in the new peal. The other bells were recast, to make five new bells. Thus the old 1,2,4,5 became the new 1,2,3,4,&6. The work was done by Thomas Bilbie 1st.
The Tenor was recast to a similar weight that it previously had. Part of Bilbie’s contract was to make the Tenor weigh no less than “38 hundred” (38 hundredweight or 1.9 tonnes). (Despite this Bilbie managed to cast a bell 5 cwt below that specified in the contract.)
Two of the bells surviving in the tower bear the date of this re-casting (1750), (the current 6th and 8th ). The cost for this was: recasting, £58/6/0d; cost of agreement 5/0d. The bells were, in this instance hauled to Chew Stoke and back by plough teams. The cost of hauling the bells to Chew Stoke was £3, the cost of hauling home was £2/10/0d. Money spent on refreshments was £3/6/7½d. Total cost £67/7/7½d.
This effectively removed the middle of the three biggest bells (33cwt), making it possible to fit the remaining two, plus four smaller bells within the new frame. The scrap weight of the old Treble (11cwt) plus the old 2nd (12cwt) and the old 4th (33cwt) covered the bronze needed for the four new bells. The result was one of the heaviest peals of six bells in the country (probable the third heaviest).
Installation of wheels on all the bells plus “stays” on the top of the bells, to allow the bells to rest mouth-upward between sessions of change ringing, completed the modernization required. It was now possible to ring with far less force needing to be applied to the bell, and to let the bell rest, mouth upwards, when not being rung. It was now possible to do the “Method” ringing that had been developing during the seventeenth century, on six bells with one ringer per rope apart from the Tenor, as will be explained below.
1767. The third bell (present 7th) was recast by Thomas Bilbie l at Chew Stoke. There is no record of alteration in weight. Cost: the account £29/8/10d. Hauling bell to Chew Stoke 18/6d. Hauling home 19/6d. New rope 6/0d. Liquor 6/4d. Total cost £31/19/2d.
1780. The tenor was rehung at a cost of £5 8/0d. Also 10/0d for drink for the men. Repair and adaptation of the frame was required. The timber for this was not paid for until 17th September 1785. (£4/7/0d.)
When weighed in 1911(weights recorded by Major Hesse) the eighteenth century Bilbie six were found to be
Treble 10-2-8 (0.533T) 1750
2nd (now 6th) 10-3-25 (0.659T) 1750
3rd (now 7th) 14-0-26 (0.723T) 1767
4th (now 8th) 17-1-10 (0.876T) 1750
5th (now 9th) 20-3-16 (1.055T) 1712
Tenor 33-0-8 (1.68T) 1750
The Nineteenth Century
1845. Mears recast the Treble and the Tenor at a cost of £134 3/0d. The bells were sent from Yatton railway station to Whitechapel in London. The age of the small local bell foundry had come to an end with the coming of the railways.
At Yatton station the bells were weighed on their dispatch and on their return. A letter was written to Mears saying that the Tenor was not to be removed from the station as it was unsatisfactory. An accident must have taken place with the mould: it separates in three places causing an unsightly appearance. The “canon” at the top of the bell, appeared to be of very inferior metal, very drossy and apparently unsound, making it likely that the canons would soon crack under use and the bell need to be recast. Mears answered the complaint by saying that they would recast the bell if it was found to be defective.
When the new bells had finally been hung, it is recorded that the last member of the Bilbie family, a small man, old and bent with hair over his collar, came from Chew Stoke to hear whether the new bells were the equal of the old Bilbie bells. His assessment was not recorded.
1891. Repairs to the old oak bell frame were carried out by Barwell of Birmingham at a cost of £95/15/0d. This work was found to be unsatisfactory.
1895. The gudgeons of the Tenor broke, and the Canons were removed. The Tenor weight was reduced from 38- 2- 16 (1.932 tonnes) to 37-0-13 (1.886 tonnes).
The 20th Century
The state of ringing and bell technology before the major improvements made in 1911 is indicated by a “Peal Board” in the ringing chamber of the tower. In 1907 the first ever full peal on the bells was recorded. This was despite the bells having been in their six-bell configuration since 1750.
It took two ringers to ring the Tenor to Doubles methods – one standing on the box and the other on the floor. The man standing on the floor was known as the “strap man”, as he pulled on a strap that was attached near to the bell rope end, giving it a second end that he could pull while the rope end stayed in the hand of the ringer on the box. There was also a leather strap attached across the box for the ringer on the box to tuck his feet into, so the ringer could exert a lot of force without lifting himself off the box.
This feat of ringing a full peal, (even though the Tenor bell stayed where it needed less force than that required for ringing the bell to a Minor method) was considerable. The modernization that followed included replacement of old the brass bearings with new ones, with new, precision machined gudgeons, plus the removal of the heavy “canons” and old-style headstocks. This made it possible for peals to be rung with a single ringer ringing the Tenor, and also the viability of ringing methods where the tenor ringer “turned the tenor in”, ringing within the pattern of changes rather than just ringing behind.
In 1911, one of the celebratory Peals was for a “Royal” method, with the tenor being rung by one man, with the Tenor ringing “turned in”, participating in the ever changing pattern of ringing the method.
In addition to new bearings and headstocks, 1911 the peal was increased to the present ten bells by the addition of four treble bells. This was largely at the initiative of Mr John Harley Bridges Hesse that the old six bells were increased to the present ring of ten. The old bells were not recast but were taken away (via Yatton Station) to Mears, Whitechapel and retuned. Mears installed a new frame with steel framework and cast iron cages. The bells were hung in two tiers, the new top tier being level with the base of the previous frame.
Inscriptions on the four new bells refer to people prominent in the village at the date:
Treble: Mr. H.H. Wills 1911. Mr. Henry Herbert Wills was a great benefactor to the villages of Redhill and Wrington. To him Wrington owes the gift of a cottage and site for the Memorial Hall, as well as a gift of £1000 towards the cost of the building. Mr. Wills died in 1922 before the building of the hall began but his widow - Mrs. Mary Monica Cunliffe Wills whose name appears upon the second bell, laid the foundation stone in 1923 and opened the hall in 1924.
The initials on the third bell GMA and EMA refer to the Revd. G.M. and Mrs. Ashdown. He was Rector of Wrington from 1890 until 1924.
The fourth bell is inscribed `In Memoriam T.B. Harrison'. Major General Harrison lived at West Hay from 1887, was a J.P. for Somerset, a member of the Managers of the School and was the first Chairman of the Parish Council. He had the John Locke Hall built and after his death in 1903 his daughters handed over the hall to the Parish together with an endowment of £1,000.
1930. The 5th bell cracked and was recast by Mears (Whitechapel).
1945. Tenor clapper renewed.
1947. Frame cleaned and painted.
1951. The Tenor hummed over the other bells too much, so Mears recommended reducing the weight of the clapper by 4 lb (2kg). A couple of months later it was reduced by a further 7 lb (3kg). . Mr Colin Hobbs took out the old fashioned clapper fittings and put in modern types. He charged £5 for this work.
1965. Clappers were sent to Mears for overhaul.
1977. The Tenor clapper broke. Returned, weighing 47 lb (21kg).
1978. 2nd clapper broke. Repaired by Colin Hobbs. The bells were rehung, the old “brasses” or plain bearings, being replaced with sealed ball bearing races.. This was at a cost of £4000. The Tenor and 2nd were given new clappers.
1985. 6th cracked and was recast by (Mears) Whitechapel. New bell augmented in weight by 15 lbs (7kg). Colin Hobbs (Tower Captain) and John Dunstone were responsible for dismounting and lowering the bell. The bell was transported to Whitechapel by truck on the M5. On its return they saw to its re-lifting it the 70ft (22Meters) back into place into the top tier of bells. The rector, dedicating the bell, christened it “Colin John” (Description of the recasting, Appendix 1)
The weights of the bells
Prior to 1750 the bells probably weighed:
Treble 11-3-21 (0.61 Tonnes) Purdue 1611 (Bilbie 1712?)
2nd 12-3-25 (0.659 Tonnes) Unknown 16th Century
3rd 20-3-16 (1.062 Tonnes) Purdue 1628
4th 33cwt (1.676 Tonnes) approx. Purdue 1621 (Bilbie 1712?)
Tenor 38cwt (1.93 Tonnes) approx. Rudhall 1702
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