Biggin Hill

BIGGIN HILL, St Mark

	6 bells
	Tenor 6-1-24 in B
	Grid Ref. TQ419589
	Lewisham District
	Frame: 1959 John Taylor 2 tier (tenor below)
	Retuning: Never subsequently retuned
	Upstairs in Detached Tower
	PEALS

DETAILS OF THE BELLS

Bell Weight Diameter Cast Founder

1

2-2-12
22½"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

2

3-0-5
24"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

3

3-0-20
25"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

4

3-2-4
26"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

5

4-2-0
28½"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

6

6-1-24
32"
1959

John Taylor & Co.

INSCRIPTIONS

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

I AM THE LITTLE CHILDREN'S BELL
1959

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW
RING OUT THE FALSE, RING IN THE TRUE

VIVIAN SYMONS, VICAR

D. J. S. POTTEN
J. F. BATH

}

CHURCHWARDENS

1959

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF
DORIS C. A. OSBORNE, OF SEVENOAKS
THIS BELL WAS GIVEN BY
DOROTHY AND RUPERT REEVES, OF SANDERSTEAD
1959
REJOICE WITH ME

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

THIS BELL WAS GIVEN BY THE BARRON BELL TRUST
1959

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
PART OF THE COST OF THIS PEAL OF BELLS
WAS GIVEN BY THE BARRON BELL TRUST

EMMA BARRON, FOUNDER

H. W. ELDRED
K. C. WALROND
E. R. PENNELL

}

TRUSTEES

1959

J	OHN TAYLOR & Co. \ FOUNDERS \ LOUGHBOROUGH \

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF ARTHUR THOMAS READ
WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS KING AND COUNTRY
WHILE SERVING IN THE MIDDLE EAST, 1941
THIS BELL WAS GIVEN BY HIS PARENTS
(T. A. AND L. READ)
1959

"IF I TAKE THE WINGS OF THE MORNING,
EVEN THERE SHALL THY HAND LEAD ME,
AND THY RIGHT HAND SHALL HOLD ME."

HISTORY

c. 1920 Mission church built with 1 small swing chiming bell.

1954 Rev'd Vivian Symons acquired All Saints, Peckham for dismantling for materials for Biggin Hill. The bell from this church was brought also from All Saints, inscribed "Ring out the old, ring in the new, ring out the false, ring in the true" by Mears & Stainbank.

1958 The All Saints bell was given to the RAF Chapel in Biggin Hill. A new tower and bells were ordered. The tower was designed and built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott & Partner. The bells were from John Taylor & Co.

1959 The bells were cast and hung in the new tower. The tenor was hung just above the ringing room with the other five above on one level.

1959 25th April The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester where the bells rang out.

1980

Maintenance provided by John Taylor.

THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH

The following photographs come and text come, with permission, from "The Moving Church" which is the Vicar's account of the building of the church using that of All Saints, Peckham. More information can be found from the Biggin Hill - Then and Now website.

Rev. Vivian Symons became Curate of Biggin Hill in July 1951. At that time the only place of worship was a "Tin Tabernacle" - a corrugated iron building that was erected some 30 years earlier. This is what Vivian had to say about his first visit to Biggin Hill and the church:-

"From Bromley, I caught the motor coach. It climbed steadily until it was six hundred feet above sea-level, and eventually we passed the airfield. As we drove past the guardroom I was interested to see a fairly large building being constructed. It was in an unusually light-coloured brick and did not resemble a barrack block; surely it must be the new Memorial Chapel. We passed the end of the runway just jet aircraft were taking off. We ran beneath an avenue of trees and the coach stopped beside the "Black Horse". The conductor told me we were in Biggin Hill.

"To my surprise the first person I asked for directions to reach the Church did not know where it was: the second said vaguely that the Vicarage was further down the road. As I walked through the village it somehow did not seem right; many of the houses and shops gave the appearance of being temporary ones and there were no public buildings of any kind. As I crossed the road I noticed a group of fir trees and beside them was a board with faded lettering - 'St. Mark's Church'. I could see the red corrugated iron between the tree trunks and guessed it was the "Tin Tabernacle". Although I was there as the prospective priest to the little church I somehow felt I was intruding and that it was hiding its head in shame behind the trees. Approaching it I could not help noticing the peeling of the red paint from the ironwork and the decaying condition of the wood falling away from the little school-bell turret at the end. It was difficult to realise that this tiny, shabby building was a district church."

An old church was found - All Saints', North Peckham SE15. Built in 1894 but had been disused for many years.
"As I turned out of the Old Kent Road into Trafalgar Avenue, and crossed the bridge over the Surrey Canal, the church loomed up in front of me. The church itself took up the full length of Davey Street, a cul-de-sac, and was an immense building. I was pleased by the size as it would allow for wastage and damage in dismantling. My church would be smaller so there was the possibility that I might have enough materials to build a new church hall as well."

The work had begun. The first thing to do was to erect the scaffolding. This took Vivian many months, ensuring that it was securely butting up against the inside walls of the church. His first goal was to break through the roof and demolish the bell tower. Before the bell was removed a service was held when the bell was rung for the last time.

With the roof now gone, work started on the walls. Using a pick axe, Vivian, and the occasional volunteer helper, would loosen a handful of bricks at a time, stack them onto the scaffolding platform then lower them to the floor before loading the lorry with as many as it could hold. These would then have to be unloaded at Biggin Hill before an early start the next morning.
With the tower gone the tiles were removed, stacked into bundles of 12 and lowered carefully down to the lorry. The roof could then be dismantled. Each of the huge timbers were lowered to the floor using a petrol driven hoist kindly donated. Measurements of the roof were taken before dismantling so it could be rebuilt almost exactly as the original in the new St. Marks at Biggin Hill.

The walls were almost down but there was a problem with the row of arches along the northern side of the nave. These were supported by pillars - each of which weighed somewhere in the region of 2 tons. None of the equipment he had could dismantle these. He decided to wrap steal wire around the top of the columns and use the power of the lorry to pull them over. The bricks and rubble on the floor helped to cushion the falling masonry to prevent damage. Then came the task of clearing up:-

"We enlarged the door opening so the lorry could be backed right inside the church to cut down the distance that bricks and rubble had to be carried for loading. The floor of the church was covered with tens of thousands of bricks which had to be taken to Biggin Hill. This was a monotonous job. Walking over the rubble strewn floor to the lorry with six bricks at a time meant 600 journeys per load. I found that I could not manage more than one full load a day and so the work went on for several months."

3 years, 4 months, 125,000 bricks, countless pairs of gloves, boots and overalls, a vast amount of plasters, 3 lorries and 2 toe nails. Many people gave up their time to lend a hand in one way or another but the majority of the work was completed by Rev. Vivian Symons on his own.

1	2-2-12	22½"	1959	John Taylor & Co.
2	3-0-5	24"	1959	John Taylor & Co.
3	3-0-20	25"	1959	John Taylor & Co.
4	3-2-4	26"	1959	John Taylor & Co.
5	4-2-0	28½"	1959	John Taylor & Co.
6	6-1-24	32"	1959	John Taylor & Co.

c. 1920		Mission church built with 1 small swing chiming bell.
1954		Rev'd Vivian Symons acquired All Saints, Peckham for dismantling for materials for Biggin Hill. The bell from this church was brought also from All Saints, inscribed "Ring out the old, ring in the new, ring out the false, ring in the true" by Mears & Stainbank.
1958		The All Saints bell was given to the RAF Chapel in Biggin Hill. A new tower and bells were ordered. The tower was designed and built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott & Partner. The bells were from John Taylor & Co.
1959		The bells were cast and hung in the new tower. The tenor was hung just above the ringing room with the other five above on one level.
1959	25th April	The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester where the bells rang out.
1980		Maintenance provided by John Taylor.

The following photographs come and text come, with permission, from "The Moving Church" which is the Vicar's account of the building of the church using that of All Saints, Peckham. More information can be found from the Biggin Hill - Then and Now website.
Rev. Vivian Symons became Curate of Biggin Hill in July 1951. At that time the only place of worship was a "Tin Tabernacle" - a corrugated iron building that was erected some 30 years earlier. This is what Vivian had to say about his first visit to Biggin Hill and the church:-
	"From Bromley, I caught the motor coach. It climbed steadily until it was six hundred feet above sea-level, and eventually we passed the airfield. As we drove past the guardroom I was interested to see a fairly large building being constructed. It was in an unusually light-coloured brick and did not resemble a barrack block; surely it must be the new Memorial Chapel. We passed the end of the runway just jet aircraft were taking off. We ran beneath an avenue of trees and the coach stopped beside the "Black Horse". The conductor told me we were in Biggin Hill.