Canterbury St George

c.1325		2nd (of 4) cast by William le Belyetere.
1616		A bell was cast for St Mary Magdalene, Canterbury by Joseph Hatch.
1623		Tenor (of 4) and a clock bell cast by Joseph Hatch.
1627		Treble (of 4) (re)cast by Joseph Hatch.
1664		3rd (of 4) (re)cast by Thomas Palmar I.
1788		Base of turret pierced to allow for a pedestrian walk.
1791		The turret was demolished as it was unstable. It had contained a clock bell. A spire was placed on the tower.
1836		A new clock was put on the church striking on the tenor bell. (This is the existing projectory clock.)
1871		Parish united with that of St Mary Magdalene. St Mary's was demolished and its treble bell was transferred to St George to be the treble of a ring of 5 in F sharp minor.
1872		Church was extended following the merge of parishes.
1887		Stahlscmidt recorded 4 bells and a clock bell.
1925		Bells rehung with chiming fittings in the old frame by Mears & Stainbank.
1942	1st June	The church was gutted by fire during an air raid. The clock stopped at 2:18 am). The bells crashed and partly melted - they were subsequently "lost".
1942		The Rector requested the September PCC that "Any bell metal should be sent to Mears & Stainbank as there might be enough to cast two bells for the new church". It is not known if this was done.
1945		The parish of St George's was united with St Martin with St Paul and the Rectory in Ersham Road became the Rectory for the new parish. It still has the "George and Dragon" external mural from its pre-war days. A new church was to be designed by Mr Curtis Green, Architect, with a tower.
1951	April	Following the collapse of Eastwell Church, Mr Curtis Green applied for the bells and frame to be made available for the new St George's.
1951	December	The Diocesan Registrar was told by Gilllett & Johnston that it was highly unlikely that "the Eastwell Bell and Frame would fit into any other tower".On the Registrar's advice, the Vicar and Churchwardens of Eastwell sold the bells for scrap. Mr Curtis Green expressed himself "very disturbed by this action."
1952	January	Eastwell bells were taken out and sold.
1952	October	The church was levelled apart from the tower which stands in the pedestrian precinct as the St George's Clocktower.
1953		It was decided not to build a grand new St George's on Barton Estate, but a Mission Church, dedicated to Queen Bertha.
1955	May	The clock dials were restored with 2nd hand movement and set going.
2009		Following failure of the dials the clock eventually stopped. It was decided by the City Council to remove it and restore it to its pre-war appearance.
2010	21st January	The clock having been replaced on the tower to the 1836 designs was again set going.


St George's Church as it appeared before the War.	This picture was taken a few days after the church was damaged by the air raid of 1st June, 1942. The tower was largely intact.	However, just under a fortnight later, the demolition gangs moved in to pull the church down. Part of the tower was dismantled (as can be seen above) before concerned citizens could intervene to save it.

Another picture of the burnt out church.	Scaffolding went up to protect the tower of the church as the authorities were persuaded to maintain and rebuild the tower. (Photo 2nd July 1942.)	By 30th July, the scaffolding was complete.

The St George's Clocktower was finally restored after the war as a free standing tower, although alas, the bells had gone. The tower may well be strong enough for bells to be returned to the belfry - it would be a fitting Civic Ring, and were the bells to be rung from the ground floor, a fine advertisement for the Exercise of Change Ringing.		How the tower looked in 2006.

The new clock set going in 2010 harks back more faithfully to the original clock on the bombed out church.	Another view of the bombed out church.	Woodcut of the late steeple in 1825 edition of Gosling's "Walk around Canterbury"

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Pitch	Cast	Founder
1	4Ľ cwt approx.	28"	C sharp	1616	Joseph Hatch
2	4ľ cwt approx.	30"	B	1627	Joseph Hatch
3	6˝ cwt approx.	33"	A	c.1325	William le Belyetere
4	8˝ cwt approx.	36"	G sharp	1664	Thomas Palmar I
5	12 cwt approx.	40"	F sharp	1623	Joseph Hatch