CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL |
THE SOUTH WEST OR OXFORD TOWER |
|
To find the door to ascend the tower, enter the Cathedral through the door shown at the bottom right of the picture. The tower door is on the left. |
| DETAILS
OF THE PRESENT RING |
HISTORY
OF THE TOWER |
DONORS
OF THE PRESENT RING |
PICTURES OF THE BELLS |
PREVIOUS RINGS IN THIS TOWER |
Bell
Weight
Diameter
Pitch
Cast
Founder
Extra Treble
5-2-5
26"
A sharp 1981
Whitechapel
1
6-0-2
27¼"
G sharp 1981
Whitechapel
2
6-2-2
28¾"
F sharp 1981
Whitechapel
3
6-2-20
29½"
E sharp 1981
Whitechapel
4
7-0-12
31"
D sharp 1981
Whitechapel
5
7-3-16
32½"
C sharp 1981
Whitechapel
Flat Sixth
8-1-16
34"
B 1981
Whitechapel
6
8-0-12
33¼"
B sharp 1981
Whitechapel
7
8-3-24
35"
A sharp 1981
Whitechapel
8
10-3-26
38"
G sharp 1981
Whitechapel
9
15-0-8
42½"
F sharp 1981
Whitechapel
10
17-3-16
45"
E sharp 1981
Whitechapel
11
24-2-10
50½"
D sharp 1981
Whitechapel
Tenor
34-3-4
56½"
C sharp 1981
Whitechapel
| 0. | SIMON | |||||
K.C.A.C.R. 1880 - 1980 CENTENARY BELL |
19 |
 |
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 1. | CRUNDALE | |||||
 RECAST A. D. 1923 |
A. D. 1923 KENT COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE RINGERS TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEMBERS WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR. 1914 - 1918. |
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19 |
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 2. | ALPHEGE | |||||
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A.
D. 1923. K. C. A. C. R. 1914 - 1918. |
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19 |
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 3. | THOMAS | |||||
| THOS. MEARS LONDON FECIT --------- ...... A.D. 1802. PACE REDDITA | ||||||
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RECAST | |||||
19 |
|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 4. | MARY | |||||
| THIS BELL WAS DONATED BY THE EAST KENT FEDERATION OF WOMEN’S INSTITUTES (horse symbol) (WI symbol) |
19 |
|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 5. | ETHELBERT | |||||
| GIVEN BY THE RINGERS OF GREAT BRITAIN |
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 6. | ANSELM | |||||
| GIVEN BY PETER MARSH SURVEYOR TO THE FABRIC |
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 6b | ERNULF | |||||
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|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 7. | BLAISE | |||||
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|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 8. | JOHN | |||||
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 9. | LLANFRANC | |||||
 IOHNNES
GRANDORGE STP JOHNNES HANCOCKE STP SK 1727 |
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| GIVEN BY THE FRIENDS OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL |
RECAST | |||||
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81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 10. | GABRIEL | |||||
| EDUARDUS TENISON STP HON - EDUARDUS FINCH AM
SK FECIT 1728 |
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| RECAST | ||||||
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|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 11. | AUGUSTINE | |||||
| 1726 RADULPHUS BLOMER STP
ELLAS SYDAL STP SK FECIT |
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| RECAST | ||||||
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|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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| 12. | TRINITY | |||||
| ROY (coat of arms) THIS BELL WAS GIVEN TO MARK THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF HENRY ROY PRATT BOORMAN C.B.E., D.L., M.A., F.J.I., BY THE STAFF AND DIRECTORS OF THE KENT MESSENGER 21ST SEPTEMBER, 1980 |
YE
RINGERS ALL THAT PRIZE YOUR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS BE SOBER MERRY WISE & YOU'LL THE SAME POSSESS PACK & CHAPMAN OF LONDON RECAST |
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19 |
 |
51 |
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| WHITECHAPEL RECAST |
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19 |
|
81 |
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| WHITECHAPEL | ||||||
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1425 |
The Oxford Tower was built. |
1430 |
Great Dunstan (that used to hang in the Campanile) was recast. |
1433 |
The bells from the Arundel Tower were transferred to the Oxford Tower. (The bells from the Angel Steeple then went to the Arundel Tower.) |
1459 |
Great Dunstan was finally hallowed and hung in the Oxford Tower. |
1499 |
John Bayle cast "le Mariebelle" and 5 other bells and recast Great Dunstan. |
1625 |
Four of the Oxford Tower bells were recast and probably augmented to six. |
1663 |
Michael Darbie recast Great Dunstan. |
1684 |
Christopher Hodson recast Great Dunstan. |
1726 |
The bells in the Oxford Tower were sold to St Peter's, Sandwich. |
1727 |
Samuel Knight cast a ring of 8 for the Oxford Tower, recasting the 5th. |
| 1728 | Samuel Knight recast the 6th. |
| 1758 | An attempt was made to mend Great Dunstan with solder. |
1762 |
Lester, Pack & Chapman recast Great Dunstan. |
1778 |
The Tenor was recast by Pack & Chapman. |
1802 |
The ring was augmented to 10 by Thomas Mears I with addition of 2 treble bells. |
1854 |
The 3rd & 6th were recast by Charles & George Mears, but found to be the wrong note, so they were recast again the following year. |
1872 |
The Canterbury Chimes were designed and installed. |
1892 |
Great Dunstan was rehung on a new steel girder headstock by Samuel B. Goslin of Bishopsgate. |
1897 |
The bells were rehung by Thomas Blackbourne to Mr J. K. Jerram's design. |
1923 |
The bells were augmented to 12 by Whitechapel with the addition of 2 treble bells given as a War Memorial for members of the Kent County Association. |
1951 |
The Tenor was recast by Whitechapel and all the bells were rehung on ball bearings. |
1981 |
7 of the bells in the Oxford Tower were scrapped and a new ring of 12 with two semione bells were cast and hung in the Oxford Tower in a new frame. Great Dunstan together with 5 of the old bells in the clock chime were hung in the Arundel Tower. Three cast iron framesides and two sets of fittings (presumably from the trebles) were reused at Tacolneston, Norfolk. |
Extra Treble Kent County Association of Change Ringers Treble Anne Oakley and Helen Bintcliffe 2nd In memory of Edward James Mount 3rd The Queen's Regiment 4th East Kent Federation of Women's Institutes 5th The Bell Ringers of Great Britain Flat 6th Mr Peter Marsh, A.R.I.B.A. 6th Mr F.E.Cleary, C.B.E., F.R.I.C.S. 7th The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral 8th The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral 9th The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral 10th Mr & Mrs Severn Joyce 11th The City of Canterbury Tenor The Director & Staff of The Kent Messenger Group
These bells were remodelled from a former ring of 12 in 1981:
|
1 | Þ |
|
|
| 2 | Þ | |||
| 3 | Þ | |||
| Ü | 4 | |||
| Ü | 5 | |||
| Ü | 6 | |||
| Ü | 7 | |||
| Ü | 8 | |||
| 9 | Þ | |||
| 10 | Þ | |||
| 11 | Þ | |||
| 12 | Þ | |||
| Ü | DUNSTAN | |||
Hung in the Arundel Tower |
Old Bells | Recast for the new ring |
 |
Viewed from above, the 8th is on the left, the extra treble at the bottom - both these bells are on the upper tier. The tenor may be seen in the top right. |
| Again from above, the 3rd, 4th and 5th may be seen in a row. The bell on the upper tier at the extreme right is the flat 6th. |  |
 |
From the side, the 8th (left) and extra treble may be seen on the top tier. The 5th and 6th may be seen at the bottom. |
| The tenor on the floor of the cathedral awaiting hanging in 1981. |  |
