Dover, St James the Apostle, Old Church

DOVER, St James the Apostle, Old Church

	Formerly 6 bells
	Tenor 17½ cwt approx.

	Canterbury District
	Frame: 17th/18th Century timber
	Retuning: Never subsequently retuned
	Bells sold in 1862 to pay for bells in the New Church. Replacement bell sold to All Saints, Spring Park, Shirley, Croydon.
	Tower collapsed 1951.

The church pictured in c.1910.

DETAILS OF THE BELLS

Bell

Weight

Diameter

Cast

Founder

1	5 cwt approx.	30½"	?	Unknown
2	6½ cwt approx.	33½"	1637	John Wilnar
3	8 cwt approx.	37"	1637	John Wilnar
4	9 cwt approx.	38"	1637	John Wilnar
5	12½ cwt approx.	43"	1637	John Wilnar
6	17½ cwt approx.	47"	1637	John Wilnar

The founder of the treble is not known, but was presumably either Robert Catlin or Thomas Lester. Following the disposal of these bells in 1862, the following single bell was installed:

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Cast	Founder
Single Bell	3½ cwt approx.	24½"	1872	John Warner & Sons

L^D G^R SACKWELL T^S REVELL ESQ^RE GAVE ME I^A GODWIN THO^S KID

IOHN

WILNAR

MADE

ME 1637 (crest)

IOHN

WILNAR

1637

IOHN WILNAR (crest)

IOHN

WILNAR

MADE

ME 1637

IOHN

WILNAR

MADE

ME 1637 W

W (crest) R

S C

The single 1872 bell is inscribed:

S. CAST BY JOHN WARNER & SONS LONDON 1872

1637		Ring of 5 bells cast by John Wilnar.
1724		The church was visited by the College Youths prior to a peal at St Mary the Virgin.
1748		A treble was given to augment the ring to 6. It is not known who cast it, but it was probably Robert Catlin or Thomas Lester.
1862		The church was sold and the bells sold to Naylor Vickers to pay for steel bells in the New Church. The building was closed.
1869		The church was restored.
1872		A bell was cast by John Warner & Sons (about 3 to 4 cwt) and hung in one of the vacant pits of the 6-bell frame.
1940-44		The church was severely damaged by shelling during the War. The south east corner of the central tower fell during the shelling.
1951	2nd May	The entire tower, except for the north side, which stood to its full height, collapsed. The north side was subsequently levelled to the nave level, leaving the newell staircase in position. The bell was removed to St Mary's before being transferred for use to All Saints, Spring Park, Shirley (near Croydon). It is hung there without canons dead on a concrete beam.

OLD PHOTOGRAPH

	An astonishing view of Old St James'. The old 6-bell frame (containing one 3½ cwt bell) is seen in the process of gradual collapse. A week after Mr Austin of Dover took the photograph, the tower crashed (2nd May, 1951). The rubble was cleared and the surviving walls made safe as today's "tidy ruin".