Maidstone, St Michael & All Angels
Photo: Dickon Love, Jul 2004 |
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Details of the Bells |
Bell | Weight (most recent) | (As dispatched in 1933) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
® | Treble | 2-1-12 | 19¾" | C | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 2 | 2-1-20 | 20¾" | B | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 3 | 2-2-16 | 22" | A | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 4 | 2-2-26 | 24" | G | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 5 | 3-1-4 | 26" | F | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 6 | 3-3-8 | 27" | E | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | 7 | 5-0-4 | 29" | D | 1979 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | Never | ||
® | Tenor | 6-1-24 | 6-1-21 | 32" | C | 1933 | Gillett & Johnston, Croydon (4770) | Flat | Never | |
ꓕ | Clock | 4¾ cwt approx. | 28⅞" | 1734 | Richard Phelps, Whitechapel | Never |
Bellframes |
Position |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
Main tier | 1 | Ring of 8 | 1876 | John Warner & Sons | Oak |
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8.3 |
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Belfry ceiling | 2 | Clock bell |
Inscriptions |
Earlier 1878 ring of eight |
Bell | Weight (most recent) | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
Treble | 4-3-12 | F | 1878 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 | |
2 | 5-0-4 | E♭ | 1878 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 | |
3 | 5-2-8 | D♭ | 1878 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 | |
4 | 6-0-2 | B | 1878 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 | |
5 | 6-2-4 | B♭ | 1878 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 | |
Tenor | 7-1-26 | A♭ | 1876 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1979 |
Earlier Penge bell |
Bell | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
Single Bell | 1866 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast in 1933 at St Paul's, Penge |
History |
1734 | Bell cast for Burham Old Church by Richard Phelps. | ||
1876 | 25th Oct. | The new church with the single John Warner bell, hung in pit 7 of a new 8-bell frame were consecrated. It was given by the Members of the Building Committee for £89.17.6. | |
1878 | 5 trebles were added to the single bell in pits 2-6. They were given as follows: (1) Sarah Buckmaster, (2) Henry Hughes, (3) David White, (4) Charles Beaumont, (5) Wigan Family. The stated costs of the bells were (1) £41.7.6. (2) £45.17.6, (3) £49.12.6, (4) £53.12.6, (5) £59.10.0 | ||
1933 | Gillett & Johnston cast a bell for St Paul's, Penge which was cast in memory of Millicent Scott-Hopkins. Millicent was the daughter of Dr John Sidney Turner and Mrs Emily Jane Turner (née Barry). Mrs Turner donated the new bell in memory of her daughter who died 2 years earlier. Mrs Turner herself died of a heart attack on 21 June 1933. [1] | ||
1974 | The bell from St Paul's, Penge was acquired by St Michael's. | ||
1979 | The Minor 6 were recast into the fron 7 of an octave by Whitechapel. They were hung in the existing frame together with the bell from Penge forming the tenor. The bell from Burham Old Church was hung as the clock bell. | ||
1980 | 2nd Feb. | Bells dedicated. |
[1] | Mrs Turner has been identified for many years with St Paul’s Church, Hamlet Road, which she attended with unfailing regularity and her love for the church was demonstrated in many ways. When the organ was restored, she made a generous contribution towards the cost and recently she provided a new bell as a memorial to her daughter, Mrs Scott-Hopkins, who died two years ago. Mrs Turner suffered a grievous loss by her daughter’s passing and had never really recovered from the shock. (Norwood News, Fri 23 June 1933) |
Articles
Gallery |
Clock bell Photo: Graham Heath, 2007 |
The 7th on the left, the tenor on the right. Photo: Graham Heath, 2007 |
The 6th. Photo: Graham Heath, 2007 |
Photo: Graham Heath, 2007 |
Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 29 May 2023 |