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Petham, All Saints
 Photo: Richard Offen
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Details of the Bells |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
| ® | Treble | 3-1-5 | 24" | G | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Doncaster | Never | |
| ® | 2 | 3-3-0 | 25½" | F | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Doncaster | Never | |
| ® | 3 | 4-1-0 | 27½" | E♭ | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Doncaster | Never | |
| ® | 4 | 4-1-16 | 28" | D | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Doncaster | Never | |
| ® | 5 | 5-2-6 | 30¼" | C | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Doncaster | Never | |
| ® | Tenor | 6-1-0 | 33" | B♭ | 1923 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Flat | Never | |
| ꓕ | Clock | 3 cwt approx. | 24" | 1907 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Never |
Bellframes |
| Position |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
| Main tier | 1 | Ring of 6 | 1923 | Local | Timber |
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6.1 |
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| Belfry ceiling | 2 | Clock bell |
Inscriptions |
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How the bells are tuned |
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The 1760 ring of six |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| Treble | 3-3-1 | 25" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Up a little" | Destroyed 1922 | |
| 2 | 4-1-6 | 26¼" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Up ¼" | Destroyed 1922 | |
| 3 | 4-2-16 | 28" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Maiden bell" | Destroyed 1922 | |
| 4 | 4-3-11 | 29" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Up a little" | Destroyed 1922 | |
| 5 | 5-3-2 | 31" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Maiden bell" | Destroyed 1922 | |
| Tenor | 6-3-6 | 33½" | 1760 | Lester & Pack | "Maiden bell" | Destroyed 1922 |
The earlier ring of three |
| Bell | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| Treble (of 3) | 1706 | Richard Phelps | Never | Recast 1760 | |
| 2nd (of 3) | 1617 | Joseph Hatch | Never | Recast 1760 | |
| Tenor (of 3) | Unknown | Unknown | Never | Lombardic. Recast 1760. |
History |
| c | 1350 | Bell cast, later forming the tenor of a ring of 3. | |
| 1617 | Middle bell (of 3) cast by Joseph Hatch. | ||
| 1706 | Treble (of 3) cast by Richard Phelps. | ||
| 1756 | Record of 3 bells in the tower. [1] | ||
| 1760 | The 3 bells were recast into a peal of 6 by Lester & Pack. | ||
| 1907 | A bell was cast for Kenfield Hall. This was destined to become the clock bell after the 1922 fire. | ||
| 1922 | Fire virtually destroyed the church and melted the bells. | ||
| 1923 | A new ring of 6 was cast by Mears & Stainbank and hung in a new locally made wooden frame. | ||
| 1967 | Whitechapel tightened the frame and fittings and recharged the bearings with lubricant. | ||
| 1979 | Curtains were made to shroud the ground floor ringing room from the rest of the church, by Mrs Cynthia Andrews. | ||
| 1994 | Bells rehung with partly new fittings by the Kent C.A. |
| [1] | In ye *Tower, wch. Is low, and much decay’d, hang 3 Bells, with ye following Inscriptions. 1. Richard Phelps Fecit Me. 1706. Thomas Halke. C.W. 2. Josephus Hatch Feset 1617. 3, Vocor Campana Johannis. (Added in blacker ink). *A.D. 1760. This Tower was taken down about half Way, and rebuilt; And at ye same Time, ye Old Bells were disposed of, and a very pretty Peal (‘tho a light one) of 6, were placed in ye Room of them. They are thus inscribed. 4. Lester and Pack, of London, fecit 1760. Georgins III Rex. Weight: C03. Q03. L01. 5. Lester and Pack, of London, fecit 1760. Weight: C04. Q01. L06. 6. Lester and Pack, of London, fecit 1760. Weight C04. Q02. L16. 7. LESTER and PACK, of London, fecit 1760. Thomas Halke. Weight C04. Q03. L11. 8. Lester and Pack, of London, fecit 1760. John Potter, Bell Hanger. Weight C05. Q03. L02. 9. Lester and Pack, of London, fecit 1760. Bryan Fausett, Curate. W. FORD. Ch. Warden. Weight C06. Q03. L06. In pulling down ye Tower, a Stone Cross, such as one as is often seen upon gable Heads of ancient Churches, was found work’d up in the very Heart of the Wall; and, must have been very ancient, as ye Tower itself had an Appearance of great Antiquity & was extreamly decay’d. The following Inscription was engraved on it in very ancient Characters PREY FOR THE SOLL OF WILLEM BYN thinking it would be Pitty to have it lost, I got ye Workmen to fix it outwards on ye West Ends of ye Tower; but they have placed it so high, that it cannot be read, from ye Ground (added in browner ink) (Rev’d Bryan Faussett, 1756) |
Gallery |
In the belfry. Photo: |
The clock bell hanging from the belfry ceiling. Photo: Dickon Love, c. 1986 |
Photo: Dickon Love, c. 1986 |
The intermediate chamber and clock mechanism. Photo: Dickon Love, 2013 |
The ground floor ringing room is opened on two sides. Photo: Dickon Love, 2013 |
Photo: Dickon Love, 2013 |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 1 April 2016 |
