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Tenterden, St Mildred
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♫ Sound recording of the ring of bells.(Damian S Smith) |
Details of the Bells |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | (Prior to retuning) | (Supplied weight (or noted by Bowell in his notebook)) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
| ® | Treble | 7-3-6 | 7-3-24 | 33⅜" | C | 1769 | Lester & Pack, Whitechapel | Removed | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | 2 | 7-0-17 | 7-1-14 | 33¹⁵⁄₁₆" | B | 1884 | John Warner & Sons | Removed | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | 3 | 9-1-24 | 9-1-0 | 36⅜" | A | 1961 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Flat | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | 4 | 11-0-14 | 11-2-1 | 11-2-3 | 40¹⁄₁₆" | G | 1920 | Alfred Bowell, Ipswich | Flat | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | |
| ® | 5 | 13-2-3 | 14-0-3 | 43⅛" | F | 1826 | Thomas Mears II | Removed | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | 6 | 16-2-16 | 16-3-16 | 45½" | E | 1961 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Flat | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | 7 | 21-1-21 | 23-0-7 | 51⅛" | D | 1884 | John Warner & Sons | Removed | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | ||
| ® | Tenor | 27-3-23 | 29-1-10 | 30-1-24 | 56⅛" | C | 1884 | John Warner & Sons | Removed | 1961 Mears & Stainbank | |
| Priest's | 0-3-14 | 14⅞" | 1450 | Unknown | Never |
Bellframes |
| Position |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
| Belfry floor | 1 | Ring of 8 | 1971 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Cast iron |
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8.3 |
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| Belfry ceiling | 2 | Sanctus |
Inscriptions |
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The bells recast in 1961 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 3rd (of 8) | 9-1-0 | 1757 | Thomas Lester | Never | Recast 1961 | |
| 6th (of 8) | 16-3-19 | 1884 | John Warner & Sons | Never | Recast 1961 |
The bell recast in 1920 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 4th (of 8) | 11-2-3 | 40" | 1774 | Pack & Chapman | Never | Recast 1920. Supplied weight given. |
The bells recast in 1884 |
| Bell | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 2nd (of 8) | 1769 | Lester & Pack | Never | Recast 1884 | |
| 6th (of 8) | 1769 | Lester & Pack | Never | Recast 1884 | |
| 7th (of 8) | 1774 | Pack & Chapman | Never | Recast 1884 | |
| Tenor (of 8) | 1717 | Richard Phelps | Never | Recast 1884 |
History |
| 1461 | Richard Herne of Canterbury bequeathed funds to build the tower. | ||
| 1471 | John Godday bequeaths £10 for a bell for the new bell tower. | ||
| 1619 | 2nd recast by Joseph Hatch. | ||
| 1621 | Unspecified bell recast by Joseph Hatch. | ||
| 1628 | 3rd recast by Joseph Hatch. | ||
| 1636 | 3rd recast again, this time by John Wilnar. | ||
| 1671 | Unspecified bell recast by Christopher Hodson. | ||
| 1709 | Tenor broken by 5 "youths" striking it with hammers. | ||
| 1717 | Existing 5 bells recast into 6 by Richard Phelps. | ||
| 1757 | Treble & 4th (of 6) recast by Thomas Lester. | ||
| 1769 | 2 treble bells added to make 8 by Lester & Pack. | ||
| 1774 | 4th and 7th recast by Pack and Chapman. | ||
| 1826 | 5th recast by Thomas Mears. | ||
| 1884 | Bells 2, 6, 7 and 8 recast by John Warner. | ||
| 1912 | The Archbishop of Canterbury (Lord Davidson) preached at a special service to mark the completion of the restoration of the tower. The tower is 100ft to the top of the parapet, and the pinnacles are 26ft high (with one 29ft high). | ||
| 1920 | 4th recast and tenor and 7th rehung on new headstocks and bearings by Alfred Bowell. [1] | ||
| 1930 | The 7th was rehung by Alfred Bowell. [2] | ||
| 1938 | A new clapper ball had to be supplied to the 7th, by Alfred Bowell. | ||
| 1961 | 3rd and 6th recast by Mears & Stainbank and all the bells were retuned and rehung in the old frame. (Lack of funds meant that a new frame, which was advised, was not installed.) The bells were rededicated after the restoration. Sept was the start of something momentous. | ||
| 1968 | The Whitstable Cemetery chapel bell gables were been taken down. One of the bells was eventually given to St Andrew's Church nearby. The other went to St Paul's, Tuckswood, Norwich. | ||
| 1971 | Bells rehung in a new frame lower in the tower by Whitechapel. The previous frame used to be anticlockwise. They were rededicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 11th December. |
| [1] | To rehanging the tenor bell £50. To recasting the fourth bell £60. To new headstock & clapper £10. To repairs to framework, etc £25. Inscription on new bell 82 letters @ 4d each £1-7-4. Less allowance for doing all at one time £5-0-0. total £141-7-4. Paid cq on a/c £70 22 Oct 1920. £2 cash on a/c. cq. On a/c £20 23 Jan 1921. cq. On a/c £10. 17 Feb 1922. cq on a/c £25 20 Oct 1922. cq £14-7-4. 26 Mar 1924 (Bowell records, 29 Sept 1920) |
| [2] | 1930 Nov: To rehanging the 7th bell £20. To eight mufflers £1. Total £21. Paid cq. £21. 1 Dec 1930. (Bowell records, Nov 1930) |
Gallery |
Sanctus bell prior to rehanging. Photo: Richard Offen |
Sanctus bell after rehanging. Photo: Richard Offen |
Peal Boards |
Photo: Mark Chittenden-Pile, 30 December 2022 |
Photo: Mark Chittenden-Pile, 30 December 2022 |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 12 May 2017 |
