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Wormshill
 

Wormshill, St Giles


Photo: Richard Offen, 2005

  • 6 bells hung for full circle ringing
  • Tenor: 3-1-15 in E.
  • Grid Ref: TQ881574
  • Rung from: Ground Floor
  • Frame: 1988 Whitechapel Bell Foundry
  • Denomination: Church of England
    Diocese (Anglican): Canterbury
    Archdeaconry (Anglican): Maidstone
  • Kent County Association of Change Ringers District: Rochester
  • Building Listed Grade: II Click for Heritage details.
  • Peals rung at the tower

Details of the Bells

Bell Weight
(most recent)
Diameter Note Date Founder Canons Retuned
® Treble 1-2-518¼" C♯ 2010 Whitechapel Bell Foundry Flat Never
® 2 1-1-2719" B 1963 Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel Flat Never
® 3 2-0-221" A 1963 Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel Flat Never
® 4 2-1-021½" G♯ 1731 Samuel II Smith, York Never
® 5 2-1-222½" F♯ 1731 Samuel II Smith, York 1995 Whitechapel
® Tenor 3-1-1525⅝" E 1718 Richard Phelps, Whitechapel Conventional 1998 Whitechapel
® Storage 3-0-925" 1731 Samuel II Smith, York Never

®  - Hung for full circle ringing

Bellframes

Frame Bells Year Maker Material Truss(es) Local
Layout
1 All bells 1988 Local Steel

Inscriptions

Prior to 2010

Bell Weight
(most recent)
DiameterNoteDateFounderRetunedFate
Treble (of 6)1-0-917"C♯1963Mears & StainbankNeverRecast 2010

History

1718 2nd (of 4) cast by Richard Phelps (this bell is now the tenor).
1719 3rd (of 4) cast by Richard Phelps.
1731 3 bells were cast by Samuel Smith II of York for West Bretton, Yorkshire.
1851 3 bells were cast by C. & G. Mears for St Gregory's, Canterbury.
1863 Treble and tenor (of 4) replaced with 2 steel bells by Naylor Vickers.
1885 Tower deemed unsafe for bells to be rung properly.
1944 Albert Hughes from Whitechapel inspected the bells with a view to installing a ring of 6. There are local memories of there being 3 (rather than 2) steel bells - a check with the Whitechapel Foundry may be able to confirm this. The steel bells were scrapped shortly afterwards.
1963 The 3 bells from St Gregory's, Canterbury were recast by Mears & Stainbank.
1985 The 3 bells from St Gregory's, Canterbury were removed from the church and stored at Richard Offen's house.
1988 The 1718 bell was welded by Soundweld and hung in a new frame for 6 in the tenor pit. The frame was designed by Whitechapel and built by M. Nightingale in Faversham. The 3 St Gregory bells were hung in pits 1, 2 & 3.
1995 The treble and 2 from West Bretton were hung in the 2 empty Wormshill pits on 13th May. The West Bretton tenor was retained for possible use in Murston Old Church. The remodelled ring was then dedicated by R't Rev'd David Say on 8th October.
2010 The treble was recast into a heavier bell by Whitechapel.

Articles

  • "Culmination of a fifty year project at Wormshill", Love, Dickon R (The Ringing World) 1 September 1995
  • "Wormshill - the real story", Offen, Richard C (The Ringing World) 20 October 1995
  • "Wormshill bells dedicated", Love, Dickon R (The Ringing World) 24 November 1995
  • "Culmination of a 50 year project at Wormshill", Love, Dickon R (:Lovesguide and The Ringing World) 1 January 1995
  • Gallery


    The new treble bell, cast in 2010.
    Photo: Graham Heath, 7 May 2011

    The new treble bell, cast in 2010.
    Photo: Graham Heath, 7 May 2011

    The three St Gregory bells in Wormshill tower. The bell up is the former (1963) treble, with its large clapper flight.
    Photo: Dickon Love


    Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent Page updated: 1 April 2016