| |
|
|
Chiddingstone, St Mary the Virgin
 Photo: Dickon R Love
|
|
Details of the Bells |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | (As supplied 1838) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
| ® | Treble | 5-1-27 | 29¼" | E♭ | 1784 | Robert Patrick, Whitechapel | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ® | 2 | 4-3-0 | 5-1-12 | 29³⁄₁₆" | D | 1838 | Thomas Mears II | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | |
| ® | 3 | 6-0-6 | 32⅛" | C | 1893 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ® | 4 | 6-1-24 | 6-3-19 | 33½" | B♭ | 1838 | Thomas Mears II | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | |
| ® | 5 | 8-2-27 | 36⅞" | A♭ | 1784 | Robert Patrick, Whitechapel | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ® | 6 | 10-0-13 | 38¹³⁄₁₆" | G | 1991 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | Flat | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ® | 7 | 14-2-5 | 42¾" | F | 1753 | Lester & Pack, Whitechapel | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ® | Tenor | 17-0-3 | 46⅞" | E♭ | 1867 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Removed | 1991 Whitechapel | ||
| ꓕ | Sanctus | The Corby Bell | 1-0-6 | Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel | Peg | Never |
Bellframes |
| Position |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
| Main level | 1 | Ring of 8 | 1750 | Robert Catlin, Holborn | 8.3 |
|||||
| Level tba | 2 | Sanctus | 2013 | Gillett & Johnston, Croydon | Steel |
Inscriptions |
|
Original Ring of 8 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| Treble (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1784. | ||
| 2nd (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1838. | ||
| 3rd (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1813. | ||
| 4th (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1838. | ||
| 5th (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1784. | ||
| 6th (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1753. | ||
| 7th (of 8) | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1753. | ||
| Tenor (of 8) | 17-3-3 | 1750 | Robert Catlin | Never | Recast in 1867. |
Recast in 1893 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 3rd (of 8) | 6-3-5 | 25" | 1813 | Thomas Mears I | Never | Recast in 1893. (Weight is gross) | |
| 6th (of 8) | 11-0-11 | 32" | 1753 | Lester & Pack | Never | Recast in 1893. (Weight is gross) |
Recast in 1991 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 6th (of 8) | 10-1-27 | 1893 | Mears & Stainbank | Never | Recast in 1991 (Weight @ 1893) |
Recast in 1893 |
| Bell | Date | Founder | Fate |
History |
| 1565 | -7 | 1st recorded payment for "The Reparation of the Chyming of the Clock and Bells." | |
| 1567 | -9 | 1st recorded payment for the renewal of ropes and clappers. | |
| 1573 | Bells rehung in a new frame at a cost of £10.5s.6d. | ||
| 1621 | Thomas Hatch was paid 3s 6d for "Hanging and Trussing the Bells." | ||
| 1623 | 4 bell ropes were bought indicating the presence of 4 bells at the time. | ||
| 1624 | The church was struck by lightning and was largely destroyed on 24th July. The tenor, recast the year before, was recast again by John Wilnar for £7.15s. 5 ropes bought. Allen Hatch paid £7.2s.4d for "mending the bells". This was a considerable sum and implies that one of the bells was recast. The tenor was recast by John Wilnar for £7.15s.0d. Work took place on the clappers by a gentleman called Brooker. | ||
| 1627 | 3 bells were recast by John Wilnar (one of which may have been a sanctus bell). | ||
| 1628 | 5 bell ropes were bought, confirming that there were (at least) 5 bells in the tower. | ||
| 1629 | 13th Sept. | Church reconsecrated by the Bishop of Rochester. | |
| 1631 | There were clearly problems with the treble bell and clapper as various pieces of work needed to be done to it. Eventually John Wilnar recast is for £8.6s.11d. | ||
| 1639 | Thomas Croft built a new frame for £12.16s.6d. | ||
| 1680 | Bells rehung by John Chatfield for £24. | ||
| 1692 | Tenor rehung for over £5 by Francis Udall, assisted by Thomas Shoebridge who did the ironwork. | ||
| 1710 | New church clock installed. | ||
| 1750 | The 5 bells were recast (with more metal) into 8 by Robert Catlin, who hung them in a new frame. This was Catlin's penultimate job of work. | ||
| 1752 | 6th and 7th recast by Lester & Pack. | ||
| 1784 | Treble and 5th recast by Robert Patrick, acting as an agent for the bellfoundry in Whitechapel. | ||
| 1813 | 3rd recast by Thomas Mears and the remainder repaired. | ||
| 1814 | "Old carved wood" was put up at the entrance of the ringing gallery as part of a general refurbishment of the church. | ||
| 1817 | Jan. | A new window and new screen was put up in the ringing gallery, presented by Mrs Sophia Streatfeild. | |
| 1838 | 2nd and 4th recast by Thomas Mears. [1] | ||
| 1859 | Ringing gallery was pulled down and replaced with the organ. | ||
| 1867 | Tenor recast by Mears & Stainbank. [2] | ||
| 1893 | 3rd and 6th recast and bells rehung by Mears & Stainbank. A clock was supplied by Gillett & Johnston. [3] | ||
| 1899 | Tower reported unsafe and ringing stopped. | ||
| 1901 | Structures built in the tower to spread the weight of the bells and frame evenly over the whole tower instead of on the holes in the stonework were put in by A E Nunn of Tenterden. Ringing could therefore resume. | ||
| 1911 | Minor repairs effected on the bells by Mears & Stainbank at a cost of £11.10s. | ||
| 1929 | 7th and tenor rehung by Gillett & Johnston with new fittings. | ||
| 1976 | Front 6 rehung on ball bearings by Christopher Mundy and Andrew Corby with new fittings supplied by Whitechapel. | ||
| 1991 | 6th recast and whole peal rehung by Whitechapel. They were rededicated by the Bishop of Rochester on 8th September. | ||
| 2013 | A bell, which was given as a silver wedding present to Philip and Lucile Corby by Frank Hairs, was presented to Chiddingstone church and hung dead as a sanctus bell by Gillett & Johnston. [4] |
| [1] | 1838, 21st Sept: The Parish of Chiddingstone. To 2 Bells 5-1-12, 6-3-19 (12-1-5 @ 15d) £80.4.2, booking etc 10s, Hanging &c £6, Carriage £2.10. Total £89.4.2 1838 3rd Oct: The Parish of Chiddingstone - By old bells 13-2-9, £63.7.6, charges £2, Total £65.7.6; I.e. net cost £23.16.8 Dec: The Parish of Chedingstone, Kent. To Mens' time rehanging Bells, lining and turning gudgeons of tenor bell and two new rollers, £5.18.0 (Whitechapel Day Book) |
| [2] | 1868, 7th Jan: H.D. Streatfield CW Chiddingstone, Nr. Penshurst. To a Bell Tenor recast 19-2-1 @£7/-/- £136.11.3 11th Mar: H.D. Streatfield. By old bell 18-1-2 gross (17-3-3 net) £87.2.1; I.e. net cost £49.9.2 (Whitechapel Day Book) |
| [3] | 1893 29th Jun: Whitechapel Daybook records the recasting of 3rd and 6th bells at net cost £34.7.8. The provision of 8 sets of new fittings including 4 new wheels & new clapper for the tenor, £71. Repairs to frame & fittings & rehanging £46. Total £151.7.8. (Whitechapel Day Book) |
| [4] | Dedication of the "Corby Bell". This bell (1-0-6) was given by Frank Hairs as a Silver Wedding gift to Phil and Lucile Corby, and hung for many years outside their house, Puckden, at Chiddingstone Hoath. After Phil's death, and following his son Andrew's move to Canterbury, the bell was taken down and stored in a garage in a nearby village. Some years ago a scheme was launched to hang the bell in Chid tower for use as a sanctus bell. This plan has now come to fruition and the bell was dedicated at the 10.00am service on Sunday 22 September 2013. A little bit of background to the bell follows below. Sir John Bennett was an upmarket clockmaker with premises in Cheapside (photo right). Mears & Stainbank (now Whitechapel Bell Foundry) cast clock bells for Sir John and added his name to the castings. Sir John would then have installed the finished clocks in large houses, commercial premises etc. The bells and clock jacks on the front of the building were removed in 1929 and reinstalled at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit in 1931. As a matter of interest the four faces in the photo (taken in May 1891) show the time in New York, St Petersburg, Berlin and Constantinople. (Kent County Association Website, 2013) |
Articles
The ring of bells |
The tenor bell. Photo: Dickon Love, 31 Dec 2004 |
View of the belfry. Photo: Dickon Love, 31 Dec 2004 |
The Corby Bell (Sanctus) |
Photo: |
Photo: |
Photo: |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 31 July 2022 |