Brenchley, All Saints
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Details of the Bells |
Bell | Weight (most recent) | (Supplied in 1863) | (As received 1924) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
® | Treble | 4-0-5 | 26⅜" | E | 1924 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Flat | Never | |||
® | 2 | 4-3-0 | 28" | D♯ | 1924 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Flat | Never | |||
® | 3 | 5-1-11 | 5-2-24 | 5-2-10 | 30¼" | C♯ | 1863 | George Mears & Co., Whitechapel | Removed | 1924 John Taylor & Co | |
® | 4 | 6-1-21 | 6-3-5 | 32½" | B | 1729 | Richard Phelps, Whitechapel | Removed | 1924 John Taylor & Co | ||
® | 5 | 8-1-6 | 8-2-10 | 36" | A | 1610 | Joseph Hatch, Ulcombe, Kent | Conventional | 1924 John Taylor & Co | ||
® | 6 | 9-2-10 | 9-3-15 | 39" | G♯ | 1813 | Thomas Mears II | Removed | 1924 John Taylor & Co | ||
® | 7 | 13-3-9 | 14-1-0 | 43¼" | F♯ | 1610 | Joseph Hatch, Ulcombe, Kent | Conventional | 1924 John Taylor & Co | ||
® | Tenor | 17-3-24 | 18-1-0 | 46½" | E | 1610 | Joseph Hatch, Ulcombe, Kent | Conventional | 1924 John Taylor & Co |
Bellframes |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
1 | All bells | 1924 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Cast iron |
Inscriptions |
Of the Old 1610 six |
Bell | Weight (most recent) | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
Treble (of 6) | 6-0-1 | 1610 | Joseph Hatch | Never | Scrapping weight 1863. | |
2nd (of 6) | 1610 | Joseph Hatch | Never | Founder assumed see notes. Recast 1729. | ||
4th (of 6) | 1610 | Joseph Hatch | Never | Founder assumed see notes. Recast 1813. |
History |
1610 | 4 bells cast by Joseph Hatch. | ||
1729 | 2nd (of 6) cast by Richard Phelps. | ||
1813 | 4th recast by Thomas Mears. | ||
1863 | Treble cast by George Mears. | ||
1883 | The tower was equipped with a clock and chimes, at a cost of 200 guineas. | ||
1924 | It was reported that the old frame was a strange wooden affair. Bells 5,1,2,3 hung across the centre of the tower in a straight line swinging N/S. On the N side hung the 4th and on the S side the tenor. giving a clockwise fall of ropes but not a circle. On 9th February, the Rochester DAC approved plans for rehanging the bells in a new frame. They very earnestly wish that great care will be taken of the old bells of 1610. "They earnestly hope that the canons of the bells shall not be cut off & they would express the hope that if posssible you would have a timber frame - oak or teak - instead of the proposed metal one, which generally they disapprove of". On 18th March a faculty was granted for rehanging the bells in a new cast iron frame for eight bells, the three 1610 bells to have canon-retaining headstocks. The bells were removed from the tower. John Taylor & Co tuned them and refitted them. On 7th September 2 trebles were ordered from Taylor's to make the ring up to 8 bells. | ||
1925 | On 7th January, the Tower Captain wrote to Taylor's to hope that the bells would soon be back, and that Horsmonden "wanted doing" and that one of the bells at Lamberhurst had fallen out of its framework. On 3rd February the parish wrote to Taylors, "How pleased everyone is with the bells. A Rochester ringer had said that they ring as well if not better than the recently hung Cathedral bells." | ||
1932 | 11th Nov | 7th headstock cracked. It was "repaired" by Taylors who reduced their price, after a row, to £20. | |
1958 | 13th Oct | 7th headstock (steel) broke across middle. Colin Tester ordered a new cast iron canon retaining stock which was installed the following February by Taylors (£80). | |
1975 | 15th Mar | Tenor headstock broke. Tom Sone advised a new one, like the 7th, and Taylors installed it later in November for £422. | |
2012 | Canon retaining headstocks were fitted to bells 5, 7 and tenor by Whitechapel and reh |
Gallery |
Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 29 May 2023 |