Stodmarsh, St Mary
Photo: Richard Offen, 2007 |
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Details of the Bells |
Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Canons | Retuned | ||
҂ | 1 | 3½ cwt approx. | 25⅝" | 2nd half 16th Cent. | Robert Doddes | Possibly by Thomas Kempe. Never retuned. | |||
҂ | 2 | 3 cwt approx. | 23⅜" | 1280 | Unknown | Never |
Inscriptions |
History |
c | 1280 | Present tenor cast in the 13th Cent, founder unknown. | |
c | 1560 | Current treble cast in the 16th Cent, a higher pitch than the tenor but was a heavier bell. The founder is unknown, but probably Robert Doddes or Thomas Kempe. | |
1758 | Record of 2 bells in the tower. [1] | ||
1887 | Stahlschmidt inspected the bells, but appears to have got the tenor inscription wrong, and the tenor and treble the wrong way round. [2] | ||
1969 | Bells inspected by Ranald Clouston and David Cawley. They noted that ropes were attached to wooden levers, hung in a timber frame over the west end. There was no floor immediately below the bells. | ||
1982 | Bells rehung for swing chiming with levers by Whitechapel. |
[1] | "This Church is small, and consists only of The Chancell and Body. The Steeple which has a low wooden Spire, is at the West End. In it hang 2 Small Bells. I could not get at them, to read their Inscriptions, if they had any." (Rev’d Bryan Faussett, 1758) |
[2] | The smaller bell is a curious specimen of early bellfounding, the lettering being place on the shoulder angle. It is probably earlier than 1300. The larger bell is probably of Elizabethan date. (Church Bells of Kent, Stahlschmidt, J C L, 1887) |
Love's Guide to the Church Bells of Kent | Page updated: 4 April 2020 |