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WORMSHILL, St Giles

 
6 bells
Tenor 3-1-15 in E
Grid Ref. TQ882574
Rochester District
Frame: 1988 Whitechapel
Retuning: 6th in 1988 and 5th in 1995 by Whitechapel. 4th not retuned.
Three of the bells came from St Gregory the Great, Canterbury
Two of the bells came from West Bretton, South Yorkshire.
Ground Floor
PEALS

DETAILS OF THE BELLS
Bell Weight Diameter Cast Founder

1

1-0-9

17"

1963

Mears & Stainbank

2

1-1-27

19"

1963

Mears & Stainbank

3

2-0-2

21"

1963

Mears & Stainbank

4

2-1-0

1731

Samuel II Smith

5

2-1-7

1731

Samuel II Smith

6

3-1-15

255/8"

1718

Richard Phelps

INSCRIPTIONS
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THESE THREE BELLS
WHICH WERE CAST BY C. & G. MEARS IN 1851
WERE RECAST BY MEARS & STAINBANK IN 1963
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EX DONO GULIELMI WENTWORTH BARONETTI
(The Gift of Sir William Wentworth, Baronet)
5. EX DONO GULIELMI WENTWORTH BARONETTI
(The Gift of Sir William Wentworth, Baronet)
6. R PHELPS FECIT 1718

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.

1963

The 3 bells from St Gregory's, Canterbury were recast by Mears & Stainbank.

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

13th May

The treble and 2 from West Bretton were hung in the 2 empty Wormshill pits. The West Bretton tenor was retained for possible use in Murston Old Church.

1995

8th Oct.

Bells dedicated by R't Rev'd R. David Say.

DETAILS OF THE OLD RING OF FOUR

Bell

Diameter

Cast

Founder

1

1863

Naylor Vickers & Co.

2

25½"

1718

Richard Phelps

3

27"

1719

Richard Phelps

4

31½"

1863

Naylor Vickers & Co
1. NAYLOR VICKERS & Co 1863
   
2. R PHELPS FECIT 1718
   
3. THOMAS DVTNALL CHVRCH WARDEN : R : PHELPS FECIT 1719
   
4. NAYGOR VICK$RS & Co 1863
   

(The treble and tenor were steel bells; the 2nd and 3rd were bronze.
Diameters are taken from Stahlschmidt's "Church Bells of Kent", 1887.)

The Church of St Gregory the Great, CANTERBURY
St Gregory, Canterbury The front 3 bells at Wormshill used to hang in the 3 open spaces. The church is now redundant and is used by Christchurch College as "The St Gregory Centre".

PICTURE OF THE BELFRY
The three St Gregory bells in Wormshill tower. The bell up is the treble, with its large clapper flight.