The Bells of Saint Mary's

St Mary's Ecclesfield has a ring of 8 bells.  The lightest (the Treble) weighs 5cwt or 245kg, the heaviest (the Tenor) weighs 14cwt 3qr 16lb (1668 lb) or 757kg. 

The bells viewed from above, they are in the "down" position.

The bells are in the top part of the tower (the belfry),  the room behind the wooden louvre windows.  The louvres allow the sound out but keep the weather and birds from getting in.  The bell frame is just below the level of the louvre windows so that the sound has to rise and mix before it escapes to the wider world.  This improves the sound quality and stops a bell near a particular window from sounding louder than the others.

Before they can be rung in changes, the bells must be rung up to their raised position (upside down).  Once there, they rotate full circle and strike once, then rotate back full circle and strike once more.  The motion is controlled by the ringer through the rope.  It is this control that allows a ringer to place a bell in the right place in the changes.  The photo below shows the bells in the raised (up) position.

The bells viewed from above, they are in the 'up' position.

The bells are arranged in the bell frame so that they turn at 90 degrees to each other, this evens out the dynamic loads on the tower.  The Treble, 4, 5 and Tenor swing North/South, 2, 3, 6 and 7 swing East/West.  Each bell swings on double row self-aligning ball bearings.

The bells in a line down the centre of the above photo are (left to right) 4, 5, Tenor, Treble.  The two at the top right of the photo are 6 on the left, 7 on the right.  In the bottom left of the photo are 3 at the far end, the Sanctus bell in the middle and 2 at the bottom.

The bells were cast at different times over 4 centuries by 3 bell founders.  The oldest bell in the ring of 8 is the 7th, it is dated c1590.  In the 1600's Ecclesfield had 4 bells, then 2 were added in 1745 to make 6, and in 1845  two more were added and 2 recast to create the current octave in the key of F.

Through the centuries the bells were mounted in wooden frames but the last wooden frame was replaced with the present metal one in 1952 by Gillett and Johnston of Croydon.  The bells were also re tuned at this time.   As a result of the work in 1952 the bell ropes now hang so that the rope circle is clockwise from 1 to 8, previously it was anti-clockwise which was unusual.  The total cost of all the work was £1500.  The bells were rededicated on 22nd May 1952.  Since then the only major work carried out was the replacement of the clappers and crown staples in 1988.  The clappers are ductile cast iron.

The photograph below is of the bells in their new frame while still at Gillett and Johnston's of Croydon in 1952.  This was the last time the bells were removed from the tower.

The Sanctus Bell

We have one other bell in the belfry called a Sanctus bell. It's only small and not hung for change ringing, it can only be chimed and serves no purpose now.  It has always been known to the ringers as Tom Tinker.  The purpose of a Sanctus bell was to signal to the village and those not able to attend the service that Mass was being celebrated.

The Sanctus bell is dated c1580 making it the oldest bell in the tower.  It is 15" diameter mounted on a timber headstock and weighs approximately 3/4 cwt.  The wrought iron clapper is held by a cast-in crown staple.  It is mounted on steel gudgeons running in plain gunmetal bearings on a small sub frame on top of the main bell frame.  It can be chimed from the ringing chamber by pulling the rope attached to the lever that projects from the headstock.  We do occasionally give the rope a pull, so listen out for it.

We have not managed to find any information about who cast the Sanctus bell.

  The Sanctus Bell (TomTinker)

The Bells

The 7th bell was cast by Henry Dand c1590.  The translation of the Latin inscription is: Let this bell be made holy by the blessed trinity

The 8th bell was cast by William Oldfield (of  York) in 1617.

The 7th, 8th and Sanctus bells are included in the Church of England, Database of Historically Significant Bells

See Dove's Guide For Church Bell Ringers entry for Ecclesfield

Canons

Canons are the metal loops cast at the top of the bell. They are the means of attaching it to a wooden headstock.  The Treble, 2,3,4 5 and 6 bells have had their canons removed at some time in the past.

The 7th and 8th bells still have their canons, 6 on each bell, this is an interesting historical feature.  To preserve the bells in their original state they are mounted in special canon retaining metal headstocks.

The Sanctus bell also has 6 canons and is the only one mounted in the traditional way on a wooden headstock.

The top of the Sanctus bell showing the canons and the timber headstock.

 Muffled and Half Muffled Ringing

Commemorative ringing is undertaken with the bells half-muffled.  Leather pads are tied to each clapper but only on one side.  As the bells swing in one direction, the side of the clapper without the pad will strike the bell normally, as the bells swing back, the side of the clapper with the pad will strike producing a quieter muffled sound.  It produces a lovely quiet echo reserved for sad or solemn occasions. 

Fully muffled ringing is not usually carried out.  It might be if the death of a sovereign was announced.

To contact us about anything on this web site or ringing at Ecclesfield, please email: ecclesfieldtower@hotmail.co.uk