St Peter & St Paul Church – Charlton Adam

BELLS    -    YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION TO THE CHARLTON ADAM BELLS APPEAL HERE

It is probable that there was a ring of 5 bells at St Peter & St Paul church in the 15th century shortly after the re-build of the tower. However, the evidence is not conclusive and it is possible that a pre-reformation single tier of 3 bells was augmented with another 2 bells in the 17th century, and certainly no later than 1714 when, as shown by the inscription on the 2nd bell, Squire ‘Stranways’ paid Edward Bilbie of Chew Magna to recast one of the existing bells. Certainly the 3rd bell, inscribed “Sancta Magareta”, is of pre-reformation date circa 1470, and the 2nd, as recorded by the inscription, was recast in 1714 from an earlier bell. The Treble, 2nd & 3rd bells are listed. The bells remain much as their founders left them; they all retain their canons and cast in crown staples.

Individual bell details are:

Treble & 2nd Cast by Edward Bilbie of Chew Magna Somerset in 1714. Edward worked between 1698 and his death in 1724.

3rd Cast by r.t. , circa 1470, a Bristol bellfounder. Little is known of him other than he was working in the last half of the 15th century but not in the 16th.

4th Cast by Thomas (The Great) Bilbie of Chew Magna in 1738. It is possible that this is a re-cast of one of his father’s bells or an earlier bell. Thomas worked between 1725 and 1768, and died in 1779.

Tenor Cast by Thomas Mears II in 1832 at the Whitechapel foundry in London. Thomas worked between 1810 and 1842. This foundry is still working on the same site that it has occupied since about 1570. The bell is a re-cast of another whose date is unknown.

BELL FRAME

The bells hang on a two-tier listed oak frame: the lower tier contains the 3rd, Treble and Tenor bells and the upper tier the 2nd and 4th bells. The frame is rare and it is of very considerable historic significance. It is manifestly the work of a competent frame maker, of solid construction with substantial section timbers. The feat of building a complex two-tier structure in a confined space was a triumph and raises questions over the genesis of the design, and the incorporation of timbers of different ages adds further interest.

The lower tier of the frame is late 15th century and the heads of the lower frame trusses have been cut to accommodate three larger bells than are there now. The majority view is that the upper tier is of the same date, but if the bells were augmented to five at a later date as predicated above then the frame may have been adjusted to mortice in the uprights now existing.

RESTORATION PROPOSAL for Bells & Frame

The bells were last rung full circle in the 1920s. It is probable that deterioration of the frame timbers was the cause. In the interim years a number of unsuccessful attempts have been made to bring the bells back into operation. The current project started in 2003 and only at the end of 2006, after many detailed surveys and technical appraisals, did it become clear that it was feasible to rebuild and reinforce the bell frame to enable full circle ringing. The agreed aim was to preserve as much as was feasible of the existing arrangement. This has the support of both English Heritage and the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings. Critically the Council for the Care of Churches, a permanent commission of the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, welcomes and supports the proposal to sympathetically restore this significant historic bell frame.

All of the plans are now in place. Minor work on the tower electrics and the clock have already commenced, as has work to repair the tower roof.  The possible presence of bats in the belfry prevents any internal work being started until autumn.
It is hoped that as soon as possible work to refurbish the bells will commence, concurrent with restoration and reinforcement of the oak frame, at a total cost of £30,000.

The final major phase of work involves the construction and installation of a new ringing gallery: cost £15,500: the installation of a new clock in the old ringing gallery compromised some of the ringing stations. No time scale has been agreed for this work until adequate funds have been identified, but it is hoped to re-dedicate the bells in 2008. Aside from the new ringing gallery the bells and frame should look much as they did over 400 years ago. 

In addition to the tower repairs and the major costs quoted above, "extras" include substantial professional fees, electrical and clock work, and general post-project refurbishment to include improvements in the vestry area.  To date approximately £74000 has been donated or committed to the project.  The target is another £25000 to cover the cost of the entire project, including community education activities, plus hopefully also an amount to partially replenish church funds that have been earmarked for the tower roof repairs.