Happy Christmas!
Twenty-twelve has been an
historic year for the people of Willingale with the completion and dedication
of six bells at St Christopher’s Church, Willingale. The church, which is one of two in a single
churchyard, unique to Essex, serves the ancient parishes of Willingale Doe,
Willingale Spain and Shellow Bowells.
(St Andrew’s Church Willingale Spain is in the care of the Churches
Conservation Trust, supported by a Friends Group; whilst Shellow Bowells was
deconsecrated in the mid twentieth century and converted to a house.)
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| St Christopher's Church, Willingale [Doe] in foreground. St Andrew's Church, Willingale [Spain] in background |
Proud bellringers sent a text
message to a national radio breakfast show: “We are all ringing the church
bells at Willingale for the first time this Christmas since World War II as we
have just finished the restitution”, Chris Evans announced on the BBC Radio 2 last
Friday (21 December 2012, 7.29am).
The ambitious project supported
by the National Lottery Fund, donations and sheer dedication from locals was
the first to an Essex bell tower for over fifty years.
The year-long project (though
it had been in the planning for a long while) constructed a new mezzanine
ringing floor, a new bell frame at a lower level in the tower, and increased the
number of bells from four to six. A new
bell was cast at Whitechapel Bell Foundry dated 2011, the other five – four from
Willingale and a fifth from Prittlewell – were retuned.
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| "Second bell" from Prittlewell awaiting transportation to the Bell Foundry from Willingale Church porch (25 June 2011) |
The early stages were reported
in the Winter 2011 Edition of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History
News.
The old bells rang out for the last
time on 25 June 2011. Visitors were given access to ascend the bell tower by
ladders to see the bells in the frame which would become redundant.
The four bells date from 1610 to
1797. According to ‘Church Bells of
Essex’ by Revd. Cecil Deedes (1909), a classic book on the topic, the bells in
Willingale Doe are dated and inscribed as follows:
1. Thomas Mears of London Felict 1797 [29 in.]
2. Joh.
French Henrie Pavit: Churchwarden IC Made Me 1634 [30½ in.]
3. Thomas
Bartlett mead this bell 1631 [33½ in.]
4. Wilhelmus
Carter me Fecit 1610 [35½ in.]
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| Oldest bell in old bell frame (25 June 2011) |
The oldest bell, made at the
Whitechapel Foundry, dates from 1610 and comes from the brief career of William
Carter (1609 -1616). This makes this
example particularly rare, although locally there were two others in neighbouring
the neighbouring churches of High Ongar (1610) and Stapleford Tawney (1611).
Thomas Bartlett’s (founder, 1616 –
1631) bell of 1631 is one of only 18 examples, making it also a rare bell.
John Clifton (founder 1632 -40) made
the bell bearing the churchwarden’s name.
To make up a new peal of six the
village has acquired a “2nd bell” from Prittlewell cast in the early
twentieth century.
The five bells (four from the tower
plus the Prittlewell bell) left the village for Whitechapel Bell Foundry for
retuning in early July 2011.
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| Bells in old bell frame (25 June 2011) |
A final bell from the bell tower was
removed, and reinstalled later in the new bell frame. It is used for chiming only, and came from
neighbouring Shellow Bowells.
Work to construct a new bell frame then
proceeded. This was erected lower in the
tower in order to place less strain on the structure and create a better sound
out of the louvre windows. The Victorian
bell frame (1853) would remain in situ unused.
Ringing is now performed from a new mezzanine floor placed in front of
the west window and in full view of the congregation.
The Dedication Service was on
27 May 2012 – Pentecost - a week before the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
At the end of October 2012 ‘Windows
on Willingale’ held a special evening at the church for the premiere of a 45-minute
film showing the work involved in construction, casting the bell, making
bell-wheels and lifting all in position.
It takes the viewer to the Bell Foundry to see the bell cast and to a
specialist workshop to see the new bell-wheels made of timber. If there are any doubts that Britain does not
make anything anymore, watch this video.
‘Willingale Bells: Made In Britain’.
The short film above was made
on Sunday 23 December 2012 about 3.30pm, as bells rang out ahead of a Nine
Lessons and Carols Service.
Footnotes
1. To
hear another film go to http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/willingale-bells-ring-out-this-christmas.html
and to hear the bells rung for the last time in June 2011 prior to the work commencing
visit http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/willingale-bells-of-st-christopher.html
2. For more
information on the project go to www.willingalebells.org
3. Deedes’
book is subtitled “Their founders, inscriptions, traditions and uses”. In 1909 the following notes were made about
these bells: “Death Knell 24 hours after death; tolling for one hour. On Sundays bells chimed followed by tolling
for last five minutes. Ringing at 5am on
Christmas Day and midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Gleaning Bell at 8am until about ten years ago”.
4. Rev
Cecil Deedes was a member of the Society, and wrote about his own project on
Church Bells in the Essex Archaeological Society’s ‘Transactions, ‘new series’,
Volume 4, Part 1’
Bonus film - recorded on the new mezzanine floor - 25 June 2011.
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