Love's Guide to the Church Bells of London

Welcome to the City of London section of Love's Guide. This site is maintained by Dickon Love as a place to record his research into belfry archaeology and history in the City of London. Information comes from many sources, and Dickon is grateful to all those who have contributed to this research, particularly Chris Pickford, David Cawley, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and John Taylor Bellfounders. It aims to cover all bells in the City of London, both extant and those lost to history.

Bell Restoration News

St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street
	A new ring of 10 bells with a tenor of 10-3-23 was cast in 2011 and will be hung in Apr 2012. The belfry has been empty since 1969 save a single bell, so once again, a London church is going to find its voice back again.
See The Appeal Website: dunstanbells.com

St James, Garlickhythe - The Royal Jubilee Bells
	A new ring of 8 bells, tenor 9 cwt has been cast in 2012. They are to be hung in a floating belfry for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3rd June before being hung in the church.
See The Royal Jubilee Bells website.

St Michael Cornhill
	The new ring, cast by John Taylor Bellfounders in Loughborough, has been cast and hung in the tower. The new tenor is 32-1-6

St Botolph Bishopsgate
	The cracked tenor bell has been welded and rehung by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Latest Site Additions

16th Mar - The new ring of 10 at St Dunstan-in-the-West
10th Feb - Temple Church (new)
2nd Dec - St Stephen Walbrook (new)
29th Nov - St Dunstan-in-the-West (pictures of the work to cast and install a new ring of bells)
14th Nov - St Michael Cornhill (pictures of the project to install new bells)
26th May - St Botolph Aldgate (picture)
5th May - St Magnus (tuning figures)
8th Apr - St Michael Cornhill
22nd Mar - St Botolph, Bishopsgate (pictures of removal of tenor)
20th Dec - St Paul's Cathedral (general revamp)
7th Dec - All Hallows by the Tower (new pics)
8th Mar - St Dionis Backchurch, St Dunstan in the East, St Andrew Holborn, St Alphage London Wall, St Antholin, St Sepulchre, St Mildred Bread Street, St George, Botolph Lane, St Dunstan-in-the-West, St Clement Eastcheap, St Botolph Aldgate, St Bride Fleet Street
6th Mar - All Hallows the Great, Christ Church Newgate Street
5th Mar - St Anne & St Agnes, St Michael Cornhill
21st Dec - St Mary Aldermary, St James Garlickhythe, At Andrew by the Wardrobe, St Peter Cornhill, St Bartholomew the Less, St Michael Crooked Lane, St Olave Silver St, St Michael Queenhithe
10th Apr - Updates for St Magnus and St Katharine Cree
27th Jan - Pictures and more details from recent visits All Hallows-by-the-Tower, St Mary Abchurch, St Botolph Aldersgate, St Edmund Lombard St, St Helen's Bishopsgate, St Katherine Cree and St Margaret Lothbury.
3rd Dec - St Michael, Cornhill (inscriptions and photos), St Andrew's Holborn

Dickon Love is an active bellringer in the City of London and is a Past Master and Hon Librarian of the Ancient Society of College Youths, who are responsible for ringing the bells at the major towers in the City. He is also a member of the Cambridge University Guild, the Middlesex County Association & London Diocesan Guild and the Kent County Association. His primary interest is in the history of bells and bell towers, and the focus of his research is on the the Cities of London and Westminster and the County of Kent. He is Tower Keeper at St Magnus the Martyr and St Mary Woolnoth, running the projects to install new bells at St Dunstan-in-the-West and St James Garlickhythe, is Churchwarden at St Magnus the Martyr, and Parish Clerk of St Clement Eastcheap. He makes his living as a management consultant working in central government.


Church Bells of the City of Westminster	Church Bells of Kent	Church Bells of Prague