St Michael, Cornhill

ST MICHAEL, Cornhill

Photo DrL 5th March 2010

	12 Bells
	Tenor: 42-0-6 in B
	Frame: 1960 Mears & Stainbank
	Retuned: 1960 Mears & Stainbank
	Grid Ref. TQ329811
	Upstairs Ringing Room
	PEALS

DETAILS OF THE BELLS

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Note	Cast	Founder
Treble	5-3-12	29"	F sharp	1746	Thomas Lester
2	5-2-7	29ž"	E	1746	Thomas Lester
3	7-0-11	31˝"	D sharp	1728	Richard Phelps
4	8-2-0	33ž"	C sharp	1728	Richard Phelps
5	10-2-15	37⅜"	B	1968	Mears & Stainbank
6	10-2-14	37⅞"	A sharp	1960	Mears & Stainbank
7	11-1-3	39˝"	G sharp	1728	Richard Phelps
8	14-1-2	44ź"	F sharp	1740	Thomas Lester
9	18-2-26	48"	E	1960	Mears & Stainbank
10	20-2-20	50ž"	D sharp	1960	Mears & Stainbank
11	26-0-18	55"	C sharp	1910	Mears & Stainbank
Tenor	42-0-6	63"	B	1960	Mears & Stainbank

THOMAS LESTR MADE J746 (Whitechapel border: 3 loops)

THO^S LESTER MADE ME J746

MAGNIFICAT ANIMA R : PHELPS FECIT 1728

IUBILATE DEO R : PHELPS FECIT. 1 7 2 8

CAST 1793 THE REV^D THO^S ROB^T WRENCH M.A. RECTOR. MESS^RS LUCAS BIRCH PHILIP GRUBB JO^H NORVILLE

CH. WARDENS THO^S MEARS OF LONDON

RE-CAST NOVEMBER 1968 NORMAN MOTLEY RECTOR
19		68
WHITECHAPEL

EXULTATE IUSTI R PHELPS 1728

RECAST
19		60

CANTATE DOMINO. R : PHELPS FECIT 1728

T : LESTER LONDINI FECIT 1740 IOHN SMITH ED^MD WAYTE IOHN HUNT C^H : WARDENS

SI DEUS NOBISCUM QUIS CONTRA NOS

R PHELPS FECIT 1728

RECAST
19		60

10.

TO PRAYERS DO WE CALL v ST : MICHAELS PEOPLE ALL v WE HONOUR TO THE KING v AND IOY TO BRIDES DO SING v

TRIUMPHS WE LOUDLY TELL v AND RING v THE DEAD MANS KNELL

R PHELPS FECIT 1728

RECAST
19		60
MEARS LONDON

11.

TRUSTEES FOR BUYING THESE 12 BELLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALEXANDER CLEEVE
JOHN WOOD
THOMAS RILEY
JOHN SHIPTON
WILLIAM HIDE
RICHARD ROYCROFT
WILLIAM MARSLAND

R. PHELPS, FECIT. 1728

THIS BELL RECAST, AND THE WHOLE PEAL REHUNG,
BY MEARS & STAINBANK. A.D. 1910.
RECTOR G.C.BELL, M.A.
CHURCHWARDENS.
~~~~~~~~~~

H. A. SUMMER.
E. SIMMONS.
C. E. ATKINS
A. W. KERLY.
R. DAVIES.
E. C. BEEDELL.
P.F.MATHIESON.

12.

THIS BELL RECAST ANNO DOMINI 1795 THE REV THO^S ROB^T WRENCH M.A. RECTOR (10 loops)

MESS^RS LUCAS BIRCH PHILIP GRUBB JOSEPH NORVILLE CHURCH WARDENS (12 loops) THOS MEARS OF LONDON

RECAST

19

60

MEARS LONDON

NORMAN G. S. MOTLEY

SIR EDMUND STOCKDALE
EVELYN RUGGLES-BRISE
EDWARD HOWARD
RONALD COOK
HARRY B. JOHNSON
JOSEPH DOREY
ERIC FALKNER
}
RECTOR

LORD MAYOR

CHURCHWARDENS

Notes:
The 2nd has a colon under the superscript S.
The inscription on the 5th is not in facsimile. There is a single dot beneath each of the superscript letters with a single dot under the raised "RS" of "MESS^RS".
On the 6th, the "X" is a very curved letter. The inscription band is in facsimile.
On the 8th, the grey letters are incised into the bell. There is a colon beneath each of the superscript letters. The "W" of "WAYTE" is formed from two interlocking Vs.
On the 9th and 10th and tenor, the inscription is in facsimile.
The inscription on the 11th is not in facsimile.

	1728	1738	1740	1746	1795	1910	1960	1968
1	Richard Phelps			Thos Lester 5-3-12
2	Richard Phelps			Thos Lester 5-2-7
3	Richard Phelps 7-0-11
4	Richard Phelps 8-2-0
5	Richard Phelps				Thos Mears I 10-0-4			M&S 10-2-15
6	Richard Phelps 10-3-2						M&S 10-2-14
7	Richard Phelps 11-1-3
8	Richard Phelps		Thos Lester 14-1-2
9	Richard Phelps 18-1-14						M&S 18-2-26
10	Richard Phelps 20-2-20						M&S 20-2-20
11	Richard Phelps 27-2-14 gross; 26-3-14 net					M&S 26-0-18
12	Richard Phelps	Lester & Pack			Thos Mears I 39-1-15		M&S 42-0-6

The weights of the bells given are scrapping weights, apart from those for the present bells (which are current).

CAST 1793 THE REV^D THO^S ROB^T WRENCH M.A. RECTOR. MESS^RS LUCAS BIRCH PHILIP GRUBB JO^H NORVILLE CH. WARDENS
THO^S MEARS OF LONDON FECIT (arrangement presumed)

EXULTATE IUSTI R PHELPS 1728

SI DEUS NOBISCUM QUIS CONTRA NOS

R PHELPS FECIT 1728

10.

TO PRAYERS DO WE CALL v ST : MICHAELS PEOPLE ALL v WE HONOUR TO THE KING v AND IOY TO BRIDES DO SING v

TRIUMPHS WE LOUDLY TELL v AND RING v THE DEAD MANS KNELL

R PHELPS FECIT 1728

12.

THIS BELL RECAST ANNO DOMINI 1795 THE REV THO^S ROB^T WRENCH M.A. RECTOR OF ST MICHAELS CORNHILL (W Border)

MESS^RS LUCAS BIRCH PHILIP GRUBB JOSEPH NORVILLE CHURCH WARDENS (Whitechapel Border)

1421		Building of church began. 5 bells were placed in the tower (a minor 5).
c. 1430		Tenor added to make 6, the gift of John Whitwell, his wife Isabel and William Rus (alderman and goldsmith). This bell weighed over 30 cwt and was called Rus.
1521		The Churchwarden accounts refer to the bells, mentioning the Great Bell, called Russe, the bell called Myhill, the Mary bell, the bell called Trinitye "the bell next it downeward", and the least bell.
1552		Record of 6 bells and 2 smaller saunce bells ("vj greate belles and ij saunce belles").
1567		A bell was recast by Robert Doddes.
1585		A broken saunce bell was sold and the broken treble bell was recast.
1587		The tenor (which was cracked) was recast by Lawrence Wright. This was a poor job and the bell was disliked and rejected. The old bell was 30-0-14. Wright included 1-1-14 of new metal.
1588		The tenor was recast by Robert Mot, but this too was a poor bell.
1589		Finally Robert Mot produced an acceptable recast tenor.
1596		Bells rehung in a new frame by John Brissenden, a carpenter reported to be of good skill so that "they shalbe rung with much more ease ... by fewer men ... with 8, 9 or 10 men at the moste" and to "ease the steeple of much shaking". This work cost Ł12.
1599		The tenor became cracked again, and again Mot had to cast more than one bell before an acceptable bell could be produced (weighing 31 cwt). One of the attempts was rejected and was sent to Westminster Abbey where it was used as the tenor there. The inscription referred to it being a gift by William Rus in 1430 and recast in 1599. It is not known when this translation took place.
1652		The first record of 8 bells in addition to the 2 saunce bells - the old 6 had been augmented with 2 trebles.
1666		The church and 10 bells were destroyed in the Great Fire, although the tower was not wholly burned down.
1679		Church rebuilt according to Wren's design.
1715-17		The old tower was demolished and a new tower begun under Wren.
1718-22		Tower completed under Hawksmoor.
1728		12 bells were cast by Richard Phelps and hung in the new tower.
1728	4th Dec.	Bells first rung "on account of the arrival in tower, from Holland, of H.R.H. Frederick, Prince of Wales".
1738		Tenor recast by Lester & Phelps.
1740		8th recast by Thomas Lester.
1746		Treble and 2nd recast by Thomas Lester.
1795		5th and Tenor recast by Thomas Mears I (the tenor had cracked through clocking).
1910		11th recast by Mears & Stainbank, who rehung the remainder in a new wooden frame lower down the tower. The original frame was left in situ.
1958		11th gudgeon broke.
1960		The 6th, 9th, 10th and Tenor were found to be cracked and so were recast, with the remainder being retuned by Mears & Stainbank.
1961	14th Feb.	Bells rededicated by the Bishop of Stepney.
1996		A new timber 2-skin ceiling to the ringing room was built to replace the acoustically terrible horse-hair and tongue & groove ceiling.
1999		The new ceiling was again replaced with a new tongue and groove ceiling at the request of the church architect. Sound control was also installed in the louvres.
2004		Cracks were found in the pinnacles on the tower. All ringing was stopped for a few weeks pending their restoration lest they should fall off the tower on to the pavement.


This is an interesting picture of the two Cornhill towers, taken while the building behind St Peter's had been demolished and prior to rebuilding.	Cutting from the Daily Telegraph, June 1960.

	The 9th, on the upper tier.	Bells on the upper tier. The 7th is in the foreground.

The 8th. A chip came out of the lip of the bell in the early 2000s by a flying clapper.	The treble.	The 3rd and 4th on the upper tier.

The tenor.	The interesting inscription on the 10th.	The tenor.

The 11th with the names of the 1728 trustees reproduced on it.		A view of the belfry from above.

The old frame, situated above the current installation.

STRANGE GOINGS ON...

William Gibbs Rogers wrote a description of the church wood carvings in 1864 in which he quotes from Stow's Survey of London, (1598), concerning a legend that gave inspiration for the carving on the church wardens' pew. He refers to a bell in the bell tower "given by John Whitwell, Isobel his wife, and Wm. Rue or Rous, Alderman and Goldsmith, about the yeere 1430, which bell, named Rus ..."

Rogers continues to quote: "And here note of this steeple as I have oft heard my father report upon St James's night certaine men in the loft next under the bells, ringing of a peale, a tempest of thunder and lightnings did arise, and an ugly shapen sight appeared to them coming in at the south window, and lighted on the north, for feare thereof, they all fell down and lay as dead for the time, letting the bells ring and cease of their own accord. When the ringers came to themselves, they found certaine stones of the north window to be 'razed' and 'scrat' as if they had been so much butter printed with a lion's claw, the same stones were fastened there again, and so remain to this day; I have seen them oft, and have put a feather or small stick into the holes where the claws had entered three or four inches deep."

W.G. Rogers's son, George Alfred Rogers, wrote his own account of the carvings in 1867. He quotes again from Stow and adds a description of the pew carving: 'The print of the Devil's claw is carved on some stones, and Canterbury Bells are growing behind to show it was in the belfry - above is the "Rus" or "Rous" bell one of the ancient bells of this church. The bell now in place of the "Rus" was given by the father of the present Rector and bears his name. This peal of bells is celebrated throughout the city for their fine tone.'

The pew in question is the first on the left as you enter the nave from the west.