The Bells of the City of London
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Love's
Guide to The Bells of the City of London |
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St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield
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Details of the Bells |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | ||
| ® | Treble | 2 cwt approx. | 22" | F♯ | 1510 | Thomas Bullisdon | 1952 Whitechapel | |
| ® | 2 | 2¾ cwt approx. | 24" | E | 1510 | Thomas Bullisdon | 1952 Whitechapel | |
| ® | 3 | 3½ cwt approx. | 26½" | D♯ | 1510 | Thomas Bullisdon | 1952 Whitechapel | |
| ® | 4 | 4¼ cwt approx. | 29" | C♯ | 1510 | Thomas Bullisdon | 1952 Whitechapel | |
| ® | Tenor | 5½ cwt approx. | 31" | B | 1510 | Thomas Bullisdon | 1952 Whitechapel | |
| ꓕ | Clock Bell | 3-2-2 | 25½" | 1814 | Thomas Mears II, Whitechapel | Never |
Bellframes |
| Position |
Frame | Bells | Year | Maker | Material | Truss(es) | Local Layout | |||
| Lower | 1 | 1,2,3,4,5 | Local | Timber | ||||||
| Upper | 2 | Clock bell |
Inscriptions |
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History |
| 1123 | Work began on the church. | ||
| c | 1510 | The present 5 bells were cast by Thomas Bullisdon. He may have cast a greater number, but certainly only 5 survive today. | |
| 1539 | The priory was dissolved by Henry VIII. The nave was demolished and the monastic buildings were passed to Sir Richard Rich. It is said that 6 bells were passed to St Sepulchre's. It is possible therefore that this church could have had as many as 12 bells in the central tower, making it the earliest known 12 bell tower in the land. [1] | ||
| 1556 | -9 | A Dominican convent was established under Queen Mary, and dissolved under Queen Elizabeth. | |
| 1628 | A new tower built at the west end of what remained of the mighty church and the bells were hung in a new frame (which continues to serve the bells). [2] | ||
| 1666 | The church escaped the Great Fire. | ||
| 1814 | A clock bell was cast by Thomas Mears II from the metal of an old sanctus bell belonging to the Priory. It is hung in a turret on the roof of the tower, once swung but now hung dead. | ||
| 1855 | Record of ringing for New Year by the Ancient Society of College Youths. [3] | ||
| 1890 | The bells were rehung with new fittings by Warners. (A stone tablet in the porch indicates that this was done in 1893, although contemporary reports indicate that the work was concluded by 1891.) | ||
| 1940 | The bells were taken down from the tower and stored at Cleeve Abbey for safety. This was arranged between Mr A. A. Hughes and Dr Francis Eeles FSA. | ||
| 1952 | Bells retuned and rehung by Mears & Stainbank. The new weights were never recorded in the tuning book. |
| [1] | This Church, having in the Bell Tower, six Bells in a Tune, were sold to the Parish of St. Sepulchres; and then the Church being pulled down to the Quire, the Quire was, by the King's Order annexed, for the inlarging of the old Parish Church thereto adjoining; and so was used till the Reign of Queen Mary, who gave it to the Friers Preachers, or Black Friers, and was used as their Coventual Church, until the 1st of our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth. Those Friers were once more put out, and then all the said Church, was wholly as it stood, in the last Year of Edward VI. given by Parliament, to remain for ever a Parish Church to the Inhabitants within the Close, called Great St. Bartholomews. Since the which time, that old Church is pulled down, except the Steeple of rotten Timber, ready to fall of it self. I have oft heard it reported, that a new Steeple should be builded with the Stone, Lead and Timber, of the old Parish Church, but no such Thing was performed. For it is more easy to pull it down, than to set it up and build. The Parish have lately repaired the old Wooden Steeple, to serve their Turn. (A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, John Strype, 1720) |
| [2] | The frame dates from 1628 (when the tower was built) and is a tall cross brace frame. (There is 55"/58" between the top of the sills and underside of the heads.) It appears to be a builder's frame rather than one made by a bellhanger or frame maker. There are long pits on the east end west sides of the tower fo the 2nd (west) and 5th (east). Bells 1 and 4 swing E-W in shorter pits along the north and south walls respectively. The remaining bell swings NW-SW in the middle. Gallows ends are in the NW and SE corners of the frame. One timber with indent is reused to support the floor of the intermediate chamber. (Notes from Chris Pickford.) |
| [3] | ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT, SMITHFIELD. - On New Year’s-eve, Mr. J. Morris, of the College Youths of London, assembled his band of ringers, and ascended the ancient tower of he church of St. Bartholomew, and, fore the first time these sixty years, the old peal rang out the old year and welcomed in the new. The peal has only five bells, the tenor weighing about 12 cwt. (Era, Sun. 7 Jan. 1855) |
Articles
Old engravings of the church |
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| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London | Page updated: 13 October 2019 |