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St Alphage, London Wall
 Photo: ASCY Archive
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Prior to 1923 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) |
Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate |
| Service bell | 14 cwt approx. | 44" | 1777 | William Saville | Never | Removed 1923 | |
| Priest's bell | 3 cwt approx. | 24" | 1777 | William Saville | Never | Removed 1923 |
The old ring of 4 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) |
Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate |
| Treble | ? | Unknown | Never | Recast 1638 | |||
| 2 | 4-1-19 | ? | Unknown | Never | Recast 1638 | ||
| 3 | ? | Unknown | Never | Recast 1638 | |||
| Tenor | 8-3-2 | ? | Unknown | Never | Recast 1638 |
The 1638 ring of 5 |
| Bell | Weight (most recent) |
Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate |
| Treble | 3-0-24 | 1638 | Unknown | Never | Sold 1747 | ||
| 2 | 4-0-7 | 1638 | Unknown | Never | Sold 1747 | ||
| 3 | 4-1-0 | 1638 | Unknown | Never | Sold 1747 | ||
| 4 | 5-2-3 | 1638 | Unknown | Never | Sold 1747 | ||
| Tenor | 9-0-20 | 1638 | Unknown | Never | Replaced 1777 |
History |
| 1532 | Original church built. | ||
| 1535 | Records about the sale of bells and framework. | ||
| 1552 | Record of 3 bells and a sanctus bell. [1] | ||
| 1564 | The saints bell was recast (at 49lbs). | ||
| 1613 | Indication of 4 bells. | ||
| 1638 | A subscription was started "for repairing the steeple, making a turret for the saint's-bell, recasting the four bells, and adding a tenour." The weights of the 5 bells are recorded as are the 2nd and tenor of the old ring of 4. | ||
| 1649 | The whole of the upper part of the steeple was rebuilt. | ||
| 1666 | The church escaped the Great Fire with just a little damage. | ||
| 1708 | Record of 5 bells. | ||
| 1747 | The church had become very dilapidated so it had to be taken down and re-erected. The tower had become so unsafe that the bells could not be rung, so four of them were sold. It was resolved to re-equip the tower with "one tenor of 12 cwt and the saint's bell 3 cwt." | ||
| 1776 | The church was completed with a somewhat heavier bell installed in the tower. The bell chamber was given a frame for 5 bells. Two bells were ordered to be hung "one a tenor of 12 cwt, and the saint's-bell 3 cwt)". The service bell was hung in one of the pits, but the other four were not wide enough to have ever contained four bells of size large enough to have formed a ringing peal with this bell as the tenor. The pits were arranged in a row. The small bell was hung in a cage on the top of the frame. | ||
| 1777 | The church was much altered. The "12 cwt" bell appears to have been replaced with the current (slightly heavier) bell. | ||
| 1824 | Record of 2 bells. | ||
| 1897 | The 2 bells were noted in a frame with 5 pits. [2] | ||
| 1917 | The parish was united with that of St Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury. | ||
| 1919 | The whole church was rebuilt after damage in an air raid in the First World War. | ||
| 1923 | The nave was pulled down leaving the tower and porch standing. Until the Second World War, the tower was maintained with an altar and chairs as a place for prayer. | ||
| 1940 | The tower was gutted by fire. | ||
| 1954 | The parish was united with that of St Giles, Cripplegate. |
| [1] | (Edwardian Inventory, 1552) |
| [2] | Tower filled with a clumsy cage, probably of great antiquity, divided into five pits very long and narrow except that in which no.2 hangs [sketch plan given]. No.1 is in a small more modern cage above the pit next to no.2 on the north side. The breadths of the pits from the north side are 23½" (empty), 28" (empty), 23½" (empty - no.1 in small cage above), 47" (no.2) and 28" (empty). (Tyssen, Amherst D., 1897) |
Photographs |
The ruins in 2004. Photo: Dickon R Love, 24 April 2004 |
The East Front of the church in c.1830. Photo: DLC collection |
Engravings |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London | Page updated: 13 October 2019 |