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 Stephen Coleman St, Coleman St
 Photo: ASCY archive
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The ring of 8 destroyed in 1940 |
| Bell | Weight | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| Clock | 1672 | Unknown | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||||
| Treble | 24½" | F♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 2 | 26" | E♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 3 | 28" | D♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 4 | 29½" | C♯ | 1722 | John Waylett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 5 | 32¾" | B | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 6 | 34¾" | A♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| 7 | 38" | G♯ | 1721 | John Waylett | Never | Destroyed 1940 | ||
| Tenor | 14 cwt approx. | 43" | F♯ | 1833 | Thomas Mears II | Never | Destroyed 1940 |
Earlier bells from the ring of 8 |
| Bell | Weight | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | Fate | |
| 4 (of 8) | C♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Recast 1722 | |||
| 7 (of 8) | G♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Recast 1721 | |||
| Tenor (of 8) | F♯ | 1693 | James Bartlett | Never | Recast 1833 |
History |
| 1466 | Record of a single bell and a smaller bell on the steeple. [1] | ||
| c | 1530 | According to tradition, in the 1530s, the bells of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, Aldgate, were divided at the Dissolution between this church and Stepney, five being sent here. | |
| 1542 | No mention of bells in the inventory of this year. | ||
| 1552 | Record of 5 bells and a sanctus. [2] | ||
| 1666 | The church and bells were destroyed in the Great Fire. | ||
| 1672 | A clock bell was cast. | ||
| 1674 | The church was rebuilt by Wren with a north west steeple consisting of a stone tower, lead covered lantern with a small spire crowned by a golden vane in the form of a cock. The tower was about 65 feet high with a lantern of about 20 feet. The clock bell was hung dead at the top of the wooden erection on top of the tower. The church was finished in 1681. | ||
| 1693 | A ring of 8 bells was cast by James Bartlett. | ||
| 1708 | Record of 8 bells. | ||
| 1721 | The 7th was recast by John Waylett. | ||
| 1722 | The 4th was recast by John Waylett. | ||
| 1809 | T Mears & Son gave an estimate "to recast the old eight into a new ring of eight (13 cwt) with mainly new fittings in the old frame (price £245.8s). This never happened. [3] | ||
| 1824 | Record of 6 bells (clearly a mistake). | ||
| 1833 | The tenor was recast by Thomas Mears. | ||
| 1916 | The bells were overhauled and put into ringing order by John Warner & Sons. | ||
| 1940 | The church was bombed and destroyed. The site was sold. | ||
| 1954 | The parish was united with that of St Margaret Lothbury, | ||
| 2009 | Dennis Brock, probably the last person alive to have run at this church, told Dickon Love about his memories of ringing here. [4] |
| [1] | "Item j howsling bell wt j lytyll bell to hong in the stepyl on ye dedleacon". (Church inventory, 1466) |
| [2] | "v belles and a sawnce bell (Edwardian Inventory, 1552) |
| [3] | (Guildhall Library: Ms.9427) |
| [4] | In 2009, af the Dedication of the new ring of bells at St Magnus the Martyr, Dennis Brock told me about his memories of ringing at St Stephen's Coleman Street (as well as memories on ringing on the old bells at St Magnus). He said he was very pleased to have been able to ring there, implying that it was not always straightforward to be able to ring at different towers. He said that he thought the bells were very nice, which rather surprised me given how they look on paper. It is said (although not directly to me) that Olive Rogers thought they were pretty dreadful as the ropes were too close to the walls. (Dickon Love recollections in 2020) |
Pictures of the church |
Photo: |
The ruins of the church before its final demolition after the War. Photo: |
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Recent Peals The most recent performances, according to BellBoard.
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Full list of peals on Bellboard here |
Full list of quarters on Bellboard here |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London | Page updated: 13 October 2019 |