Didling, St Andrew

Didling has a single bell, hung in a west facing bellcote.
The church was built in the 13th century, though some alterations were carried out in the 14th, and 16th centuries.
In 1878, the church was damaged by lightning, and resulted in the rebuilding of the east and west walls, and the present A frame.

On the west side of the nave, the wall plates and tiebeams are still present, and show where a possible belfry could have been.

The Bell

1979 - Present

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Nominal	Note	Founder	Cast	Canon	Hanging
1		15.75"	1762 Hz	A	John Wallis	1623	Yes	Swing Chime

1587 - 1979

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Nominal	Note	Founder	Date	Canon	Hanging
Old Bell		17.13"			John Wallis	1587	Yes	Swing Chime

Recording of the Bell

Inscriptions

Photographs

1 Bell, in A
In 1587, Salisbury founder John Wallis cast a single bell, that carried a brief inscription, and was chimed by a lever. Sadly this bell is no longer here, although we do have a photo of it from 1955 in the turret. This bell had Wallis' smallest letters in Sussex, as stated by George Elphick.

There is nothing mentioned of bells until the 1724 commission report where it gives:
"1 bell".
At this time, the church didn't have a bellcote nor belfry. However, Sharpe's watercolour painting shows there was a window high up on the west wall above the lancet. This could have been an aperture in the gable end to house the bell?

Whitsbury, St Leonard
We now turn our attention to a small Hampshire village where our journey continues.
Christopher Dalston noted a small bell measuring 15.75" in diameter, cast by John Wallis. Inscribed:
I W 1623
The 3 on the date is upside down, and was mistaken for an 8 in Colchester's book, Hampshire Church Bells.

This bell is relatively well in tune, with a Hum 3/4 of a semitone sharp; a slightly flat Quint, and the rest of the partials in tune.

Dalston shows that the Wallis bell was sitting loose on the chancel step, and had no other fittings than a clapper.

So, why is this relevant?
In February 1979, the 1587 bell from Didling was stollen, and due to the church's grief, the bell from Whitsbury was transferred to Didling to replace it.
It is strapped to a wooden headstock and chimed by a lever. It still retains its cast-in crown staple, and is likely the same clapper seen by Dalston.

The bell is chimed from the ground floor by a plain rope
Visited: 18/02/2024 with Florine Lemaître

Recording of the bell:

How the bell is tuned in relation to its nominal, using Simpson's theory.

Key [measured in cents]:
-99 ~ -90 -89 ~ -80 -79 ~ -70 -69 ~ -60 -59 ~ -50 -49 ~ -40 -39 ~ -30 -29 ~ -20 -19 ~ -10 -9 ~ -0
0 ~ 9 10 ~ 19 20 ~ 29 30 ~ 39 40 ~ 49 50 ~ 59 60 ~ 69 70 ~ 79 80 ~ 89 90 ~ 99+