Duncton, Holy TrinityDuncton has an interesting bell, hung in a south facing tower.
The church was designed by J Castle in 1864 and build two years later. The tower is relatively short with 2 stories; a tiled spire, and tall louvres. |
|
The Bell
Bell |
Weight |
Diameter |
Nominal |
Note |
Founder |
Cast |
Canon |
Hanging |
1 |
23.00" |
1545.5 Hz |
G |
Foreign (Presumably French) |
1369 |
Swing |
1 Bell, in G
Before we move on, we must turn our attention to Duncton’s former church, St Mary.
Before we move on, we must turn our attention to Duncton’s former church, St Mary.
Duncton, St Mary
St Mary's Duncton is mentioned in the Doomsday book as Donechitone, and states there was 1 church. It was of plain construction, featuring no more than a wooden turret. William Cobbett describes the tower as "about double the size of a sentry box."
There isn't much to date the church by, but it was of course ancient.
The subject of bells is interesting. Tyssen gives two bells, one of them still in existence. They were probably hung in a B frame and swung side by side.
The treble was uninscribed, and the tenor, now at the new church of Holy Trinity, is the oldest dated foreign bell in the county.
It bears the inscription
+ : DE : FLOTHEMA.....L. : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : :
around the inscription band. The dotted portion is defaced and likely reads FLOTHEMANVILLE.
It was assumed that this bell was of Dutch origin, although Flothe is not a Dutch name. In 1369, La Hague was only a small village. There was a castle, but unlikely came from its towers. There was also a monastery which had no tower at all.
This leaves us with France.
In Normandy, there's a small town called Flottemanville in the district of La Hague. This suggests that the inscription refers to a place rather than a founder.
This now begs the question of how did it come to Duncton?
The date of its casting, 1369 is quite significant, as the French sacked and burnt down Rye, and carried off with their 8 church bells on June 29 1377. The following year, the men of Winchelsea and Rye gathered a great number of their people together and set off for Normandy to get revenge. In the night, they arrived at Petershaven, slaying people as they went. Those who they thought could pay ransom were carried to their ships. They invaded the church and returned to Rye with all 8 of their bells, and other stollen goods from previous French battles. Was the Duncton bell something they stole in the process? If so, how did it end up in Duncton? The following may suggest how:
The people of Rye may have offered the bell to Lewes Priory. Since they already had bells, they could have sent it to Duncton who they had early connections with.
There isn't much to date the church by, but it was of course ancient.
The subject of bells is interesting. Tyssen gives two bells, one of them still in existence. They were probably hung in a B frame and swung side by side.
The treble was uninscribed, and the tenor, now at the new church of Holy Trinity, is the oldest dated foreign bell in the county.
It bears the inscription
+ : DE : FLOTHEMA.....L. : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : :
around the inscription band. The dotted portion is defaced and likely reads FLOTHEMANVILLE.
It was assumed that this bell was of Dutch origin, although Flothe is not a Dutch name. In 1369, La Hague was only a small village. There was a castle, but unlikely came from its towers. There was also a monastery which had no tower at all.
This leaves us with France.
In Normandy, there's a small town called Flottemanville in the district of La Hague. This suggests that the inscription refers to a place rather than a founder.
This now begs the question of how did it come to Duncton?
The date of its casting, 1369 is quite significant, as the French sacked and burnt down Rye, and carried off with their 8 church bells on June 29 1377. The following year, the men of Winchelsea and Rye gathered a great number of their people together and set off for Normandy to get revenge. In the night, they arrived at Petershaven, slaying people as they went. Those who they thought could pay ransom were carried to their ships. They invaded the church and returned to Rye with all 8 of their bells, and other stollen goods from previous French battles. Was the Duncton bell something they stole in the process? If so, how did it end up in Duncton? The following may suggest how:
The people of Rye may have offered the bell to Lewes Priory. Since they already had bells, they could have sent it to Duncton who they had early connections with.
Defaced part of the inscription
The bell itself appears to have been cast from a wax model as shown by a line down the mould and rough edges. The canons appear to be piece-moulded. At the junction between the soundbow and waist, there is heavy wire that goes around the circumference. The head of the bell, and the outside of the soundbow is flat. These are two common features of a foreign bell.
The bell is inscribed using Lombardic capitals on wax grounds, and each word is separated using a colon.
Sadly, part of Flothemanville is defaced, usually the result of a sticky mould. The moulding wires are square in section except the one at the bottom of the waist. The bottom of the bell is completely flat.
It doesn't appear that the bell's ever been tuned. All of the partial tones are flat in proportion to the Nominal:
The Hum is 1.75 semitones flat; the Prime and Tierce are around half a semitone flat; the Quint is around 1.5 semitones flat, and the upper partials are in proportion.
The tonal qualities are similar to that at Hardham.
Due to Duncton's growing population and the cost for maintaining the church, it was decided that a new church should be built.
In 1866, Holy Trinity was built, and the foreign bell along with its half wheel and fittings were transferred to it. This could suggest that the lost uninscribed bell was hung with a half wheel too?
In 2012, the Sussex Bell Restoration Fund offered a grant, but in September 2014, the offer lapsed.
An inspection by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry suggested that the remains of the half wheel could be restored, and the other fittings replaced.
This was favoured by the PCC, and the BRF gave a second grant of £1,200.
The bell is rung from the ground floor by a red, white, and blue sallied rope. The bell is hung on ball bearings, and the old crown staple has been drilled out. Access to the belfry is by a ladder on the east side of the tower. This leads to a loft hatch. From here, the bell is hung around 8' above the floor, accessed by another ladder. 1 bell in fantastic condition on inspection.
Visited with Heather & Andrew Leaver 29/05/2022.
The bell is inscribed using Lombardic capitals on wax grounds, and each word is separated using a colon.
Sadly, part of Flothemanville is defaced, usually the result of a sticky mould. The moulding wires are square in section except the one at the bottom of the waist. The bottom of the bell is completely flat.
It doesn't appear that the bell's ever been tuned. All of the partial tones are flat in proportion to the Nominal:
The Hum is 1.75 semitones flat; the Prime and Tierce are around half a semitone flat; the Quint is around 1.5 semitones flat, and the upper partials are in proportion.
The tonal qualities are similar to that at Hardham.
Due to Duncton's growing population and the cost for maintaining the church, it was decided that a new church should be built.
In 1866, Holy Trinity was built, and the foreign bell along with its half wheel and fittings were transferred to it. This could suggest that the lost uninscribed bell was hung with a half wheel too?
In 2012, the Sussex Bell Restoration Fund offered a grant, but in September 2014, the offer lapsed.
An inspection by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry suggested that the remains of the half wheel could be restored, and the other fittings replaced.
This was favoured by the PCC, and the BRF gave a second grant of £1,200.
The bell is rung from the ground floor by a red, white, and blue sallied rope. The bell is hung on ball bearings, and the old crown staple has been drilled out. Access to the belfry is by a ladder on the east side of the tower. This leads to a loft hatch. From here, the bell is hung around 8' above the floor, accessed by another ladder. 1 bell in fantastic condition on inspection.
Visited with Heather & Andrew Leaver 29/05/2022.
Recording of the bell:
How the bell is tuned in relation to the 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+
-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+
Hum - 349Hz - F+0
Prime - 751Hz - F#+26
Tierce - 902Hz - A+43 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 1065Hz - C+30
Nominal - 1545.5Hz - G-24
Prime - 751Hz - F#+26
Tierce - 902Hz - A+43 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 1065Hz - C+30
Nominal - 1545.5Hz - G-24
| cut_duncton_1__1_.mp3 |
Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is around the inscription band*
*Text in italics are my presumptions*
*Text in italics are my presumptions*
Duncton, Holy Trinity
1 |
᛭ : DE : FLOTHEMANVILLE : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : : |
Duncton, St Mary
1 |
(Uninscribed) |
2 |
᛭ : DE : FLOTHEMANVILLE : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : : |
Translations:
French:
1: DE - "of"
1: FLOTHEMANVILLE - Flottemanville is a small village within the distric of La Hague
1: EN - "In"
1: LA HAGUE - La Hague is a district in Normandy
1: LAN - "L'an" meaning "in the year of "
Latin;
1: FE'T - Abbreviation of "Fecit", Latin for "made"
1: MCCCLXIX -1369
All together:
1: DE : FLOTHEMANVILLE : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : . - Of Flottemanville in La Hague made in the year of 1369
French:
1: DE - "of"
1: FLOTHEMANVILLE - Flottemanville is a small village within the distric of La Hague
1: EN - "In"
1: LA HAGUE - La Hague is a district in Normandy
1: LAN - "L'an" meaning "in the year of "
Latin;
1: FE'T - Abbreviation of "Fecit", Latin for "made"
1: MCCCLXIX -1369
All together:
1: DE : FLOTHEMANVILLE : EN : LA : HAGUE : FE'T : LAN : MCCCLXIX : . - Of Flottemanville in La Hague made in the year of 1369
Photographs:
Sources:
- TYSSEN, Amhurst. D (1864): The Church Bells of Sussex
- WALTERS, Henry. B: Church Bells of England
- SCACR Annual report 2015
- Sussexparishchurches.org
- achurchnearyou.com
- Photo of Duncton, St Mary: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/4872/page/73299/view/
- Petworth Society Magazine No.115 p.18,19 - The Mystery Church Bell of Duncton
