Falmer, St Lawrence

Falmer has a single bell, hung in a west facing tower.
An entry in the Doomsday book shows that Falmer had a church in the 11th century, but unfortunately none of that survives today.
In 1817, the church was rebuilt with a peculiar tower, featuring diamond shaped bell openings. These still exist, but can only be seen from the inside. Prior to this it had a small boarded belfry with a pyramidic cap.
Sometime between 1828 and 1848, the church was further remodelled into what it is today.

The Bell

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Nominal	Note	Founder	Cast	Canon	Hanging
1	c4 cwt	27.00"	1404.5 Hz	F	Mears & Stainbank	1885	Yes	Swing Chime

Recordings of the Bells

Inscriptions

Photographs

1 Bell in F
The earliest reference we have regarding bells comes from the 1724 Diocesan Survey, which shows that areas near the steeple weren't particularly sound, and the 3 bells mentioned were in "well enough" condition.
"The walls without side very much decayed, and the healing by the steeple . . . 3 bells well enough."
Between 1724 and 1864, either 2 of the bells were sold or scrapped, or all three were taken in replace for a new bell. Tyssen gives a single bell, cast without an inscription.

In 1885, Mears & Stainbank supplied a new bell, weighing around 4cwt. It has a simple inscription with the conventional moulding wire configuration of 2.2.2.3.2 It is old styled tuned to the key of F, and shows no signs of tuning.

The bell's fittings are fairly interesting. Within the 20th century, the bell underwent a restoration which involved the replacement of the headstock, straps, clapper, and lever. It appears to have been done on a DIY basis, with a bell foundry supplying the straps and clapper. The bell no longer has its cast-in crown staple, and instead has an independent one, bolted to the headstock. It might have been at this time a steel bar was fixed to one of the trusses to strengthen it.

The frame itself is of worth noting, and seems to have been reconstructed, with additional second-hand timbers.
The truss closest to the wall has a head and brace with a deep clearance groove in it, and could date back to the 17th century. The king post of this truss is housed within the head, and is of the same wood as the kingpost on the truss parallel to it. The truss furthest away from the wall has a head with a large chamfer, spanning half of its length. The many equally spaced mortices along it may lead us in the direction to believe it came off a house. Braces extend from the belfry floor to the end posts to support the frame. It is made of oak, and according to Elphick, the construction in its present form dates back to 1817. This is an S frame with the braces going from end post to head

The bell is now hung for swing chime, and chimed by rope. Access to the belfry is by the means of stairs, and a short ladder. In June 2024, the rope was replaced after the old one suffered damage by mice.
My thanks go to Rob Lane for his much appreciated help, and granting permission to use his photos and recording of the bell.
Visited by Rob Lane: 05/06/2024

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+