Preston, St John the Evangelist
About the Bells
3 Bells, 6-2-20 cwt in B
St John the Evangelist, Preston, has a chime of 3, hung in a central fleche.
The church was designed by A. Bloomfield, and built by James Longley & Co, Crawley. The foundation stone was laid by the Bishop of Chichester on October 16th, 1901. By 1902, the church was complete. A tower was never intended, therefore a tall fleche was built on top of the roof.
The reason the church was built, was down to the fact that the neighbouring church of Preston, St Peter was getting too small. 100
Like Poynings, access to the belfry is certainly not for the faint hearted.
First you go up a pair of vertical ladders in the organ loft. This leads you to a heavy hatch on the roof. A smaller ladder outside takes you to the 20-rung ladder up the side of the roof.
The door to the fleche is fastened by 2 screws.
This takes you into the intermediate chamber with a concrete slope in the middle. From here, a small wooden ladder takes you through a hatch into the belfry.
St John the Evangelist, Preston, has a chime of 3, hung in a central fleche.
The church was designed by A. Bloomfield, and built by James Longley & Co, Crawley. The foundation stone was laid by the Bishop of Chichester on October 16th, 1901. By 1902, the church was complete. A tower was never intended, therefore a tall fleche was built on top of the roof.
The reason the church was built, was down to the fact that the neighbouring church of Preston, St Peter was getting too small. 100
Like Poynings, access to the belfry is certainly not for the faint hearted.
First you go up a pair of vertical ladders in the organ loft. This leads you to a heavy hatch on the roof. A smaller ladder outside takes you to the 20-rung ladder up the side of the roof.
The door to the fleche is fastened by 2 screws.
This takes you into the intermediate chamber with a concrete slope in the middle. From here, a small wooden ladder takes you through a hatch into the belfry.
When the church was built, 8 tubular bells, possibly supplied by Harrington, Latham & Co were installed. The rope holes for these are still present. They were given by the late Mr Edward White of Preston. He hoped that the chime of 8 would sound similar in tone to the bells at Bruges and Exeter Cathedral. 101
In 1936, Annette Mary Mackellar, a beloved nun of the church passed away, and 3 bells were bought in her memory.
This resulted in the removal of the tubular bells, which were scrapped.
The treble was cast around the same time as the 2nd, judging by the similarities in their inscriptions (they're inscribed using the same sized letters and font). The treble doesn't have a date, but the near identical 2nd was cast in 1905.
The tenor was cast in 1912, and is inscribed:
Ring out the false, ring in the true
around the inscription band. This is followed by the grapevine boarder, broken by a 3" trademark medallion. The letters are the same as the trebles but slightly bigger.
At the top of the waist, under the medallion, is the date 1912.
This bell had an inscription on the other side of the waist, consisting of 28 letters, but was chiseled off in 1936 - 1937. Very faint marks of an E can be seen at the top.
In memory of Mackellar, an inscription was engraved on the waist that reads:
IN MEM: DILECTAE SORORIS / ANNETTE MARY MACKELLAR / OB: 23. XI. 1936.
All the bells were cast by John Taylor & Co, Loughborough, and were hung as part of their foundry carillon.
They're tuned to Simpson's 5-tone principle, the notes being D#, C#, B. Their quints are slightly flat.
Interestingly, the nearby church of St Peter have a ring of three in the same key!
The bells were installed in 1937 at the total cost of £278 10s. This includes: removing the tubes; engraving the inscription; fixing the bells; and installing the clappers. 101
The bells are electronically chimed by electromagnetic hammers. These are chimed from the ground floor by push buttons.
The bells are tightly packed in the fleche, the trebles hung below the tenor.
They are bolted to a steel frame in a sound condition.
The hammers though are completely rusted.
Anyone who intends to go into the belfry, please remember that there is very little room.
Visited: 20/07/2023
Harness required!!!
In 1936, Annette Mary Mackellar, a beloved nun of the church passed away, and 3 bells were bought in her memory.
This resulted in the removal of the tubular bells, which were scrapped.
The treble was cast around the same time as the 2nd, judging by the similarities in their inscriptions (they're inscribed using the same sized letters and font). The treble doesn't have a date, but the near identical 2nd was cast in 1905.
The tenor was cast in 1912, and is inscribed:
Ring out the false, ring in the true
around the inscription band. This is followed by the grapevine boarder, broken by a 3" trademark medallion. The letters are the same as the trebles but slightly bigger.
At the top of the waist, under the medallion, is the date 1912.
This bell had an inscription on the other side of the waist, consisting of 28 letters, but was chiseled off in 1936 - 1937. Very faint marks of an E can be seen at the top.
In memory of Mackellar, an inscription was engraved on the waist that reads:
IN MEM: DILECTAE SORORIS / ANNETTE MARY MACKELLAR / OB: 23. XI. 1936.
All the bells were cast by John Taylor & Co, Loughborough, and were hung as part of their foundry carillon.
They're tuned to Simpson's 5-tone principle, the notes being D#, C#, B. Their quints are slightly flat.
Interestingly, the nearby church of St Peter have a ring of three in the same key!
The bells were installed in 1937 at the total cost of £278 10s. This includes: removing the tubes; engraving the inscription; fixing the bells; and installing the clappers. 101
The bells are electronically chimed by electromagnetic hammers. These are chimed from the ground floor by push buttons.
The bells are tightly packed in the fleche, the trebles hung below the tenor.
They are bolted to a steel frame in a sound condition.
The hammers though are completely rusted.
Anyone who intends to go into the belfry, please remember that there is very little room.
Visited: 20/07/2023
Harness required!!!
Recordings of the bells:
How the bells are tuned in relation to their 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+
Bell 1
Hum - 310Hz - Eb-5
Prime - 620.5Hz - Eb-4
Tierce - 741Hz - F#+2 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 923Hz - Bb-16
Nominal - 1241Hz - Eb-4
Prime - 620.5Hz - Eb-4
Tierce - 741Hz - F#+2 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 923Hz - Bb-16
Nominal - 1241Hz - Eb-4
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Bell 2
Hum - 276Hz - Db-6
Prime - 553Hz - Db-3
Tierce - 662.5Hz - E+9 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 810.5Hz - Ab-41
Nominal - 1106.5Hz - Db-2
Prime - 553Hz - Db-3
Tierce - 662.5Hz - E+9 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 810.5Hz - Ab-41
Nominal - 1106.5Hz - Db-2
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Bell 3
Hum - 246.5Hz - B-2
Prime - 492.5Hz - B-4
Tierce - 590Hz - D+8 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 732Hz - F# -18
Nominal - 986Hz - B-2
Prime - 492.5Hz - B-4
Tierce - 590Hz - D+8 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 732Hz - F# -18
Nominal - 986Hz - B-2
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Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is within the inscription band*
*Text in red is engraved on the bell*
*Text in blue is on the opposite side*
*Text in red is engraved on the bell*
*Text in blue is on the opposite side*
1 |
John Taylor & Co * founders * Loughborough * Leicestershire * ################################## |
2 |
John Taylor & Co * founders * Loughborough * 1905 * ################################# |
3 |
######## Ring out the false, ring in the true ####◉#### 1912 IN MEM: DILECTAE SORORIS ANNETTE MARY MACKELLAR OB: 23. XI. 1936. |
Latin Translation:
3: IN MEM: DILECTAW SORORIS ANNETTE MARY MACKELLAR OB: 23. XI. 1936 - In memory of the beloved sister, Annette Mary MacKellar. Died 23th November 1936.
3: IN MEM: DILECTAW SORORIS ANNETTE MARY MACKELLAR OB: 23. XI. 1936 - In memory of the beloved sister, Annette Mary MacKellar. Died 23th November 1936.
## = Fig. LXIII,a (Bells 1,2,3)
◉ = Fig. LVII,a (Bell 3)
* = Fig. LX,e (Bells 1,2,3)
◉ = Fig. LVII,a (Bell 3)
* = Fig. LX,e (Bells 1,2,3)
Photographs:
Sources:
100 - https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/brighton-and-hove-st-john-preston/
101 - Christopher J Pickford
100 - https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/brighton-and-hove-st-john-preston/
101 - Christopher J Pickford
