Preston Park, St Peter
Bell |
Weight |
Diameter |
Nominal |
Note |
Founder |
Cast |
Canon |
Hanging |
1 (2077) |
3-2-14 cwt |
26.50" |
1275.5 Hz |
D# |
1906 |
Full Circle |
||
2 (2076) |
5-0-0 cwt |
29.00" |
1130 Hz |
C# |
1906 |
Full Circle |
||
3 (2075) |
6-0-21 cwt |
32.00" |
1001 Hz |
B |
1906 |
Full Circle |
About the Bells
3 Bells, 6-0-21 in B
Preston Park has a full circle ring of 3, hung in a West facing tower.
The earliest bell dates from around 1440 which was cast by William Chamberlain. A date was not inscribed on the bell but instead: Sancte Oar Pro Nobis followed by 3 shields.
The interesting feature about this inscription is that the Latin word Ora meaning pray is misspelled and reads "Oar". This typo was not noticed by Tyssen tho, as shown in the inscription section.
The three shields on the bell, along with the style of the letters, are the biggest hint into identifying this bells maker.
The First shield is Fig. WIC,1 being William Chamberlain's most common trademark stamp. The letter W with a swallow-tailed pennant.
Moving around to the right we come to Fig. WIC,2. The merci medallion featuring the words ihu merci ladi help is also found in Edburton nearby.
And the final shield is Fig. WIC,3 containing a dolphin, a sheaf, a bell, and a laver.
The next bell to be added was in 1631. This was cast by Bryan Eldridge who cast many bells in Sussex during his time.
He added a tenor and they remained a chime of 2 for a century. No record of old decorative stops is kept but it may have been likely it either had Fig. XXX,f or b.
Finally, a treble was added by Samuel Knight in 1714 who also cast a bell for Poynings nearby. The inscription was kept simple and just read S K 1714. The letters and numerals on this bell and his other bells were quite heavy and molded from wax.
In 1906, a great fire in the tower and nave left all the bells cracked and the bell frame destroyed.
The church had all the bells sent to Croydon to be recast by Gillett & Johnston. They inscribed the new bells in facsimile to the old ones and added their foundry mark in the process, stating that they are recasts. The bells were interestingly cast with conventional canons and not flat. Since the hanging, the bells have not been turned.
When you go up to look at the bells, you'll see that the tenor is the odd one out and it is purely based on its inscription. On each bell, "RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON CROYDON 1906" is inscribed. The treble and two have this inscribed on the waist whereas the tenor has it inscribed around the inscription band.
The tenor also had much larger letters than the other two bells.
The pictures below illustrate the above.
The bells are hung in a Z trussed frame in a non-standard frame layout for 3 bells. Altogether, they are very tightly packed into the tower with the wheels on the treble and 2nd exceeding the length of the pit. A clearance groove on the North wall has been made to enable the wheel for the 2nd to move freely. Some of the end posts and end heads are higher than the level of the rest of the frame to make way for the wheels.
The bells are strapped to wooden headstocks and all have a curved stay.
From a ringing perspective, they are a bit of a challenge as they're all on plain bearings and are not frequently oiled nor rung full circle.
In 1674, the churchwardens reported that the tower required repairing. Also, in 1686, one of the bells was cracked. This would have either been the Chamberlain or the Eldridge bell.
The bells are rung from the ground floor and the ropes fall in a triangle.
Access to the belfry is first by a vertical ladder of around 24 rungs - by memory. This takes you to the intermediate chamber containing the works for the organ. From here, a smaller ladder takes you to iron beams to another small vertical ladder. The hatch to the intermediate chamber is in the South West corner and the hatch to the belfry is in the North West corner.
Visited:
.11/11/2022
Preston Park has a full circle ring of 3, hung in a West facing tower.
The earliest bell dates from around 1440 which was cast by William Chamberlain. A date was not inscribed on the bell but instead: Sancte Oar Pro Nobis followed by 3 shields.
The interesting feature about this inscription is that the Latin word Ora meaning pray is misspelled and reads "Oar". This typo was not noticed by Tyssen tho, as shown in the inscription section.
The three shields on the bell, along with the style of the letters, are the biggest hint into identifying this bells maker.
The First shield is Fig. WIC,1 being William Chamberlain's most common trademark stamp. The letter W with a swallow-tailed pennant.
Moving around to the right we come to Fig. WIC,2. The merci medallion featuring the words ihu merci ladi help is also found in Edburton nearby.
And the final shield is Fig. WIC,3 containing a dolphin, a sheaf, a bell, and a laver.
The next bell to be added was in 1631. This was cast by Bryan Eldridge who cast many bells in Sussex during his time.
He added a tenor and they remained a chime of 2 for a century. No record of old decorative stops is kept but it may have been likely it either had Fig. XXX,f or b.
Finally, a treble was added by Samuel Knight in 1714 who also cast a bell for Poynings nearby. The inscription was kept simple and just read S K 1714. The letters and numerals on this bell and his other bells were quite heavy and molded from wax.
In 1906, a great fire in the tower and nave left all the bells cracked and the bell frame destroyed.
The church had all the bells sent to Croydon to be recast by Gillett & Johnston. They inscribed the new bells in facsimile to the old ones and added their foundry mark in the process, stating that they are recasts. The bells were interestingly cast with conventional canons and not flat. Since the hanging, the bells have not been turned.
When you go up to look at the bells, you'll see that the tenor is the odd one out and it is purely based on its inscription. On each bell, "RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON CROYDON 1906" is inscribed. The treble and two have this inscribed on the waist whereas the tenor has it inscribed around the inscription band.
The tenor also had much larger letters than the other two bells.
The pictures below illustrate the above.
The bells are hung in a Z trussed frame in a non-standard frame layout for 3 bells. Altogether, they are very tightly packed into the tower with the wheels on the treble and 2nd exceeding the length of the pit. A clearance groove on the North wall has been made to enable the wheel for the 2nd to move freely. Some of the end posts and end heads are higher than the level of the rest of the frame to make way for the wheels.
The bells are strapped to wooden headstocks and all have a curved stay.
From a ringing perspective, they are a bit of a challenge as they're all on plain bearings and are not frequently oiled nor rung full circle.
In 1674, the churchwardens reported that the tower required repairing. Also, in 1686, one of the bells was cracked. This would have either been the Chamberlain or the Eldridge bell.
The bells are rung from the ground floor and the ropes fall in a triangle.
Access to the belfry is first by a vertical ladder of around 24 rungs - by memory. This takes you to the intermediate chamber containing the works for the organ. From here, a smaller ladder takes you to iron beams to another small vertical ladder. The hatch to the intermediate chamber is in the South West corner and the hatch to the belfry is in the North West corner.
Visited:
.11/11/2022
Recordings of the bells:
Bell 1
Hum - 330.5Hz - E+5
Prime - 566Hz - Db+35
Tierce - 752.5Hz - F#+29 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 964.5Hz - B-40
Nominal - 1275.5Hz - Eb+43
Prime - 566Hz - Db+35
Tierce - 752.5Hz - F#+29 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 964.5Hz - B-40
Nominal - 1275.5Hz - Eb+43
| cut_preston1.mp3 |
Bell 2
Hum - 306Hz - Eb-28
Prime - 558Hz - Db+11
Tierce - 680.5Hz - F-44
Quint - 938Hz - Bb+11 (minor 3rd)
Nominal - 1130Hz - Db+33
Prime - 558Hz - Db+11
Tierce - 680.5Hz - F-44
Quint - 938Hz - Bb+11 (minor 3rd)
Nominal - 1130Hz - Db+33
| cut_preston2_1_.mp3 |
Bell 3
Hum - 255Hz - C-43
Prime - 464.5Hz - Bb-5
Tierce - 587Hz - D+0 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 761.5Hz - F#+50
Nominal - 1001Hz - B+23
Prime - 464.5Hz - Bb-5
Tierce - 587Hz - D+0 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 761.5Hz - F#+50
Nominal - 1001Hz - B+23
| cut_preston_3.mp3 |
Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is inscriptions within the inscription band*
1 |
S K 1774 RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON CROYDON 1906 |
2 |
𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖙𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖋𝖊 𝕺𝖆𝖗 𝕻𝖗𝖔 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖎𝖘 ⛉ ◉ ⛛ RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON CROYDON 1906 |
3 |
RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON CROYDON 1906 GLORIA DEO IN EXCELSIS, 1631, B.E. |
Tyssen gives:
240. Preston--3
1. SK. 1714.
2. Sancte Botolfe Ora Pro Nobis ⛉ + ⛉ (Figs 21, 22, 23).
3. Gloria Deo in excelsis 1631 B E.
240. Preston--3
1. SK. 1714.
2. Sancte Botolfe Ora Pro Nobis ⛉ + ⛉ (Figs 21, 22, 23).
3. Gloria Deo in excelsis 1631 B E.
Latin Translations:
2: Sancte Botolfe Oar Pro Nobis - Saint Botolph pray for us.
3: GLORIA DEO IN EXCELSIS - Glory to God in the highest.
⛉= Fig. WIC,1
◉ = Fig. WIC,2
⛛= Fig. WIC,3
2: Sancte Botolfe Oar Pro Nobis - Saint Botolph pray for us.
3: GLORIA DEO IN EXCELSIS - Glory to God in the highest.
⛉= Fig. WIC,1
◉ = Fig. WIC,2
⛛= Fig. WIC,3
Photographs:
