About Us
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Welcome to The Bells of Sussex!
This is a guide to bells listed in churches, chapels, RC churches, and more... I wish to provide you with a complete up-to-date chronological guide, featuring the history, photographs, inscriptions and details of each bell and their frame within a tower or building in the county. I'm Kye Leaver, a campanologist from Crawley, St John the Baptist. My aim is to go round every church and secular place with bells, following in the footsteps of George P Elphick, a former ringer from Southover who wrote Sussex Bell and Belfries, using his book as a guide. |
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Since 1970, there have been many changes to our bells, and it's up to us to re-write history to continue the hard work started by our late bell historians.
In 1864, Amhurst Daniel Tyssen published The Church Bells of Sussex in the Sussex Archaeological Collections, which Elphick fully revised and corrected.
By making an online directory, I can update towers easier if anything changes.
Please bear in mind that this directory is still in early days so you may see bits throughout that appear unfinished or under development.
© Kye L Leaver 2026. All rights reserved.
All content, including text, images, and media, is the property of Kye Leaver, unless stated otherwise, and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit permission.
For usage inquiries, please contact me here
In 1864, Amhurst Daniel Tyssen published The Church Bells of Sussex in the Sussex Archaeological Collections, which Elphick fully revised and corrected.
By making an online directory, I can update towers easier if anything changes.
Please bear in mind that this directory is still in early days so you may see bits throughout that appear unfinished or under development.
© Kye L Leaver 2026. All rights reserved.
All content, including text, images, and media, is the property of Kye Leaver, unless stated otherwise, and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit permission.
For usage inquiries, please contact me here
Things I'm currently working on:
REMODELLING THE LAYOUT OF EACH PAGE TO THE NEW FORM - This update will take place over a couple of months to change the layout of each page to the new form. We intend to separate the information of the tower, bells, and clocks into their own sections, with clocks having their own page all together, and brief data on the tower at the top of the page. We will also being moving from the Elphick frame scheme to the more developed scheme by Christopher Pickford. A general tidy up of each page will be carried out too.
- Brighton, St Paul
- Goodwood, House Stables Clock
- Midhurst, St Mary Magdalene & St Denys
- Nuthurst, St Andrew - Page being revised following personal visit 28/03/2026
- The Wokingham Foundry
- THE BELLS IN THE VALLEY - a book containing a chronology of the bells in and around East Dean, West Dean, and Singleton. by Kye L Leaver
- THE BELLS OF SUSSEX Book - a up-to-date revision of George Elphick's Sussex Bells & Belfries (1970), featuring the history, inscription, and more. This will divided into 2 volumes, owing to vast amount of data, and the addition of photographs. - By Kye L Leaver.
REMODELLING THE LAYOUT OF EACH PAGE TO THE NEW FORM - This update will take place over a couple of months to change the layout of each page to the new form. We intend to separate the information of the tower, bells, and clocks into their own sections, with clocks having their own page all together, and brief data on the tower at the top of the page. We will also being moving from the Elphick frame scheme to the more developed scheme by Christopher Pickford. A general tidy up of each page will be carried out too.
Projects in Sussex
| Overhauls | ||
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| Place | Contractor | Details |
| Crawley - West Green, St Peter | O'Shea Engineering? | This bell is to be rehung and a new clapper installed by O'Shea Engineering. Update This project has currently been placed on hold while the church kitchen & toilet are boing built |
| Findon, St John the Baptist | Whites of Appleton | The ancient Sanctus bell is to be rehung |
| West Chiltington, St Mary | Whites of Appleton | Complete overhaul of the Ellacombe system |
SUSSEX COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE RINGERS
Bell Ringing in Sussex
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The Sussex County Association of Change Ringers was founded January 24th, 1885 by George F Attree. Today, there are over 1200 members across 130 churches. For more information on how you can get involved with bell ringing in Sussex, go to:
https://www.scacr.org/ Sussex ringer David Kirkaldy published a fantastic book about the association, showing how it was formed, and how it has developed over the years to what it is today. It covers all the years from 1885 - 2010. |
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Map of Towers:
Key:
🔴 Roman Catholic
🟡 Secular Place
🟢 Chime
🔵 Rings
🟣 Lost Places
🔴 Roman Catholic
🟡 Secular Place
🟢 Chime
🔵 Rings
🟣 Lost Places
Meet the Team
Cover photo: Chichester Cathedral belfry
