Clapham, St Mary the VirginClapham has a peal of 3 bells, hung in a west-facing tower. The church dates from towards the end of the 12th century, and the tower is 13th century. Today, it carries a Sussex cap, but may have had a taller one, like that over the road at Patching, prior to c.1790. In 1550, John Shelley left a gift in his will towards "the buylding of a newe steple there tenne poundes." It was restored throughout the 19th century, when the louvres and its spire were replaced.
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About the Bells
3 Bells, 3-3-12 in D (Tuning 1,2b,3 of 3)
The current bells boast of being not only the oldest surviving ring of bells in the country, but also the oldest ring by the same founder. Owing to the age of the tower, there may have been a bell here before them.
The founder of these bells has been assumed by George Elphick to be Alan le Rous; however, this identification is based purely on speculation.
A bell at Bramber, inscribed in the same letters as Clapham, carries the line “NICHOLAS ME FECIT.” Stahlschmidt found a group of potters in the Husting Court Rolls, among whom Nicholas le Rous was mentioned in 1315, along with William, Roger, and Alan le Rous. Alan is noted again in 1361, the year of his death.
Elphick suspects that the le Rous family moved to Sussex to escape the plague in 1348, and that the Bramber bell was the first cast of the seven surviving Sussex bells with this lettering. Because the Madehurst, Birdham, and Clapham bells have a different cross, and inconsistencies in the lettering, Elphick suggests they were cast by an apprentice or successor to Nicholas, possibly Alan, who died in 1361, placing these bells around c.1350. None of the bells at Clapham, Birdham, or Madehurst bear a founder’s name to confirm Alan as the caster, and there is nothing to prevent us from believing that Nicholas may have cast all seven bells.
At Clapham, the letter K is used instead of R on the second bell, and the second cross on the tenor is a distorted form of the first.
Tuning
The tuning of these bells is rather peculiar, as the notes D, E♭, and F♯ (equivalent to C, D♭, and E) do not fit into any of the usual medieval musical modes. They do, however, correspond to the notes of the Dominant Phrygian mode, which gives Clapham’s bells an Eastern quality of tone.
Founding
The bells were cast with inscriptions formed by welting wax into letter moulds. Alan, assuming this is indeed his correct identity, set out his bells with diameters in the ratio 5 : 5.4 : 6, or 83% : 90% : 100% in proportion to the tenor.
They would have been moulded using loam and a strickle, and each carries a piece-moulded conventional canon.
Below is a cross-section of the bells, drawn by George Elphick, to show their profiles.
The internal perpendicular heights of all three bells were recorded by Taylors of Loughborough, which shows that Alan made the inner moulds of all three to the same proportion—78% of the diameter (core : diameter = 1 : 1.27).
The current bells boast of being not only the oldest surviving ring of bells in the country, but also the oldest ring by the same founder. Owing to the age of the tower, there may have been a bell here before them.
The founder of these bells has been assumed by George Elphick to be Alan le Rous; however, this identification is based purely on speculation.
A bell at Bramber, inscribed in the same letters as Clapham, carries the line “NICHOLAS ME FECIT.” Stahlschmidt found a group of potters in the Husting Court Rolls, among whom Nicholas le Rous was mentioned in 1315, along with William, Roger, and Alan le Rous. Alan is noted again in 1361, the year of his death.
Elphick suspects that the le Rous family moved to Sussex to escape the plague in 1348, and that the Bramber bell was the first cast of the seven surviving Sussex bells with this lettering. Because the Madehurst, Birdham, and Clapham bells have a different cross, and inconsistencies in the lettering, Elphick suggests they were cast by an apprentice or successor to Nicholas, possibly Alan, who died in 1361, placing these bells around c.1350. None of the bells at Clapham, Birdham, or Madehurst bear a founder’s name to confirm Alan as the caster, and there is nothing to prevent us from believing that Nicholas may have cast all seven bells.
At Clapham, the letter K is used instead of R on the second bell, and the second cross on the tenor is a distorted form of the first.
Tuning
The tuning of these bells is rather peculiar, as the notes D, E♭, and F♯ (equivalent to C, D♭, and E) do not fit into any of the usual medieval musical modes. They do, however, correspond to the notes of the Dominant Phrygian mode, which gives Clapham’s bells an Eastern quality of tone.
Founding
The bells were cast with inscriptions formed by welting wax into letter moulds. Alan, assuming this is indeed his correct identity, set out his bells with diameters in the ratio 5 : 5.4 : 6, or 83% : 90% : 100% in proportion to the tenor.
They would have been moulded using loam and a strickle, and each carries a piece-moulded conventional canon.
Below is a cross-section of the bells, drawn by George Elphick, to show their profiles.
The internal perpendicular heights of all three bells were recorded by Taylors of Loughborough, which shows that Alan made the inner moulds of all three to the same proportion—78% of the diameter (core : diameter = 1 : 1.27).
Commission reports
The Chichester Archdeaconry survey of 1610 states that "The steeple faultie in Shingle.". This give us a insight into the condition of the spire which appears to have been repaired by 1724, for the Diocesan survey simply says "Three Bells".
Time for an overhaul
In 1986, John Taylor & Co. rehung the bells on new fittings sympathetic to their age. They were given wooden headstocks, ball bearings, and three-quarter wheels, enabling them to be rung full circle by means of pulleys; they do not, however, have stays or sliders. New clappers, straps, and ropes were also supplied, and the bells were rehung in the existing frame. The Taylor archives indicate that they were originally intended for swing chiming.
Frame & condition
The frame sits around 6ft above the belfry floor, and dates back to the 19th century. However, a few of the timbers are much older. It is constructed using 5.A & 5.M trusses arranged in the 3.1 layout.
The bells are rung from the ground floor by the use of three-quarters wheels. All the fittings are in superb condition, and show no signs of wear. The old fittings that were taken off are preserved in the belfry along with a set of large external callipers. Access to the belfry is by a vertical ladder to a counterweighted hatch. Following this, a smaller ladder lakes you up to frame height, requiring you to pull yourself up and around the frame sill.
An 8 rung ladder required.
Visited: 17/11/2022
The Chichester Archdeaconry survey of 1610 states that "The steeple faultie in Shingle.". This give us a insight into the condition of the spire which appears to have been repaired by 1724, for the Diocesan survey simply says "Three Bells".
Time for an overhaul
In 1986, John Taylor & Co. rehung the bells on new fittings sympathetic to their age. They were given wooden headstocks, ball bearings, and three-quarter wheels, enabling them to be rung full circle by means of pulleys; they do not, however, have stays or sliders. New clappers, straps, and ropes were also supplied, and the bells were rehung in the existing frame. The Taylor archives indicate that they were originally intended for swing chiming.
Frame & condition
The frame sits around 6ft above the belfry floor, and dates back to the 19th century. However, a few of the timbers are much older. It is constructed using 5.A & 5.M trusses arranged in the 3.1 layout.
The bells are rung from the ground floor by the use of three-quarters wheels. All the fittings are in superb condition, and show no signs of wear. The old fittings that were taken off are preserved in the belfry along with a set of large external callipers. Access to the belfry is by a vertical ladder to a counterweighted hatch. Following this, a smaller ladder lakes you up to frame height, requiring you to pull yourself up and around the frame sill.
An 8 rung ladder required.
Visited: 17/11/2022
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 - 371.5Hz - F#+7
Prime - 656Hz - E-8
Tierce - 846Hz - Ab+32 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 1092.5Hz - Db-25
Nominal - 1430Hz - F+41
Prime - 656Hz - E-8
Tierce - 846Hz - Ab+32 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 1092.5Hz - Db-25
Nominal - 1430Hz - F+41
| claphamone.mp3 |
Bell 2
Hum - 339.5Hz - F-48
Prime - 536Hz - C+42
Tierce - 721Hz - F#-44 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 972Hz - B-27
Nominal - 1229.5Hz - Eb-20
Prime - 536Hz - C+42
Tierce - 721Hz - F#-44 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 972Hz - B-27
Nominal - 1229.5Hz - Eb-20
| claphamtwo.mp3 |
Bell 3
Hum - 303.5Hz - Eb-42
Prime - 583.5Hz - D-10
Tierce - 693.5Hz - F-11 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 885Hz - A+10
Nominal - 1141.5Hz - D-49
Prime - 583.5Hz - D-10
Tierce - 693.5Hz - F-11 (minor 3rd)
Quint - 885Hz - A+10
Nominal - 1141.5Hz - D-49
| claphamthree.mp3 |
Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is around the inscription band*
1 |
+ 🄸 🄰 🄲 🄾 🄱 🅄 🅂 |
2 |
+ 🄲 🄰 🅃 🄴 🄺 🄸 🄽 🄰 ⫶ |
3 |
+ 🄺 🄰 🅃 🄴 🅁 🄸 🄽 🄰 + 🄼 🄰 🅁 🄶 🄰 🅁 🄸 🅃 🄰 |
Photographs:
*Click on the images to enlarge them*
Sources:
© Kye L Leaver 2025. All rights reserved.
- ELPHICK, George. P (1970): Sussex Bells & Belfries
- SCOTT, Gilbert (1875): Sussex Archaeological Society Vol* 26 Notes of St Mary's Church Clapham, Sussex. p.211
- Sussex Record Society Vol* 42 p.23
- https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/clapham-st-mary/
© Kye L Leaver 2025. All rights reserved.
