THE BELLS OF SUSSEX
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Tilgate, Holy Trinity

Tilgate has a single bell, hung in an east facing tower.
The church was built at the time of the Crawley New Town development in 1959, and is made of brick.
A small louvred spire sits on top of the tower, topped with a cross that blew off during storm Eunice.
Picture

The Bell

Bell
Weight
Diameter
Nominal
Note
Founder
Cast
Canon
Hanging
1
 
22.00"
1471.5 Hz
F#
Gillett, Bland & Co
1879
Yes
Dead

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Recordings of the Bells

Inscriptions

Photographs

1 Bell,  in F#
The bell was cast by Gillett, Bland & Co in 1879 and is one of the many bells in Crawley by them.
It hangs dead at the base of the spire just above the louvres, and is chimed by a rope connected to an levered clapper.

​Until the serial number on top of the bell is recorded, it's origin and weight is unknown, although George Elphick states that it originally came from Three Bridges, St Richard; it was then apparently transferred to Turners Hill, and then Tilgate.

The Gillett & Johnston books show a bell was dispatched to Paddockhurst weighing 2-0-7cwt, and measures the same diameter at the Tilgate bell. This bell was cast on May 3rd 1879, and dispatched to George Smith of Paddockhurst 20 days later.

Access to the bell requires a small ladder through a hatch in the middle of the ceiling.
Visited:  02/01/2022

Recording of the bell:

How the bell is tuned in relation to the nominal using Simpson's theory.
Picture
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+
Hum -  419.5Hz -  Ab+17
Prime -  681Hz -  F-43
Tierce -  872.5Hz -  A-14  (minor 3rd)
Quint -  1256Hz -  Eb+16
Nominal -  1471.5Hz -  F# -9

tilgate.wav
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File Type: wav
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​Inscriptions:

*Underlined text is around the inscription band*
1
CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Cᴼ CROYDON 1879
​


Photographs:

*Click on the images to enlarge them*
Sources:
  • ELPHICK, George. P (1970): Sussex Bells & Belfries p.289
  • https://worthconnecting.org.uk/news/news-from-the-old-place/171/171-A-brief-history-of-The-Old-Place
  • https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/crawley-holy-trinity-tilgate/​
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