Horsham, Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity has a single bell, hung in a west-facing turret.
The church was built in 1899, on All Saints’ Eve, and is constructed entirely of brick. The belfry floor is completely lead-lined, so access can only be achieved externally. It has white timber louvres and a shingled spirelet.

About the bell

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Nominal	Note	Founder	Cast	Canon	Hanging
1	4-0-6 cwt	26.38"	1327.5 Hz	E	Mears & Stainbank	1934	Flat	Dead

Recordings of the Bells

Inscriptions

Photographs

1 Bell, 4-0-6 in E
From the Mears & Stainbank invoice, it is evident that there was a bell when the church was built in 1899. It must have been fairly small, as its metal value was only £7.
In 1934, Mears & Stainbank supplied a single bell to replace the earlier one. It was given in memory of Margaret Collett Webb, a Horsham resident who left a legacy to the church. She was born in Shooters Hill, Kent, and died at Backsett, Rushams Road, Horsham. The donor was Ursula Webb, almost certainly Margaret’s daughter.
The inscription SURSUM CORDA was placed on the waist, with the foundry name around the inscription band, using 1-inch and ½-inch letters. The bell was cast without a canon and harmonically tuned to the key of E. Like most bells of this period, the quint is quite sharp. At the time the cost for an inscription was 6d per letter.

The bell is strapped to a wooden deadstock, supported on metal corbels, and is chimed by a rope operating a levered clapper. The fittings originally cost £41 10s, with a further £13 charged for taking down the old bell and installing the new one. In total, the bell and labour came to £47 15s 6d.

Invoice by Mears & Stainbank 1934

31. August 1934.
Miss Ursula Webb, Backsett, Horsham, Sussex.
In account with Mears & Stainbank 32 & 34 Whitechapel Road E1(near St. Mary's Station.)

Holy Trinity Church.
To provide a 2'. 2½" diameter bell, weight 4¼ cwts, with fittings consisting of headstock
and supporting ironwork, clapper staple and lever clapper, roller, bell rope and chain. 41 10 0
To taking down the old bell and hanging the new one, including carriage and all
charges. 13 0 0
To casting inscription on the new bell, SURSUM CORDA 5 6
54 15 6
Less allowance for the old bell. 7 0 0
£47 15 6
Received with thanks
14.11.36

The belfry can only be accessed externally by a scaffolding tower or a cherry picker, and the side of the turret must also be removed.
The bell is in fair condition, though its clapper, pulley, and chain are rusty. The stainless-steel fittings securing the bell to the headstock appear to have been replaced within the past 20 years, and the rope is a second-hand one from St Mary the Virgin, Horsham.
In 2025, a £12,000 repair project was launched to carry out essential works to the turret and belfry. As part of these works, the pulley will be adjusted so that the chain connected to the rope no longer chafes against the bell.

Visited:
.06/01/2023
.13/08/2025 with Valerie Burgess, Keith Burgess, and Bob Whittaker on scaffolding.

Recording of the bell:

How the bell is tuned in relation to the 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+