West Stoke, St Andrew |
|
Bell |
Weight |
Diameter |
Nominal |
Note |
Founder |
Cast |
Canon |
Hanging |
1 |
c7 cwt |
33.38" |
943 Hz |
Bb |
Samuel Knight |
1712 |
Swing |
About the Bell
1 Bell, in Bb
There may have bells here when the tower was built, however, the earliest recorded bell we know of is the present day one. The bell frame has a pair of empty bearing slots which shows there were at least 2 bells here a one stage.
In the 17th century, the church had a boarded belfry, show by the entries "the Churche dore wanteth mendinge and the belfry bordinge" in 1602, and "The steeple is ill covered" 8 years later.
The present bell
Samuel Knight cast, and supplied a bell in 1712 with fairly large, and heavy letters, 1.38" in height. Due to their irregularity, it appears they are made from cut-out sheet wax.
Due to it's square-like profile, the bell has an prime, 1 tone sharp, giving it a very acidic tone, especially since the tierce and prime are just over a semitone apart! It was cast with a conventional canon and heavy moulding wires, and shows no signs of tuning making it a maiden bell.
It's dimensions are as follows:
Shoulder circumference: 56.25"
Lip to shoulder length: 22.00"
Soundbow thickness: 2.25" (6.74% of diameter)
The original headstock, wheel, and other fittings are preserved on the belfry floor, with the original wheel measuring 6' 4" in diameter.
Diocesan survey
Usually, the amount of bells in the church were registered in the 1724 diocesan survey, but nothing is mentioned in 1724. Although, it is interesting to note that the rector in that year, Thomas Baker, was also a schoolmaster and Chichester, and a M.A of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Overhaul
In 1998, the bell was rehung on all new fittings for swing chiming with the use of a full wheel. It is hung on ball bearings
Visited: 11/02/2025 with Peter J Maddams.
There may have bells here when the tower was built, however, the earliest recorded bell we know of is the present day one. The bell frame has a pair of empty bearing slots which shows there were at least 2 bells here a one stage.
In the 17th century, the church had a boarded belfry, show by the entries "the Churche dore wanteth mendinge and the belfry bordinge" in 1602, and "The steeple is ill covered" 8 years later.
The present bell
Samuel Knight cast, and supplied a bell in 1712 with fairly large, and heavy letters, 1.38" in height. Due to their irregularity, it appears they are made from cut-out sheet wax.
Due to it's square-like profile, the bell has an prime, 1 tone sharp, giving it a very acidic tone, especially since the tierce and prime are just over a semitone apart! It was cast with a conventional canon and heavy moulding wires, and shows no signs of tuning making it a maiden bell.
It's dimensions are as follows:
Shoulder circumference: 56.25"
Lip to shoulder length: 22.00"
Soundbow thickness: 2.25" (6.74% of diameter)
The original headstock, wheel, and other fittings are preserved on the belfry floor, with the original wheel measuring 6' 4" in diameter.
Diocesan survey
Usually, the amount of bells in the church were registered in the 1724 diocesan survey, but nothing is mentioned in 1724. Although, it is interesting to note that the rector in that year, Thomas Baker, was also a schoolmaster and Chichester, and a M.A of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Overhaul
In 1998, the bell was rehung on all new fittings for swing chiming with the use of a full wheel. It is hung on ball bearings
Visited: 11/02/2025 with Peter J Maddams.
Recording of the bell:
How the bell is tuned in relation to the nominal, using Simpson's theory.
-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+
0 ~ 9 10 ~ 19 20 ~ 29 30 ~ 39 40 ~ 49 50 ~ 59 60 ~ 69 70 ~ 79 80 ~ 89 90 ~ 99+
Hum - 230.5Hz - Bb-18
Prime - 541.5Hz - Db-40
Tierce - 581Hz - D-18 (sharp minor 3rd)
Quint - 691.5Hz - F-16
Nominal - 943Hz - Bb+20
Prime - 541.5Hz - Db-40
Tierce - 581Hz - D-18 (sharp minor 3rd)
Quint - 691.5Hz - F-16
Nominal - 943Hz - Bb+20
| west_stoke_st_andrew.mp3 |
Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is around the inscription band*
Photographs:
*Click on the images to enlarge them*
Sources:
