Woodingdean, Holy Cross

Woodingdean had a single bell hung in a square brick turret. The original church, pictured here, was built in 1941 to Sidney T Hennell's design. It was entirely made of brick, and was built with a small 9.A frame at the gable end. The old church was demolished and rebuilt on the same site by J. Wells Thorpe in 1968 without a tower.

(Francis Frith photo collections )

The bells

1957 - c1970

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Nominal	Note	Founder	Date	Canon	Hanging
1		16.00"			Mears & Stainbank	1957	Flat?	Swing?

c1941 - 1957

Bell	Diameter	Founder	Date	Canon	Hanging
Old 1	16.50"	John Warner & Sons	1874	Yes?	Swing?

1 Bell
The first bell at Woodingdean was cast by John Warner & Sons, 67 years before the church was built. It was originally cast for the old church of St Luke's Brighton, and no doubt kept in storage before being transferred to Woodingdean in 1941.
It was only a small bell, and would've had an inscription around the soundbow.
Sadly, this bell cracked after it fell out the turret in 1957, and was subsequently replaced by a new bell.

1957 - The new bell
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, then working under the name of Mears & Stainbank, cast a new bell, hung for swing chiming. Judging by the layout of the inscription given by Elphick, it would have been at the bottom of the waist. It would have looked like this, as shown on the right.

This bell was sold for scrap to help with the cost of the new church in 1968.

Both bells were hung in a brick 9.A frame for one, which required a pair of 15 rung ladders to reach.

The vicar confirms that the present church does not have any bells.

Visited: 04/04/2026.