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The Bells of St Marys

The Tower at the West end of the Church houses the Belfry.

The Belfry contains eight bells hung in a cast iron H frame bolted to H section steel girders. The frame came from the Loughborough foundry in1897. The bells were refurbished and tuned by Taylors in 2005 and all have steel headstocks and traditional wooden wheels.  The tenor, cast in 1665, is fitted with a  canon  retaining headstock.

The oldest bell is dated 1636.  In 2005 this was judged incapable of being tuned to the rest  of the peal so was refixed with its  wooden headstock and fitted with an electro-magnetic hammer for use as a Service Ringing Bell.  A new bell was cast to replace the 1636 bell.  The three lightest bells were added in 1898 in celebration of 50 years of Queen Victoria’s reign.

In the Ringing Chamber are three bells from the school buildings in "NUTBOURNE" "NORTH HEATH" and "PULBOROUGH". These schools became redundant when the present school was built. The bell turrets can still be seen in each of the old school buildings.

Also in the Ringing Chamber is the clock mechanism. The clock is a "flat-bed" type with a dead beat escapement bearing a plate with the name John Bennett. The mechanism is surrounded by wooden screening on which over 180 separate peal and other records are written. The two massive weights that fell through an opening in the floor into the tower base area and which were hand wound weekly were replaced by electric winding motors in 2006. Sir John Bennett was in business 1857-1863.

The Ringing Chamber also contains numerous photographs, peal boards, peal certificates and other records.

The Bells are rung every Sunday morning and practices are held every Monday (except Bank holidays) starting at 7.30 p.m. Visitors are always welcome and a particular welcome will be given to any who would like to give ringing a try.

In addition to the Tower Bells, the Church has a fine set of Hand-bells, which are rung regularly, often at outside events. These bells have recently been completely overhauled and re-tuned. Practice on these takes place in the Church on Friday evenings starting at 7.00 p.m. and as for the Tower, visitors will always be most welcome.

History • The Windows • A Walk Round the Church• Plan and Pictures