Contents
Committee / Groups
History
Bells,
Ringing times:
Sunday service: 0930 to 1000
Practice: Wednesdays 1945 to 2100
Contacts:
Tower Secretary: Howard Rogers, Cockle Oast, Hartlake Road, Golden Green
Telephone: 01732 850329
email: howardsrogers@aol.com
Tower Captain: Stan Jenner, Hunters Lodge, Hadlow Castle, High Street, Hadlow
Telephone: 01732 852163
email: stanjenner@waitrose.com
The tower has a ring of eight bells, rehung in 1994 in a new metal frame. The Tenor weighs 12cwt 3qr in G. The back six bells are the last existing ring of six cast by James Bartlet of Whitechapel and are listed by the Council for the Care of Churches as being of historic interest. The two trebles originally cast by Pack and Chapman of Whitechapel in 1775 were miserable bells, poor in tone and out of tune: they were recast by Whitechapel in 1994 when the bells were rehung. At the same time the three was found to have a crack in the crown and this was repaired by Soundweld of Cambridge.
Details of the bells are as follows:
Bell. Weight Diameter Cast Founder
Treble. 4cwt 3qr 4lb 26.5 in 1994 Whitechapel
2. 5 0 0 27.5 in 1994 Whitechapel
3. 5 0 15 29 in 1696 James Bartlet
4. 5 2 25 30 in 1695 James Bartlet
5. 6 2 10 34 in 1695 James Bartlet
6. 7 1 9 36 in 1695 James Bartlet
7. 9 1 25 38 in 1695 James Bartlet
Tenor. 12 3 0 42.5 in 1695 James Bartlet.
Inscriptions:
Treble. Shoulder: PACK & CHAPMAN OF LON ON FECIT 1775
Waist: GERALD LANE VICAR
JOHN MACNAMARA
RAY NORBURY
PETER ROMNEY CAPTAIN OF RINGERS
Opposite side: RECAST
19 WA AD 94
H
WHITECHAPEL
Second Shoulder: PACK & CHAPMAN OF LONDON FECIT 1775
Waist: IN MEMORIAM
KENNETH ERNEST GARNER
Opposite side:
Foundry mark as
on the Treble
Three Shoulder: JAMES BARTLET ME FECIT 1696
Waist:
Four, Five, Six and Seven
Shoulder: JAMES BARTLET ME FECIT 1695
Waist:
Tenor Shoulder: ANDREW REANY VICAR
HENRY BARTON EDMOND NORMAN CHURCHWARDENS
Waist:
JAMES BARTLET ME FECIT 1695
Opposite side:
The inscriptions around the shoulder of the Treble and 2 were reproduced in facsimile from the old bells before they were broken up. Note the D in “London” is the wrong way round. This sort of mistake is not uncommon on earlier bells.
Thomas Bartlet owned the foundry at Whitechapel from 1616 to 1632. He died in 1632 when his son, Antony, was too young to take over the business. Thomas’ widow, Ellinor was in charge for a few months but then the business was leased to John Clifton from 1632 to 1640 when Antony was old enough to take over. Antony ran the foundry until 1675, when his son, James took over. (He had already been working for his father for a number of years.) James died in 1700 ending the family’s 84 years of ownership. Both Antony and James used Thomas’ foundry mark on their bells and where appropriate, put their own initials either side of the mark. Obviously this was not necessary on the Hadlow bells because the words “James Bartlet me fecit” appear in large letters on all of the bells. The impressions of the foundry mark are not very good but it is possible in the photograph below to read the word “Thomas”.
This and the two illustrations below are photographs of parts of the inscriptions on the bells.
The Bartlet bells have never been tuned in modern times but this is quite unnecessary as they are very closely in tune and have an excellent sound.