St.Peter & St.Paul Bell Tower - Chacombe, Northamptonshire - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

In 1694 William Bagley cast bells for his own parish church of SS.Peter & Paul, Chacombe. Of these presumed six only the front four, the lightest ones, remain. They range in weight from 279kg to 384kg and are the notes D, C, Bb, and A of scale Fmajor. The fifth bell of 1790, tuned to G and weighing 469kg was cast by John Briant. The bell hanging firm Whites of Appleton, near Oxford, was given the job of overhauling the ring in 2009 which also included hanging a new tenor, cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd and tuned to F. It weighs 702kg and complements the other much older bells very well, giving a well rounded tone.

The tower is typical medieval in character, solidly built in the local sandstone with buttressed corners and a castellated top. It stands at the west end of the church and contains a mechanical clock with one dial on the south face.

The Bagley family lived in Chacombe and as bell-founders cast more than 440 for churches throughout England. Henry I, Matthew I, Henry II, William, Henry III, and Matthew III were active bell-founders in Chacombe from 1605 to 1785. Henry II also ran another foundry at Ecton & Henry III ran one at Witney. Amongst many others they cast a ring of 10 for Lichfield Cathedral. Henry I, d.1683, is buried in the churchyard.

Address of Tower: St.Peter & St.Paul's Church, Church Lane, Chacombe, , Northamptonshire UK OX17 2JS Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 6 Relevant website?: [Web Link] Rate tower: Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Not listed

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