The Priory Church was given to the Town of Christchurch, by King Henry VIII in his reformation of the Church, during his period of dissolution & destruction of the monasteries.
"The west tower, constructed in about 1470, was the last major structural addition to the church. On top is a gilded salmon weather vane, a reminder not only that the fish was a Christian symbol but also that the first salmon of the year was always given to the Prior. The tower has a peal of 12 bells, including two dating to 1370.
Bells:
The Priory has a ring of 12 bells plus a 6th flat. The Bells are rung twice on Sundays and Monday nights and for extra services.They are in the Key of D and the largest one (Tenor) weighs 30cwt (1½ Tons). The two oldest bells in the ring were cast in 1376 by John Rufford.
Brief History:
Seven bells were recorded at the time of the dissolution of the Monasteries, and two of these were removed when the priory church became parochial in 1540. In 1633 this heavy five was converted into a lighter six by removing the tenor, recasting the 4th and adding two trebles. In 1755 Abel Rudhall augmented the ring to eight, and John Taylor & Co rehung the bells in a ten bell frame in 1885, replacing the 3rd at the same time. The bell they cast for Christchurch came out flat, and so a bell originally intended to be the 4th of a new ring of eight for The Saviour, Bolton, was supplied instead. It is interesting to note that the 1885 Taylor bells from The Saviour have now been transferred to St Peter's, Bolton, where they are the back eight of the present ring of twelve there.
Despite a ten bell frame being installed at Christchurch in 1885, it was not until 1904 that the ring was augmented, the trebles being cast by Llewellins & James of Bristol. In 1931 the 6th was replaced, with the old bell (cast in 1663 by William Purdue III of Salisbury) being retained in the bellchamber. In 1932 the ring was augmented to twelve, with the 1904 trebles of ten being removed from the ring and placed, with their fittings, on a stand in the bell chamber and two new bells being cast to replace them. The old 6th of ten was scrapped in 1976, and in the same year the metal from the 1904 trebles of ten was used towards the casting of a flat 6th, with the inscriptions from the two bells being copied onto this. The new bell was cast and hung by Taylor's. More recently, in 1991, Whitechapel Bell Foundry overhauled the fittings and replaced the gudgeons and bearings.
Framework and Fittings:
The front four bells, the flat 6th and the 8th were cast with flat tops. The 5th and 6th have cable patterned canons, the 7th angular canons, and the remaining bells have had their canons removed.
The frame is of timber, and is basically that installed by Taylor's in 1885. A new foundation of RSJs was inserted beneath the frame in 1932, and two timber pits, which now contain the treble and 3rd, were added to the East side. A single cast iron lowsided pit for the flat 6th was added on the south side in 1976. The additions of 1932 and 1976 were both carried out by Taylor's.
The fittings are rather a mixture. The four trebles and the flat 6th have Taylor fittings contemporary with them and consisting of cast iron headstocks, ball bearings, traditional wheels, stays and sliders.. The back eight have timber stocks, presumably dating from either 1885 or 1904, traditional wheels by Llewellins & James and dating from 1904, and traditional stays and sliders. The bells were rehung on ball bearings by Taylor's in 1932, and the gudgeons and bearings were replaced by Whitechapel in 1991. There is also an Ellacombe chiming apparatus, which was installed by Llewellins & James in 1904.
Bell
Date
Founder
Diameter
Weight
Treble 1932 John Taylor & Co 25.5" 5-0-24
2nd: 1932 John Taylor & Co 27" 5-3-12
3rd: 1932 John Taylor & Co 28" 6-0-14
4th: 1932 John Taylor & Co 30.5" 7-1-20
5th 1755 Abel Rudhall 33" 7-0-0
6th 1755 Abel Rudhall 34" 7-2-14
7th 1885 John Taylor & Co 35.5" 9-3-20
8th 1931 John Taylor & Co 37.5" 10-2-19
9th c1376+ John Rufford 39.63" 11-0-0
10th c1376+ John Rufford 43.25" 15-0-0
11th c1730+ Abel Rudhall 48.88" 20-0-0
Tenor c1730+ Abel Rudhall 53.88" 30-0-0 in D Major
Flat 6th 1976 John Taylor & Co 33.5" 8-1-0 " Text Source: (
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Prayer and worship have been offered on this site for more than 1,300 years, and in this Priory Church for over 900 years, by people who have left behind a testimony to their faith in the architecture of this magnificent parish church which dates back to Norman times. We are open every day of the year, and welcome a large number of visitors from across the world.
A church was established here well before the Norman Conquest and in 1086 it was known as ‘the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Toinham’. The Saxon buildings were demolished under the direction of Ranulph Flambard (a close associate of William the Conqueror and later Bishop of Durham), who envisioned a beautiful church on an ambitious scale; its completion, however, aided by pious and wealthy donors, took almost another 500 years. By 1177, both the church and the town were known as ‘Christchurch’. Legend recalls that during the building work, a roof timber was cut too short but was miraculously lengthened. The deed was attributed to a mysterious carpenter who was thought to have been Christ himself." Text Source: ." Text source: (
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