Bell Tower - Church of St.Botolph, Junction of B1079 and Drabs Lane, Burgh, Suffolk IP13 6QB
Posted by: 
greysman
N 52° 07.438 E 001° 14.816
31U E 379988 N 5776276
The main entrance to the church is through the door in the tower where the bells are hung.
Waymark Code: WMR7P4
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/23/2016
Views: 1
The tower of a Grade II* listed church built in the C14th and C15th on the site of a church which has been here since the C7th. It is believed that the remains of St Botolph were kept safe here after the destruction of his monastery at Iken in 870. Formerly dedicated to St.Andrew the present building is flint rubble with ashlar dressings and a plain tile roof. It is of a simple plan, nave and chancel with south-western porch-tower.
The tower's south face has a central ground-floor doorway with double-wave mould to the ashlar surround and a hood mould. There are brick voussoirs above this and a quatrefoil opening to the first stage window has a semi-circular hood mould. The belfry stage opening above a string course is of two lights with chamfered surround and trefoil-headed ogee lights with quatrefoil and mouchettes to the apex. A string course below the parapet has a central gargoyle whilst there are flushwork tracery panels to the parapet with cinquefoil heads being paired to the raised battlements. The other faces are all similar save for the lack of ground floor door opening to east and west and the west not having a quatrefoil opening. The north face abuts the church to its lower body but has a similar belfry opening. There is some brick infill to the parapet flushwork. Unusually there are no butresses to any corner of the tower.
Of particular interest inside the church are the 40 angels to be seen in the roof, the octagonal font dated from c.1400, the piscina and sedilia and especially the sanctuary ring on the inner door, believed to have been forged in the 13th century.
The six bells are rung for Divine Service, weddings and other festal occasions, the ringing chamber being on the ground floor of the tower which is also the main entrance door to the church. This must make the ringing of long lengths difficult with people trying to make their way past ropes moving up and down and ringers concentrating on their methods. More than one ringer has been injured when a bell rope has looped round an arm whilst being rung, no less dangerous if you are trying to pass through the circle whilst ringing is taking place, it's downright dangerous actually.
Following is a table extracted from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers showing the weights in kg, and sounding note of the bells.
Bell Weight Note Casting date Founder
1 F# 1894 John Warner & Sons
2 E 1782 Chapman & Mears
3 D 1718 John Stephens
4 C# 1718 John Stephens
5 B 1718 John Stephens
6 app.405 A 1894 John Warner & Sons
John Warner & Sons cast bell in Cripplegate, London from 1850 until 1924 and cast a replacement tenor and a treble to augment the ring to six. The ring had been augmented to five in 1792 when Chapman & Mears cast the (now) second. Chapman & Mears were casting bells in Whitechapel from 1781 until 1784 when William Mears joined Chapman. Chapman then finished work in 1784, William continued and was joined by Thomas I in 1787 then he finished in 1791. The Mears family of William, Thomas I, Thomas II, George, and Charles were the head founders from 1781 to 1884 at the foundry founded in 1420 by Robert Chamberlain. John Stephens of Norwich had cast the original peal in 1718, he cast bells there from 1717 until 1727.
The given co-ordinates are for the south porch.