Bell Tower - Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary, The Street, Woolpit, Suffolk. IP30 9QP
Posted by: greysman
N 52° 13.504 E 000° 53.348
31U E 355823 N 5788171
A large Medieval parish church with a ring of six bells in the tower.
Waymark Code: WMRACD
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/31/2016
Views: 2
This is a large medieval parish church which is Grade I listed. It consists of a west tower, nave, chancel, north and south aisles, and south porch. It is mainly flint rubble with freestone dressings. The roofs are leaded with parapets and parapet gables (the nave roof has lost its parapets).
In 1702 the medieval tower fell and was repaired in 1708. In 1852 it fell again and was entirely rebuilt by R.M.Phipson in the Decorated Style, with a tall freestone spire supported by flying buttresses from the parapets.
The roof in the nave is one of the best in Suffolk, built c.1439-1451 it has a fine double-hammerbeam roof in 10 bays. Although it has been restored, the angels attached to the cornice, wall posts and hammerbeams were restored in C19th, most of the remaining work is medieval.
There are six bells in the tower hung for ringing in the English style, two of them, the fourth and fifth, are C17th cast by John Darbie in Ipswich in 1658. He was casting bells there between 1651 and 1691. Charles & George Mears cast the light three, in 1844, and the tenor, in 1855, at their works in Whitechapel, London, the foundry succession there extending back to Robert Chamberlain in 1420. Charles & George cast bells between 1844 and 1855. A service bell was added in 2005 cast by John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd of Loughborough.
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 Dated Founder
1 3-2-27 F 1844 Charles & George Mears
2 4-2-0 Eb 1844 Charles & George Mears
3 4-2-3 Db 1844 Charles & George Mears
4 5-2-4 C 1658 John Darbie
5 6-2-0 Bb 1658 John Darbie
6 8¼cwt Ab 1855 Charles & George Mears
Service 3-2-16 Ab 2005 John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd
The coordinates are for the tower.