West bell tower of Wymondham Abbey, St Mary the Virgin & St Thomas a Becket, Wymondham, with a ring of 10 bells.
Wymondham, Norfolk
Abbey Ch of S Mary V & S Thomas a Becket |
|
Bells |
|
Bell |
Weight |
Nominal |
Note |
Diameter |
Dated |
Founder |
Canons |
Turning |
|
1 |
5-1-18 |
1483.0 |
F# |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
2 |
5-2-5 |
1323.0 |
E |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
3 |
5-3-21 |
1181.0 |
D |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
4 |
6-0-21 |
1109.0 |
C# |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
5 |
7-1-13 |
984.0 |
B |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
6 |
8-2-27 |
884.5 |
A |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
7 |
11-3-20 |
783.5 |
G |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
8 |
14-0-16 |
739.5 |
F# |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
9 |
18-0-24 |
658.0 |
E |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
10 |
26-2-2 |
587.5 |
D |
|
1967 |
Mears & Stainbank |
F |
|
|
Frames |
|
Frame |
Bells |
Year |
Material |
Maker |
Truss |
Layout |
|
1 |
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 |
1902 [1967] |
Oak [Oak] |
Day [Mears & Stainbank] |
|
|
SOURCE - (Visit Link)
The Abbey bells are a modern ring of ten, re-cast and augmented from eight by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1967.
"In 1903 the five old bells which had been unrung for about a hundred years were augmented to eight. Bells one two and three were new, and the fifth bell was re-cast. In 1967 all eight bells were re-cast and two new bells added. The 1903 wooden frame, made by Day of Eye, was lowered fourteen feet in 1967 and extended to accommodate the extra bells.
(Key : (M) indicates the mark of the Whitechapel Bellfoundry, and (B) the mark of the Norwich Foundry.)
Treble 5-1-18 F#+0 1480Hz
WILLIAM CLOVER RINGING MASTER 1935 – 1967
MEARS 19(M)67 LONDON
Second 5-2-5 E+7 1324Hz
THE WYMONDHAM & ATTLEBOROUGH ROUND TABLE No 713 GAVE ME
MEARS 19(M)67 LONDON
Third 5-3-21 D+8 1180Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON ARTHUR ANTHONY BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 REVD THE HON: A. PARKER VICAR J.B. POMEROY W.B. FRYER H.L. CUBITT H.R.PARKER CHURCHWARDENS
RECAST 19(M)67
Fourth 6-0-21 C#-1 1108Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON JOHN CANN BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 HUNG BY G. DAY & SON, EYE
RECAST 19(M)67
Fifth 7-1-13 B-6.5 984Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON CROSIER BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 REVD THE HON: A. PARKER VICAR J.B. POMEROY W.B. FRYER H.L. CUBITT H.R.PARKER CHURCHWARDENS
RECAST 19(M)67
Sixth 8-2-27 A+4 882Hz
THOMAS NEWMAN OF NORWICH MADE ME 1739
RECAST 19(M)67
Seventh 11-3-20 G+0 784Hz
W AD 1606
LESLIE LLOYD BAILEY GAVE NEW LIFE TO ME 1903 RECAST BY MEARS AND STAINBANK LONDON HUNG BY G. DAY & SON, EYE
RECAST 19(M)67
Eighth 14-0-16 F#-5 738Hz
IOHN BREND MADE ME 1638 RECAST 19(M)67
Ninth 18-0-24 E+2 660Hz
T. NEWMAN MADE ME 1739 T. RANDALL S. PROCTOR R. GIBBS R.SEWELL CW
RECAST 19(M)67
Tenor 26-2-02 D+2 588Hz
TVBA AD IVDITIAM (B) IB (B) CAMPANA AD ECCLESIVM TC ES EP IS CHVRCH WARDENS 1653 THESE BELLS WERE RECAST IN 1967 VICAR J.G.T. THOMAS CHURCHWARDENS P.R. BUCKTON J.E. CANTLAY G.S. SEMMENCE J.R. RICE
Tuning:
Notes shown as note +/- cents with nominal frequency in Hertz. The tuning scheme is a modified ‘Just’ tuning with perfect fourths and fifths. With thanks to Nigel Taylor of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for supplying the figures from the Foundry’s records.
Weights:
For those unfamiliar with imperial weights, 1 hundredweight (cwt) is 112 pounds (lb) or 4 quarters (qtr). 1 qtr is therefore 28 lb. 20cwt=1 ton, and an imperial ton is approximately the same as a metric tonne. The smallest bells in the tower are therefore about a quarter of a ton in weight, and the largest is over one and a quarter tons, or about the same as a medium-sized family car."
SOURCE - (Visit Link)
"The abbey church was built with stone specially imported from Caen in Normandy, and was originally modeled on Norwich Cathedral. This was a large cruciform building with two western towers and a larger central tower. To the south of the church were ranges of domestic buildings. Construction on the priory was finished around 1130, when the first prior was installed.
Dividing the Priory Church
Though the priory was a Benedictine monastery, the founder insisted that the church also serve as the parish church for Wymondham. Unfortunately d'Aubigny did not spell out who should control what part of the building and how disputes should be resolved. Inevitable conflict arose between the townsfolk and the monks. The argument was referred to Pope Innocent IV in 1249, and the Pope rather wisely divided responsibility fairly equally, with the priory granted control of the south west tower, south aisle, transepts. eastern chapels, and quire. The townsfolk for their part were awarded the nave, north aisle, and north west tower.
The central tower had to be rebuilt in the mid-14th century, and in the process the monks sealed off part of the new tower, effectively blocking access between 'their' church and the parochial church. In a tit for tat war both sides sealed passages and seized control of tower access in turn. The townsfolk then carried the conflict further by seizing the Prior's Lodging and prevented him from saying Mass.
Henry IV asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to rule on the dispute, and the Archbisop came down on the side of the townsfolk and reaffirmed Innocent IV's division of the church. The townsfolk were allowd to hang three bells in the north west tower, but required not to ring them when it might disturb the monks. Then the townsfolk petitioned the king for permission to build a new, higher tower so they could hear the bells more clearly. Sir John Clifton of Wymondham threw his support behind the project and in 1445 the two short Norman towers were taken down and replaced by a new west tower.
The priory became independent of St Albans and was raised to abbey status in 1448. This was a direct result of a petition by Sir Andrew Agard, a direct descendent of William d'Aubigny. The last prior of Wymondham, Stephen London, thus became the first Abbot.
In 1538 the abbey, like other monastic houses in England, was dissolved by Henry VIII. In an unusual move Henry kept control of the abbey lands for a decade following the dissolution. He appointed an agent named John Flowerdew to administer 'his' abbey. This Flowerdew behaved in a high-handed manner, allowing his men to destroy parts of the church which the townsfolk had raised money to purchase and preserve for their own use.
Kett's Rebellion
The ire raised by Flowerdew's actions helped galvanise support for the short-lived Kett Rebellion of 1549. The rebellion was led by Robert Kett, a Wymondham native, who objected to the enclosure of common land. Though it gained some support in East Anglia, Kett's Rebellion was doomed from the start. Kett was arrested and hanged at Norwich. His brother William was hanged from the west tower of the abbey church here at Wymondham. As you look up at the ruined tower today it is sobering to recall this tumultuous time.
The former monastic buildings were pulled down and the stone sold for other building projects. Of the monastic buildings only a solitary arch of the chapter house has survived. The church was not in much better state; in 1573 Elizabeth I visited Wymondham and was so struck by the poor state of the sanctuary that she gave money for its repair. But the church continued to deteriorate until the early 20th century when a wealthy widow named Mrs Clara Willet donated over 14,000 pounds to rebuild much of the interior in Anglo-Catholic style. Part of this rebuilding included the creation of a gilded screen designed by Sir Ninian Comper as a memorial to local men who died in WWI.
Other noteworthy interior features include a superb 15th century wagon vaulted roof and 12th century arcading in the nave. The sedilia is unusually made of terracotta and is similar to the terracotta memorials at Oxburgh church. On the east wall of the south aisle is a curious stone corbel showing a pair of large, staring eyes - perhaps a relic of an earlier Saxon church? The finely carved octagonal font dates to about 1440, and there are numerous 17th century memorials.
The most prominent surviving feature of Wymondham Abbey are the two towers, at the east and west of the nave, which dominate the countryside for miles around. The east tower is an empty shell, accessible from the outside at any time, near a high archway that once linked to the chapter house. As you look up inside the tower towards the sky far above you cannot help but be impressed with the stepped corbels that help give the tower its striking, layered look."
SOURCE - (Visit Link)