Chiselborough Church Bells

by Jane & Michael Spencer

The central tower of Chiselborough Church contains 5 bells. The lightest bell, known as the treble, weighs 4 ½ cwt and the heaviest, known as the tenor weighs 9 ¼ cwt. The three middle bells are the oldest probably cast in around 1380. This is very old so these bells are some of the oldest both locally and nationally. The bells are hung in a cast iron frame near the top of the tower just below the spire.

Bells are made of a form of bronze, known as bell metal, essentially a mixture of copper and tin, as this produces the ringing sound quality we recognize. Each bell contains a clapper which swings inside the bell and as it hits the bell produces the ding or dong sound. Bells are usually tuned to be in tune with each other although the older a bell is the less satisfactorily this may have been achieved. Only in relatively modern times, the early 20th century, have the bell foundries developed the skills to tune bells with accuracy and consistency.

Chiselborough bells are rung by the traditional English method of rope and wheel. The bell hangs in its frame from a metal or wooden headstock with a wooden wheel attached to the headstock. The rope is used to swing the bell “full circle” i.e. through 360 degrees allowing the clapper to strike the bell on each side of its soundbow. In continental Europe most bells are rung by chiming either by hand or more commonly today by electric motors but this is usually with an external hammer and the bell does not swing full circle.

Quite unusually, at Chiselborough the bells are rung from the chancel crossing in full view of the congregation. In many churches the bells are rung from an upper room in the tower so the ringers are not seen by those in the church. The advantage of being seen is that everyone can see what is happening but one disadvantage is that the distance between bell and ringer is greater making controlling the bell rather more difficult.

The technique for ringing bells is not always as easy as experienced ringers may make it look. It takes around 2 months to learn how to pull the rope to get the “feel” to be able control the bell, then perhaps another 6 months to learn how to ring your bell with the others as a team. This is not dissimilar to learning say the violin and being capable of playing individually and then developing the skills to ring in an orchestra. However, there is always something new to learn in bellringing even after many years of practising.

Often people think it is necessary to be big and strong to ring. This is not true. Mostly you can ring from any age between 10-90 years old and as long as you learn the necessary skills you can become a ringer. Much of the requirement is developing the right techniques to allow the ringer to make the bell do what they want and largely this is practice, practice, practice!

The “music” we produce when ringing is essentially a mathematical pattern not a tune as such. There are various rules and protocols determining how we must ring and the way the “changes” as they are known are produced. These changes can be very simple or enormously complicated depending on the experience and skill level of the band but also the number of bells being rung. Many churches have 6, 8, 10, 12 or more bells and the complexity increases with the number of bells because the number of combinations is greater. Additionally, the weight of the bells, Chiselborough are relatively light – less than half the weight of Norton and indeed only just over a third of the weight of Montacute – so the heavier the bells the harder they are to ring and strike accurately.

Generally, the bells will be rung for Sunday Services and perhaps a weekly practice. They are also rung for Weddings, funerals and sometimes for civic or national events. Ringers are always keen to improve and ringing for extended periods is an excellent way of doing so. Commonly quarter peals which last around 45 minutes and sometimes peals which last around 2 hours 45 minutes are used for this purpose.

Locally, Chiselborough belongs to the Ilchester Branch of the Bath and Wells Diocesan Association of Bell Ringers. This organizes local meetings and practices to enable ringers from different towers to meet and help each other improve. They also run training sessions at all levels. As ringing tends to be a very social exercise there are usually social events in the calendar throughout the year.