Our knowledge of the history of our bells is limited, but we know from a nationwide survey in 1552 that Gillingham, then had '5 great bells' as well as Gabriel, the Sanctus bell (see below) - described as 'one little bell'. This was a good number for those days.

The history recorded on the bells dates back only to 1607, and whilst it is now normal to include old inscriptions when re-casting, this was not done in the past and as we have no other earlier evidence so we can't be certain if bells were re-cast or were removed and later replaced. Re-casting seems more likely, and is assumed here.

- so went 2 lines of a song about Gillingham's 'wants' produced about 1890. In 1898 this particular desire was met and it was on 21st September in that year that the Archdeacon of Dorset dedicated the 2 new bells. The work had been in hand for sometime - pits for the new bells had been prepared in the bell frame in 1894, which is no doubt why the account of the dedication refers to the bells having "at length been put in place".

Account of the dedication

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Mears and Stainbank bells

The treble and second were cast by Mears and Stainbank. This is the name by which what is now known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was known from the nineteenth century to 1968, but there has been a foundry on the site since the C15th and there remains one today, now only one of two in the country casting church bells.

Hung by Thomas Blackbourne

They were hung by Thomas Blackbourne, then of Salisbury, who himself did some bellfounding. The account of the dedication shows he took charge of the ringing on that day - presumably the local ringers were not used to ringing on 8 bells - Mere and Wincanton have 8 bells now but didn't then so the nearest 8 must have been some miles away.

West Country bells

Although a specialised craft, there used to be many more bell founders spread around the country and all of the other bells have been cast at some time at least in the West. Characteristic to this part of the country they are heavy.

The Fourth

This has two inscriptions and dates on it. The first lacks a name but has the initials - they appear to be I.W. but date from a time when Js were written as Is and with the date of 1607 they show this was previously cast by John Wallis.

John Wallis

Also inscribed "Voce mea ad dominum" [i.e. "I call to the Lord"], it is unusual for a Wallis bell in having an inscription in Latin, as Wallis as a post-reformation founder was one of the first who usually used English, but typical in having a brief pious inscription. Wallis was probably the most successful of a line of bell founders working in Salisbury in the 16th and 17th centuries. His bells are found widely in southern England dating from 1578 to 1628.

Gillett & Johnston

This bell was recast by Gillett and Johnston of Croydon in 1909 (with the old inscription copied) at a cost of a mere £30. A number of changes were being made to the tower in 1908 / 9 and a crack had been noticed in the bell by the builder engaged in the work.

William Gillett started a clock making business in Croydon in 1844. At first he just made small clocks, but a few years later after being joined by Charles Bland the making of Turret Clocks was started. In 1877, Arthur Johnston became a partner and the business was further extended to include a Bell Foundry, the company continuing to make both clocks and bells until the bell foundry closed in the 1950's. Gillingham turned to them for both of their skills - to recast the 4th bell in 1909 and for a new clock in 1914.

Cockey bells: the 3rd, 6th and tenor

The 3rd, 6th and tenor were all cast by the Frome bell founder, William Cockey, in the 1720s - his first work in Dorset. The sixth was the first to be cast by him, in 1722 but was subsequently re-cast by Mears and Stainbank (in 1894). Tradition has it that the tenor, recast along with the 3rd in 1726, was given by one Thomas Butt, a yeoman of Gillingham; it is believed to be William Cockey's largest surviving bell. Survive without recasting it might, but as soon as 1756 the tenor's clapper needed attention - the work cost £1/15/-, but an extra 4s6d was spend on beer for the blacksmith and the other workmen involved! It was rehung in 1762/3 and work was also done on the other bells at this time - and again beer supplied.

A few bells have the correct, or acceptable, notes after casting without any tuning being needed, but in most cases adjustments are required. The third provides a lesson in tuning. It can be seen to have been chip-sharpened and scratch-tuned. These methods were known to 'Theophilus' in the 12th century, from whom we get the earliest surviving account of the practicalities of the founder's work. They raise and lower the tone of the bell respectively. In addition it was machine tuned in 1964 - the modern replacement to the old methods.

William Cockey

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From Bridgwater - the Seventh

The seventh was cast by another Somerset founder, John Kingston of Bridgwater, in 1826. This was towards the end of his working life (his bells date from 1790 to 1829) but is not one of this best and has some strange harmonics.

Give us back our bell! - the fifth

It is probably the fifth bell that has the most interesting history. Many bells include the names of those who were churchwardens at the time the bell was cast, but a glance at the inscription in the table above shows that this bells lists four instead of the usual two: those for 1793 and 1794-5. The churchwardens accounts provide the explanation - but first some background information about the Bilbie foundry. This foundry at Chew Stoke, near Bristol, set up by "Ould Edward" in 1698, was the most successful ever in Somerset, and throughout the eighteenth century provided a large number of bells, often complete rings, for the south west, under several generations of the family. An offshoot foundry was even set up in Devon in 1750. But under the last two founders, the brothers Thomas Webb Bilbie and James Fear Bilbie, who succeeded to the business in 1790, the foundry declined rapidly. It was evidently a bad time for Gillingham to choose to deal with the foundry. "Vestry meetings" were usually annual events at Easter time, but in 1794 an extra meeting had to be held in October, where it was agreed to take action against the Bilbie brothers if they did not return the bell "immediately". It looks like the threat was enough for whilst there are various expenses listed in connection with the re-casting none is recorded respecting any legal action. Besides payments for the re-casting (£21), an additional 143 lbs of metal was added to the bell at 14d/lb (£8/6/10) and between them the churchwardens made 3 trips to Chew Stoke (£1/4/-). Postage had also to be paid on letters from the founders (since this was before the introduction of the postage stamp and payment by the sender) - the postage cost was 1/3.

The "Sanctus" Bell

The oldest bell in the tower is the Sanctus bell - the only one of our bells we know to have a name, being inscribed in Gothic lettering with a mis-spelling of Gabriel - ‘Gabreel’ - if it can be considered to be a mis-spelling when it dates from a time before spellings were fixed - though that the L is inverted is undeniable! This inscription is not now intact, as some letters were destroyed by welding, done in 1968 and 1971, needed to repair cracks. The style of the lettering meant it was believed to date from around 1350 but other particulars of the bell suggest the early sixteenth century. more detail about this can be found in Dalton, Christopher (2000) "The Bells and Belfries of Dorset - Part 1" p. 300

Prior to the 1838 rebuild this hung in a small stone cote on the East (chancel) end of the nave, as shown in an 1829 drawing.

It was usual for bells to be named (and even baptised) at one time, a practice that is sometimes followed these days. Whilst a bell may be named after any Saint or sometimes someone not formally recognised as a Saint (Exeter Cathedral has a bell named after a Bishop), Gabriel seems a particular apposite name, since angels are messengers, and what is "Gabreel" if not a messenger that a service will be commencing shortly.

However, it was known as the "ting tang" (a popular colloquial name for bells). "It was rung by the verger 5 minutes before the service was due to start and if you still on your way to church you knew you needed to hurry!" When the other bells are rung we now stop 5 minutes before the service, so it is silence that indicates lateness!

A Sanctus or Sacring bell is so-called from its use at the Sanctus and consecration in the Eucharist; we don't ring a bell at the Sanctus but do ring a bell at the consecration on Sundays (3 times for the consecration of the bread to become the Body of Christ, and another 3 when the wine is consecrated to become the Blood of Christ). However, the treble is usually used. As shown in the table of bell details, the treble is nearly 12 times the weight of Gabriel, which means it can be heard over a much greater area and as the main purpose of ringing the bell at this time is to let those who cannot attend know of this, the holiest moment, in the service this seems desirable. In addition, it is useful for those in church to hear the bell as well and from its present position the Sanctus cannot be heard from the altar.

Garbriel is still rung for services when the larger bells aren't; distance and audibility is not so critical - people will use notices and watches and are rarely "Summoned by bells" (as Betjeman put it) to attend a service. Those who are busy, however, and hear the bell can be reassured of the continuing work of the church and of prayer taking place.

After 1838 rebuild the Sanctus bell has been in the tower with the other bells. In 1967 it was hanging from the tower roof, but after some years of non-use and after being welded it was rehung in 1992 by Andrew Nicholson of Lyme Regis as it is now, in a fabricated steel frame above the vacant space left in the main oak frame when pits for the trebles were provided in 1894. It is now fitted with a canon-retaining stock, ball bearings, lever, new clapper and staple.

The bell frame

to be written - and pictures added

Recent work

The 1964 restoration

The bells were re-hung on ball bearings and quarter turned by Taylors of Loughborough in 1964, and the frame was strengthened by metal angle joints and braces at the same time. This followed a comment at the 1962 Annual Meeting ("Easter Vestry and Annual Church Meeting") that "..., the bells are getting in a bad state and there is some urgency about this work." By the 1965 meeting the work had been done and the effort of the ringers and their wives and the part played by a legacy from Mr Lanham was acknowledged.

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If some money raising plus arranging the restoration and having it completed within a year was possible, erecting a small plaque to acknowledge the legacy that enabled the restoration was no so easy! Show / hide an account of this.

Ellacombe apparatus

In the corner of the ringing room is a frame with two ropes running through it but with room for 8. This at one time would have been equipped with 8 ropes and enabled the bells to be chimed with hammers, and by pulling on the ropes in the right sequence to play a few tunes upon them. The sound produced when a bell is chimed in this way (i.e. a hammer swung against it) is not as full and will not carry as far as when the bell is rung and executes a full circle, with the clapper hitting the bell. In addition, the chiming hammers are more likely to damage the bell, and the bells are no longer rung in this way. (An advantage was that one person could make all 8 sound - useful when short of ringers, but no real substitute.) The pulleys to direct the ropes towards the right bell can be seen in the clock chamber and the hammers in the belfry. Of the two ropes, one is unconnected with the Ellacombe apparatus and goes to the Sanctus bell; the other one like that for the Sanctus goes through the Ellacombe apparatus and down to the ground floor of the church, while on the other end it is attached to the hammer for the treble, allowing this to be sounded at the consecration (as described above).

This type of apparatus was invented by bells enthusiast the Rev. H T Ellacombe and promoted in the late 19th century.

Seage's apparatus?

Mounted on a board in the ringing room is an octave of handbell-type bells, the six largest marked 'Mears', said to have come from a former Seage's Silent Practice Apparatus (for a description see this webpage).