The church bells and bell ringers
It is often thought that church towers, given that they are invariably crenulated, were designed for defence, allowing the church to be turned into a ‘castle’ in times of trouble. In fact, they have a simple purpose, and that is to hold bells.
The size and height of the tower not only allows several bells to be rung, but also enables the sound to disseminate over the surrounding countryside. The hanging of bells in church towers is generally attributed to the Italian Bishop Paulinus de Nola in the year AD400. Thereafter, their use was officially sanctioned by Pope Sabinian in 604.
Many early churches in England were wooden with the capacity for just a single bell, if any at all, but towards the later Saxon period, stone churches and towers became more common, and thus, so did the potential to house bells
Although there was a Saxon church in Steventon, its location and type of construction can only be guessed at. The tower of the building we see today – St Michael’s and All Angels – dates from the early 14th century, although there are hints in the church architecture that there may have been a smaller version in the previous century. It is probable that bells were rung from the tower from this time onwards.
The earliest record occurs in the Church Commissioners’ Inventory for the year 1552 with the note:
Stevengtun three belles in the steepulle A small belle ij sacringe belles A burying belle
This translates as Steventon has three bells in the steeple: a small bell, a sanctus bell and a funeral bell. This indicates that each had a separate purpose and were rung independently.
The 16th century was a watershed time for bell ringing in England. Up to that time, ringing involved the simple tolling of bells, letting them The church bells and bell ringers It is often thought that church towers, given that they are invariably crenulated, were designed for defence, allowing the church to be turned into a ‘castle’ in times of trouble. In fact, they have a simple purpose, and that is to hold bells. swing on their headstocks, without any discerned 22 pattern. The bells were invariably cast locally, often in the churchyard itself and they would not have been tuned to one another so could not be rung in harmony. The three bells of Steventon would have fallen into this category.
By 1613, Steventon had moved on to the new style of ringing, which involved tuned bells ringing in number patterns known as method. Effectively, they now played ‘music’ and although usually committed to memory, ringers could have used a score like those used by orchestral instrumentalists. This is the sound we hear today.
How do we know that St Michael’s tower was reequipped in the 17th century? Bell manufacturers are proud of their work and most bells have inscriptions etched into them before they are hung. All six of St Michael’s bells have inscriptions: the fourth and the tenor are dated 1613, whilst the treble carries the words. “Ellis and Henry Knight made mee 1674”. The second is inscribed “Henry Knyght made thys bell X6X7”, which suggest it was cast around the same time as the other bell. The remaining bells are dated 1848 and 1849 and carry the names of the Vicar and church wardens of the time: Reverend W Vincent and wardens R Greenaway and J Tyrell.
As they are unseen, many people have little idea how big a church bell is. Together, the six bells of St Michael’s weigh over forty-one hundredweight (more than two tons) and this represents a vast amount of metal being swung by the ringers. Bearing in mind, the bells almost (but not quite) make a full circle, great pressures are set up in the frame holding the bells and the walls that it sits in. In towers where the ringing chamber is on the second or third floor, it is common to be able to lean against the wall of tower when the bells are being rung and feel masonry swaying.
In fact, if there wasn’t any ‘give’ in the walls, they would gradually become unstable and crack. The medieval builders of St Michael’s tower certainly knew what they were doing, as the tower is still in sound condition despite 700 years of ringing. One other aspect of St Michael’s tower is that it is a ground floor ring. This means, that the ropes and sallies (the coloured bits), which are used to swing the bells are rung from ground level rather than the ringers having to climb up into the tower. The advantage of this is that on a Sunday morning, or for a wedding or for some funerals, or on national occasions of celebration or commemoration, you can look in the main door of the church and see the ringers at their work. Don’t be tempted to go in though: ringing can be dangerous work and being caught up in a sally is not to be advised when there is half a ton of metal on the other end.
Ringing is a wonderful exercise, both physically and mentally, and keeps you young and fit. Look no further than Jack Jarvis, who has been ringing the bells of Steventon for near on eighty years! It is also a very cheap hobby, requiring only your time plus an annual membership of about £5-10. It’s very sociable and attracts a wide range of people, from bus drivers to physicists, and from ages about nine years upwards. The current ringers would be delighted to welcome anyone wishing to learn and thereby keep seven centuries of ringing in Steventon in full swing. Feel free to turn up and speak to one of them when you hear the bells ringing across the village.
The bell ringers Sunday morning practice session
