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The Bells |
The first written reference to the bells of St Stephen's was in 1300
when there was a dispute between John Berkhamsted - the Abbot of St
Albans, and Robert of Winchlesea - the Archbishop of Canterbury. The
Archbishop expected the bells of St Stephen's to be rung to announce his
visit to the town, but when they were not, he placed St Stephen's under
an interdict forbidding services to be held. The Abbot said that the
Archbishop had no authority to do this and the people, so the chronicle
of the time tells us, carried on "ringing, celebrating and doing
everything that they should". The Archbishop left St
Albans the next morning uttering threats. |
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It is not clear how often the bells were rung. Today, people tend to
associate the sound of bells with church services. Between the
Reformation and the end of the last century, while one or two bells may
have been chimed for Sunday services, the art and science of bell
ringing developed independently from church activities. Local church
ringers were paid to ring on special occasions. Payment could take the
form of cash or beer and was an important supplement to low wages. |
A 1552 inventory of church goods shows that there were four bells in the
steeple. In 1803 it was decided to recast the four old bells to make a
new ring of six. Repairs and changes were also made elsewhere in the
church, including removing a screen between the church and the chancel
and making a chancel arch as well as repainting the Lord's Prayer and
the Ten Commandments on boards on the wall. Further alterations took
place in 1814 when a musicians' gallery was taken down from the back of
the church and the belfry was enclosed. |
St Stephen's is the only one of St Albans' old churches to escape
restoration by Lord Grimthorpe but he still influenced the church
through his advice about changes made to the bells in 1892. An exchange
of letters appears to have started in 1890 when the vicar, Rev Waddell
Dudley consulted him about adding two extra bells to make a ring of
eight as the bell frame had space for two more bells. Lord Grimthorpe's
recommendation was to recast two bells to make a ring of six, but this
advice turned out to be wrong. He had been too optimistic in assuming
that the tower could take a heavier ring of bells. The tower moved when
the bells were rung. The movement of the belfry was stopped by
supporting the frame on girders placed horizontally across the walls of
the church. |
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Ringing continued until the government ban on ringing during the Second
World War. When ringing started again after the War, the tower moved
considerably and the weathercock on top of the spire went round in
circles whenever the bells were rung. Eventually it was decided to
recast the bells into a lighter ring.
The
bells were recast in 1957 from metal of the previous ring of six. Sixty
five years after taking Lord Grimthorpe's questionable advice, St
Stephen's ended up with bells of similar pitch and slightly lighter than
the ring which had been cast in 1803. These lighter bells have been rung
regularly ever since, without so far disturbing the weathercock or the
tower itself. Today, the bells are rung twice on Sundays. Paid ringing
is confined to weddings. The bells were fully overhauled in 1996.
Many
of the present bellringers have rung the bells of St Stephen's for
periods of twenty to forty years, so new members are always particularly
welcome. We are very glad to welcome our new members who have joined us
as a result of recruitment campaigns associated with ringing in the new
millennium. As well as Sunday services, weekly practices and weddings,
we also ring for special occasions and occasionally attempt a full peal
on the bells.
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The above
information is extracted from a booklet "The bells of St Stephen's
1300-1998" written and
published by Alison Macfarlane and reproduced with her kind permission.
For further information send email
to Alison Macfarlane
 
     
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