Re: Appleby Magna anticlock church bells

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As an ex-churchwarden and therefore host to visiting ringers, I can confirm that this is true. Some teams of ringers call to experience the novelty! I have no idea why the bells are hung in this way and would love to know too. Richard

PS This string was started by Albert who wanted to know if it was true that Appleby church bells were hung anti-clockwise - and why.

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Googling clockwise and anti-clockwise church bells found a few mentions of anti-clockwise ones, including:

"It is a "left-handed" frame where the ropes fall in an anti-clockwise circle instead of the more conventional clockwise arrangement. We believe it is the only example in Wales of an anti-clockwise ring of eight bells. " (www.stmaryshaverfordwest.org.uk/Bells.html

St Nicholas at Austrey also has an anti-clockwise arrangement:

"Originally these bells were a complete ring of five cast by Hugh Watts in 1632 and hung in a two-tier frame. They were rearranged anticlockwise on one level in the old frame when rehung by Barwell of Birmingham in 1911. " (www.warksbells.co.uk/austrey.htm

St Laurence's at Warborough, Oxon:

"The bells were hung anticlockwise, as were many of the local churches on this side of the River Thames. " (www.southoxonodg.co.uk/html/warborough.html

Maybe it's a regional thing, or down to the practice of the company or individuals doing the work, which would explain these 'groupings'. (Just a theory that needs more evidence to support.)

Marilyn

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I contacted George Dawson, an expert on church bell archaeology and publisher of the books 'Church Bells of Derbyshire', 'Church Bells of Nottinghamshire' and others. Here's his reply:

"There is no simple answer to this one I’m afraid, and the only person who can say why a particular frame was built for an anticlockwise rope circle is the man that designed & built the bellframe. There are occasional cases where bells have been augmented and the only way to get a rope circle is by having them anticlockwise. Sometimes when augmentations take place & the old frame is heavily altered they finish up anticlockwise. I know of 1 case where an anticlockwise 6 were being augmented to 8 where the ringers wanted the new frame also anticlockwise, but due to space considerations and the position of the tower staircase, the only way to get all 8 bells on one level was to have them clockwise.
I suspect that in your case at Appleby the bell hanger, Kemps of Leicester who were essentially clockmakers, copied the old frame when they designed the new one."

So no definitive explanation, but at least we have further proof that Appleby is special.

Marilyn

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It is wrong to assume that all the bells were originally hung together. Maybe the sequence in which they were acquired determined how they were hung.
When in doubt consult Nichols (1811)!
'On the treble bell: "This bell raised by subscription 1774; the 2d gave by Mr Moore's family, 1769, the 3d and 4th re-cast by subscription; the 5th re-cast by the parish to the old tenor. Pack and Chapman, of London fecit." On the tenor: "I.H.S. Nazarenus, rex Judeorum, filii Dei, miserere mei. 1619" [Jesus saviour of men of Nazareth, king of the Jews, son of God, have mercy on me.]'
This information is not complete of course but it shows that there have been six bells since 1774. The re-cast bells may have been much older, but at least we have dates for three of them: 1619, 1769 and 1774. Richard

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Richard has written an article on our church bells - it's just been published on the History web site, here:

<<<click>>>

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I believe that the hanging of the bells must have been determined by the dynamics of the complex system of bells and tower. With half a ton or more of bells rotating on their shafts high in the tower, it is under considerable stress. Many towers have been reported swaying. Recently the (admittedly larger peel of) bells at Great St Mary's in Cambridge were recast and rehung east-west rather than north south to counter sway of the tower. This practical consideration seems a more likely reason for hanging bells in a particular configuration rather than any superstition. The prospect of a tower collapsing would concentrate the mind considerably! Richard