Wellington’s Historic Ring of Six Bells

History

There have been bells at Wellington since around 1410 when five bells were cast by the Worcester foundry. Three of these bells remain untouched along with three of more recent vintage: 1693, 1913 and 1924. The bells were hung in a five bell, steel frame in 1913 and in 1924 a sixth bell, the present treble was added.

The bells are the heaviest ring of six in Herefordshire and have more medieval bells (three) than any other Herefordshire tower. This makes our bells special and they are described in “The Church Bells of Herefordshire” (Frederick Sharpe, FSA, 1972) as “among the best toned in the County… as artistic as they are melodious.”

Originally ringing was carried out from the ground floor, but they were heavy- going, and had a reputation to match. To counter these shortcomings, in 1996 ringing was moved upstairs to the present ringing chamber and some modifications were made to the mechanisms which improved the ease with which the bells were rung. In 2012 the bells were re-hung on roller bearings making them much easier to ring.

Details

                   Cast                  Weight

Treble       1924                 295kg (5cwt 3quarters and 4lbs)

2nd           1693                  319kg (6 – 1 – 1)

3rd            1410 – 1420     345kg (6 – 3 – 2)

4th            1913                  466kg (9 – 0 – 18)

5th            1410 – 1420      566kg (11 – 0 – 13)

Tenor        1410 – 1420      872kg (17 – 0 – 15)

Ringing

The band practise on a Friday from 1930 to 2100 when anyone is welcome to join in.