The bells at St. John the Baptist church, Beckford are popular with local bellringers for ease of ringing, for their pleasant sound and for the reasonable size of the ringing chamber. The total weight of the bells is around 2½ tons, with the tenor at nearly 14 cwt.
Bell ringing at Beckford Church is performed by a group of bell ringers who also ring at Aston-under-Hill Church and Overbury Church. Bell ringing practice is held every Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:00pm, with the first and second Tuesdays held at Beckford, the third and fourth Tuesdays at Ashton and the fifth Tuesday (when there is one!) at Overbury.
For those of you who wondered what the bells look like while they are being rung, the small video to the left shows the Beckford Bells being rung...
The Bells at St. John's Church
This section has been updated from information supplied by Chris Pickford, who has been spending much of his time touring the bell towers in this area with a view to updating the now out-of-date book about the bell towers of Worcestershire.
There are six bells in the key of F (680Hz or F minus 46 cents) and a small disused bell in the ringing room.
|
Bell
|
Inscription
|
| 1 (treble) | ABR : RUDHALL BELLFOVNDER (arabesque border) [no date] |
| 2 |
182 / GOD PROSPER OVR BENIFACTORS (sprig) .A.R. (bell) (bell) 1697 (scroll border) Waist: (Taylor’s circular mark) / RECAST 1954 |
| 3 | GOD GRANT TO ENGLAND PEACE & VNITY (arabesque) 1697 (border) |
| 4 | 147 / IOHN PEARCE (scroll border) I.B: (arabesque) A R (bell) 1697 (scroll border) Waist: (Taylor’s circular mark) / RECAST 1953 |
| 5 | 208 / HEN : IZZARD ION. DOBBINS CH : WARDENS ION HULLS (arabesque) A : R (bell) 1714 (border of crosses) Waist: (Taylor’s circular mark) / RECAST 1953 |
| 6 (tenor) | BENEDICT . WAKEMAN ESQR . (arabesque border) LEBEUS . LUNN : VICER . ANNO. DO 1697 (two sprigs) / ION Morris (border) Iam wood (arabesque) A R (bell) (arabesque) WM: ROBERTS IOHN ROBERTS CW (arabesque) 1697 (arabesque) |
Bell |
Foundry |
Date |
Pitch |
Diameter |
Diameter |
Mouldings |
cwt |
qrts |
lbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treble | Abraham Rudhall I, n.d | 1697 | D (1145Hz) | 30¼ | 738mm | 2:2-3:3:2 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | John Taylor & Co | 1954 | C (1019Hz) | 30⅛ | 765mm | 2:2-2:3:2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | B (908Hz) | 33⅝ | 854mm | 2:2-2:3:2 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | John Taylor & Co | 1953 | A (858Hz) | 35½ | 902mm | 2:2-2:3:2 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
| 5 | John Taylor & Co | 1953 | G (764Hz) | 39½ | 1003mm | 2:2-2:3:2 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Tenor | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | E (680Hz) | 44¼ | 1124mm | 2:2-1:3:2 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
The total weight of the bells - 2tons 10cwt 27lbs
These bells are the remains of a complete ring of six cast by Abraham Rudhall I of Gloucester in 1697. The treble is undated, but probably belongs to the original ring. Three bells were recast in 1953-4, but their original inscriptions have been reproduced in facsimile. Several of the Rudhall bells had reversed N’s in the inscriptions as noted above. The canons of the old bells have been removed and the modern bells were cast with flat tops.
The bells hang in a cast iron lowside frame (Bellframes type 8.3.A.h) installed by John Taylor & Co in 1954. It is arranged with bells 1, 6, 2 and 3 in parallel pits and bells 4-5 swinging north-south at right angles (Bellframes layout 6.1). The fittings also date from 1954 and include cast iron stocks, ball bearings and Hastings stays.
There is an Ellacombe chiming apparatus, the manual of which is in the base of the tower in the crossing. An inscription on the brass plate on the manual is inscribed:
This Chiming Apparatus / and the Mural Tablet / in the nave, were erected / by Public Subscription / as a Memorial / to William John Smith / Churchwarden – 1904-1930
In the ringing room, Mary Bliss noted disused bell. It was a general foundry casting with a peg argent, fitted with a wooden stock with drive-in gudgeons, stock hoops and a wooden wheel.
Nothing seems to be known of the history of the earlier bells here. In 1697, Abraham Rudhall I of Gloucester provided a new ring of six of which two (or possibly three) bells remain. Of these, only one required recasting until modern times – the fifth, which was recast by its original founder in 1714. The Rudhall catalogues from 1705 list “6” bells cast for Beckford. The new bells may have been installed when the present upper stages of the tower were built.
The bells were re-hung in a new oak frame (Bellframes type 6.A) by Thomas Bond & Son of Burford in 1910 at a cost of £154. The old frame was removed. Bond’s frame had pits for eight bells (layout 8.3), and he also provided new ringing fittings including stocks cut from lengths of I-section steel girders. The canons were probably removed from the bells at that time. The parish magazine for August 1910 states that a brass plate was installed in the church to commemorate the re-hanging, inscribed as follows:
The bells were re-hung A.D. 1910 in memory of John Crump, for many years People's Warden. He died Aug. 27th, 1909.
The papers among the parish records include accounts, subscription lists and correspondence relating to the re-hanging and also about the fund-raising bazaar and fete. Bond, apparently, took away the old bearing brasses. It was fairly common practice for old bearing blocks and bell metal from canons to become the property of the contractor (i.e. in part payment) when bells were re-hung and canons removed. Nevertheless, this led to a minor dispute and Bond had to return the old brasses to the parish in the following September. The chiming apparatus is also mentioned both in the papers relating to the re-hanging and also in undated entries on Thomas Bond’s own notebooks, but it isn’t entirely clear whether it was installed in 1910 (with the re-hanging) or in 1930 (the date on the manual). Bond’s notebooks also show that he was involved in installing a heating system at Beckford church, perhaps around 1930.
After Bond’s restoration, the bells were a ring of six as follows – the weights being those recorded subsequently (i.e. as received at Loughborough prior to retuning and recasting in the 1950s). These compare with estimated weights of 6½, 7¾, 8¾, 9¼, 11¾ and 15 cwt recorded on a framed Mears & Stainbank card in the ringing room.
Bell |
Foundry |
Date |
cwt |
qrts |
lbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Rudhall I, n.d | 1697 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1714 | 11 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Abraham Rudhall I | 1697 | 14 | 0 | 15 |
In 1952 during the night after workmen had been repairing the lead roof of the tower, a devastating fire broke out. An extract from the local paper describes what took place that day in Beckford:
|
BECKFORD BELLS RING OUT FIRE WARNING Vicar helps fight church tower blaze |
|
Bells of Beckford Parish Church rang out a warning which could be heard all over the district when the roof of the central tower of the Norman church burst into flames this morning. VICAR FIGHTS FLAMES She looked through the vicarage window, which is about 100ft from the church, and saw the flames leaping from the the roof of the tower. |
through three floors of the tower and on to the roof of the church. CHILDREN CLEAR WATER A band of school children on half-term holiday helped to clear away the water with brooms and a stirrup pump. SMOLDERING ALL NIGHT Scaffolding had only just been removed from the outside walls. |
The fire caused severe damage to the roof of the belfry, as seen from the photo below. All but two of the bells survived in-tact, but two were cracked by the water used to put out the fire.After the fire, two of the major bell foundries in the country were asked to quote for the repair. The village accepted the quote from John Taylor and Co and the work to restore the tower was completed in 1955. 
A copy of the accepted quote can be seen here. A steel frame was installed with enough room for eight bells, although only the original six were installed.
This caused burning debris to fall among the bells. According to the report it the Ringing World of 7 Nov 1952 the fire destroyed the stays and caused some of the bells to ring themselves down. Two of the bells were badly cracked (the fourth and fifth) by the fire. Although the Bond frame was not seriously damaged it was felt to be unadvisable to reuse it.
The bells were subsequently restored by John Taylor & Co, the rededication taking place on 27 May 1954. The work involved the provision of a new frame and fittings and the recasting of two bells that had been damaged in the fire (nos.4 and 5). While the bells were at the foundry it was also found necessary to recast the second.
There has been a clock here since the eighteenth century. The catalogue published by Thomas and John Steight of Pershore in 1753 lists “Beckford, a Clock” in the list of Gloucestershire churches for which clocks had been supplied. Thwaites & Reed supplied a new clock at some time before 1902 but it was damaged in the fire.
The present clock was installed by English Clock Systems Ltd of Wharfedale Road, Kings Cross, London. It is not dated, but it was probably installed in about 1954. It is a flatbed clock with mechanical auto-wound going train with gravity escapement and an electrically-operated striking train. It shows the time on a copper convex dial on the south face of the tower.
In 2004, new ropes were ordered for the Tower and were made by W.R. Outhwaite and Son, in Hawes, North Yorkshire. This extract from the Yorkshire Post, shows Tony Knowles making one of the Beckford ropes.
After 15 years these ropes were nearing the end of their useful life, so in 2019 new ropes were ordered and fitted. This time they were made more locally by Malcolm Brown of Chedworth. A new assessment of the requirement for the ropes was conducted - the results of this assessment can be viewed here.
After over 60 years the 'new' metal frame installed after the fire was in need of a coat of paint. Because the tower has been well weather proofed for many years the state of the frame was good, but signs of rust were beginning to show. 
Therefore, in 2018 a group of people from the Tewkesbury Bell Maintenance group, including several ringers from the Beckford Tower brightened up the bell chamber by scraping down the frame and painting the frame a bright red. This should keep the bells ringing in Beckford for another 100 years!
The work was carried out over 3 to four days involving up to 6 people at any one time. The first messy task was to de-grease and rub down the frame to remove as much rust and old bituminous paint as possible. After cleaning up, the task of applying two coats of special (and expensive) paint to the frame and head stocks.
The Bell Ringing Group belongs to the Tewkesbury Branch of the Due to it's location, Beckford Church is also listed in the Worcester and Districts Change Ringing Association .
The Tower Captain is Nick Hopkins from Kersoe and can be reached on 07790 831787. The Steeple Keeper is Andy Slade (to be contacted for all things relating to the tower, including the clock) and can be reached on 01386 881482.
Past tower captains included....
| Alf Pulley | 1930's |
| Trevor Newbury | 1940's |
| David Cotton | 1950's - 1986 |
| Nick Hopkins | 1986 - present |
There have been a number of successful peals rung at Beckford Tower over the years.....
| Date Rung | Method |
|---|---|
| 9 June 1923 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 26 December 1944 | Grandsire Doubles |
| 24 November 1948 | Minor (3 methods) |
| 28 April 1951 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 29 September 1954 | Minor (5 methods) |
| 6 October 1956 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 12 February 1958 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 4 June 1977 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 13 May 1989 | Minor (7 methods) |
| 8 February 1997 | Doubles (5 methods) |
If you would like to see how much the bellringers were paid for their services in times gone by, take a look at the following Parish Magazine entries....
Another entry in the local paper of September 23rd 1937, related how the bell-ringers in Beckford were again active...
| COMING OF AGE
Beckford Presentation To Mr. John Davey |
|
Beckford officially celebrated the coming of age of Mr. John Davey (son and heir of Capt. and Mrs. Davey, of the Manor House) at the Village Hall on Friday evening. Mr. Davey entertained nearly the whole adult population of the village to supper, and at the close the village presentation was made by Mr. H. W. Baker, chairman of the Beckford Parish Council. For the remainder of the evening Ken Larner's band officiated for a dance, at which the village hall was again filled to overflowing with the guests of the ''Manor servants," and all were entertained with a lavishness typical of Mrs. Davey's hospitality. BECKFORD BELL RINGING The Beckford bell-ringers, Messrs. P. Hawker, T. Gardner, H. Harris, T. Newbury, J. Phipps, S. Hopkins, C. Diston and R Collins, under their leader, A. Pulley, rang merry peals on Saturday in honour of the coming of age of Mr. John Davey, of the Manor House. One team rang 360 changes of Grandsire Doubles, and during the evening the bells were fired 21 times. |