St John sub Castro Bells

 

St John sub Castro Bells

Stuart Billington

Access to the bells is via a ladder from the room above entrance porch and then via a fixed stairway to the bell chamber.

Originally, the three bells were hung for swing chiming, stays and sliders are also fitted to the bells, the remains of the old wheels are also in the bell chamber.

In more recent years they were fitted with Ellacombe type chime hammers . The bells are currently not being used and the treble has been tied to some scaffold poles as presumably was found to be loose on the headstock.

The treble and the 2nd are listed for preservation by the Church Buildings Council. They are both inscribed “IOHN WAYLETT MADE ME 1724”,
John Waylett was a Salisbury bell founder.
These two bells were previously hung in the original Church.

The 3rd is inscribed “MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON 1886    THE REVD A P PERFECT  RECTOR   I WAS PLACED HERE IN THE JUBILEE YEAR OF VICTORIA OUR QUEEN BY SUBSCRIPTIONS COLLECTED BY WM BANKS & JOSEPH KING.”