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ST SAVIOUR, SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL
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DETAILS OF THE BELLS
Bell Weight Weight
(prior to 1965 work)Diameter
Note Cast Founder Treble
7 cwt approx. 7-0-24 30¼" F 1735 Samuel Knight Sharp 2nd
7-2-19 E 2005 Hayward Mills Associates 2
7¼ cwt approx. 7-1-25 31½" E flat 1735 Samuel Knight 3
7¼ cwt approx. 7-2-2 32" D 1735 Samuel Knight 4
8½ cwt approx. 8-3-17 34" C 1735 Samuel Knight 5 9¼ cwt approx. 9-2-17 36½" B flat 1735 Samuel Knight 6 10¼ cwt approx. 10-3-13 40¼" A 1735 Samuel Knight 7 10-3-5 40¼" G 1931 Mears & Stainbank 8 15-1-22 45" F 1735 Samuel Knight 9 17-2-23 47" E flat 1735 Samuel Knight 10 22-3-9 51" D 1844 Charles & George Mears 11 30-2-9 58" C 1820 Thomas Mears Tenor 48-0-9 67" B flat 1911 Mears & Stainbank Peter 6 cwt approx. C 13th Cent ?
HISTORY
1106 Bishop Gifford built a priory church for Augustinian canons. The church at this time was dedicated to St Mary Overie. 1212 Church destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt. 1310-1400 Tower built. 1539 Priory dissolved and leased to the parishioners the following year. Church rededicated to St Saviour. 1905 Church consecrated as a cathedral. 1520-1528 Top 2 stages of the tower built. 1818 Tower restored. 1424 The existing 7 bells in the tower were recast into 8 to mark the marriage of James I of Scotland to Bishop Henry Beaufort's neice. These were likely to have been a ring of 6 plus 2 smaller bells. Henry Werkeworth was Prior at the time. 1673 Record of a ring of 8 in the tower with a tenor weighing 46-3-21. The 4th and 5th were from the 1424 ring. The whole octave together weighed 155-1-20. 1735 Bells recast with additional metal from 3 bells from Great Malvern into a ring of 12 by Samuel Knight. They were hung in a timber frame made by Robert Catlin. 1820 11th recast by Thomas Mears. 1844 10th recast by Charles & George Mears. 1910 Tenor recast by Mears & Stainbank who rehung the bells with new fittings in a strengthened frame. The 6 back 6 received cast iron headstocks while the remainder were given elm headstocks. 1931 7th recast by Mears & Stainbank. WWII The bells were lowered to the ground and stored in the South Transept. After the War The bells were cleaned, tuned and rehung with new gudgeons and ball bearings. 1965 Front 6 given cast iron headstocks by Mears & Stainbank and new independent staples were fitted to all the clappers. 2005 A sharp 2nd was added in new framework, dedicated to the memory of Past Master, Jim Prior. This provided for a lighter octave. The work was carried out by Hayward Mills Associates who also cast the bell: this was their first bell of any appreciable size to be cast and hung for change ringing.
THE ORIGINAL BELLS (Prior to 1424)
Bell Name Weight
1
St Nicholas 5-2-19 2
Vincent 12-0-21 3
St Lawrence 13-0-8 4
Anna Maria 15-0-19 5 Stephen 19-3-7 6 Maria 27-3-13 7 Augustus 38-0-7
THE BELLS AFTER 1424 RESTORATION |
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THE SAMUEL KNIGHT RING OF 12 |
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