History of the Bells
Last updated 10 December 2001
The first record of bells in the tower is in 1553 when it was recorded that Heswall had a ring of three bells. Canon Kenneth Lee in his book 'St Peter's Church and Parish, Heswall' states that the tenor was presumably recast in 1627 by William Clibury of Wellington and the two other bells in 1672 by William Scott of Wigan but there are not now any records in the church to substantiate this.
From a survey across the towers in the Chester Diocese conducted by the Guild in July 1939, the return completed by a W. Shone of Summerseat, Hillside Road, Heswall (see Heswall Bells 1939) shows the history of the period 1627 to 1884 to be consistent with the above. An earlier survey of 1895 also indicates five bells, tenor 10 cwt. (Peter Humphreys)
The three bells were recast in 1881 and two new bells added in 1884 by John Warner & Sons of London. Unfortunately only incomplete records of this ring of bells exist but the details available are as shown in the table below.
Heswall Bells 1884
| No.
| Inscription
| Weight
| Founder and Date
| 1
| C.J.C. TOUZEL RECTOR |
-
| John Warner & Sons, London | 1884 2
| C.J.C. TOUZEL RECTOR |
-
| John Warner & Sons, London | 1884 3
| DULCEDINE VOCIS CANTABO TUA NOE 1672 | Charles John Cliff Touzel M.A. Rector
-
| Recast by | John Warner & Sons, London 1881 4
| GULIELMUS RAMSBOTHEM RECTOR | CW. WR. IT. 1672 Charles John Cliff Touzel M.A. Rector
-
| Recast by | John Warner & Sons, London 1881 5
| GLORIA IN EXCELSUS DEO | 1627 RB. EB Charles John Cliff Touzel M.A. Rector
10 cwt*
| Recast by | John Warner & Sons, London 1881 | ||||||||||||||||||
By comparison with the present ring, it is clear that there are spelling errors in some of the above inscriptions - 'TUA', 'RAMSBOTHEM' and 'EXELSUS' on 3rd, 4th and tenor respectively. The original inscriptions were recorded in 1978 and can be seen on a framed piece of paper in the ringing chamber. It is not, apparently, uncommon to find such errors as the founders at the time would not have the knowledge or the means of checking accuracy of spellings.
Heswall Bells 1955
| The five bells as above were augmented to six in 1955 by the addition of a new treble:
| No.
| Dia.
| Inscription
| Founder and Date
| 1
| 2'1"
| In memoriam William Hill Kelly | Kenneth Lee M.A. Rector 1955
John Taylor & Co Loughborough | 1955 | |||||||||
In 1978 it was decided to have the five older bells recast and two new ones added to augment the bells in time for the centenary of the church in 1979. The 1955 treble was retuned to become the '4' of this ring. (see Heswall Bells 1978)
Susan E Costello
November 2001
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