St Mary’s massive tower (actually surmounted by a short spire which is not visible from many aspects) contains a ring of 8 bells originally cast in 1818 by what is now the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. They are housed in an oak frame and are rung from the first floor level of the tower.

The church clock, made in 1820 by Thwaites and Reed, is in an intermediate floor, above the ringing room and below the bells. It displays the time on a single face on the East side of the tower, and strikes the hours on the tenor (largest) bell.

The bells are rung twice on Sundays, between 0915 & 0940 for the Parish Communion and again from 1800 to 1825 for Evensong, and also for the weekly practice on Tuesdays (1930 – 2100). Visitors are always welcome on any of these occasions.

In 1928 three of the bells (the 3rd, 5th & 7th ) were recast and all were re-tuned, again by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. At the same time the original plain bearings were replaced by ball races and a number of tie bolts added in an attempt to stiffen up the frame. In 1986 the 4th bell broke away from its headstock and was recast, again by Whitechapel.

In 1994 the bells were given an overhaul in which the bearings were replaced and efforts made to reduce the amount of odd-struckness. This was partially successful, but an unfortunate feature of the frame design means that the handling of the 5th bell tends to be unpredictable, and the amount of odd-struckness is still enough to make things difficult for inexperienced ringers.

Various Bell Foundries and hangers have been consulted and their unanimous opinion is that the bells should be replaced with a new ring in a new frame. Normally the old bells would be recast to form the basis of the new ring, but the metal quality of the existing ring is considered to be poor and we have been advised against such a course of action. The ringers are also keen to increase the number of bells to 10. The tenor weight of the proposed new ring would be about 18cwt (the existing tenor is about 15½cwt).

Allowing for what might be obtained for the old bells and frame, an estimated total of around £150,000 is needed to fund the project, and an appeal has been launched to support this. One proposal that has met with some support is to donate a bell in memory of a loved one, and this is commended as a means of creating a tangible memorial, which should last for literally hundreds of years.