St Laurence’s Bell Ringers

We have a fine ring of bells under the direction of our Captain of the Tower. Bell ringing is a healthy, musically satisfying and enjoyable hobby. If you are interested in joining the team please ask our Parish Administrator for details.

The Middle Ages and the Reformation

The first reference to a Church in Chorley is in 1362. We do not know what this building looked like (though parts of it survive in the present Church), but it is almost certain to have at least one bell to summon the people to worship.

There was also a small scaring bell, which was rung at particular solemn moments of the Eucharist. This bell hung from a small arch over the chancel which still survives to this day.

The present Tower seems to be rather younger than the original Church building, and is usually dated at around 1400. Its size is such that it was probably created to house more than one bell.

Certainly, by 1552, the Church had ‘three Greater belles’. These were listed in the inventory of Church Goods made that year by King Edward VI’s Commissioners when they visited Chorley. One or more of these three bells may have been installed when the Tower was first built, only 150 years before.

Five years earlier, in the summer of 1547, a set of Injunctions had been issued in the name of the new King, the son of Henry VIII. The purpose of these Injunctions was to see that all Churches conformed to the new requirements for worship commanded following the break from Rome. One of these injunctions forbade the ringing of bells during the service “except one bell in convenient time to be rung or knolled before the sermon. ” Since only one bell was know required, the others were often sold off. This may well have happened at Chorley for the next record we have speaks of only one ‘great bell.’

As the accompanying photograph of the ringers in 1875 shows, the bells at this time were rung from ground level in the West porch.

These six bells were rehung in 1883, and the fittings in the tower renewed. It may be at this time that an original wooden frame was replaced by the present metal frame. A plaque in the ringing chamber commemorates this refit:

Ad majorem Dei gloriam (to the greater glory of God)

These six bells were by subscription rehung with entirely new fittings in the year of our Lord 1883, and reopened on the 15th day of November 1883, when a true peel of Plain Bob Minor, 720 changes were rung in 25¾ minutes by the following ringers:

1.John Hy Gartside, Conductor; 2. William Heaps; 3. John Marsden; 4. Alfred Whalley; 5. George Gartside; 6. Joshua Worthington.

Rector: Edward G. James

Wardens: Henry Rawcliffe and William Bamber

The 1996 Recasting

Over the next 40 years various minor repairs were carried out, untill in 1995 two further reports were commissioned. These concluded:

“Tonally … they are disappointing. The Tenor is quite good, the 6th 5th and 4th are fair, the three smaller bells become progressively ‘wild’ towards the treble end, and the 7th is conspicuously poor.:

“… the bells are very harsh and discordant with the tonal quality of the peal being far below the standard which one would expect for a Parish Church setting.”

The smaller bells in particular were described as “hard, harsh and stifled.” Nor did the tuning of the bells match up exactly with the founder’s specifications. The frame and fittings were, however, found to be in generally good order and, with some repair and cleaning, were reused in the 1996 refit.

Happily, on this occasion, thanks to the generosity of Kathleen Norris, the resources were available to undertake the recasting of all eight bells.

The Parish Church Council approved the project as desirable in itself and as a fitting memorial to Mrs. Norris The Diocesan Advisory Committee also gave its approval and the Rector and Wardens petitioned for a faculty which was granted by the Worshipful John Bullimore, Chancellor of the Diocese of Blackburn on 13th February 1996.

The work was awarded to John Taylor Bellfounders, with whom the Parish had dealt for over half a century, the quote price being £37,475.00