In 1903 the five old bells which had been unrung for about a hundred years were augmented to eight, funded by the Bailey family of Cavick House in Wymondham. The work was carried out by bellhangers Day of Eye, who provided a new oak frame and arranged the casting of new bells at Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel. Bells one two and three were new, and the fifth bell (the second bell in the old five) was recast.
In 1967 all eight bells were recast and two new bells added. The 1903 wooden frame was lowered fourteen feet (4.3 metres) and extended to accommodate the extra bells.
(Key : (M) indicates the mark of the Whitechapel Bellfoundry, and (B) the mark of the Norwich Foundry. For each bell the weight is shown in cwt-qtr-lb, the bell note +/- sharp or flat in cents and the nominal frequency in Hertz)
Treble 5-1-18, F#+0, 1480Hz
WILLIAM CLOVER RINGING MASTER 1935 – 1967
MEARS 19(M)67 LONDON
Second 5-2-5, E+7, 1324Hz
THE WYMONDHAM & ATTLEBOROUGH ROUND TABLE No 713 GAVE ME
MEARS 19(M)67 LONDON
Third 5-3-21, D+8, 1180Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON ARTHUR ANTHONY BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 REVD THE HON: A. PARKER VICAR J.B. POMEROY W.B. FRYER H.L. CUBITT H.R.PARKER CHURCHWARDENS
RECAST 19(M)67
Fourth 6-0-21, C#-1, 1108Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON JOHN CANN BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 HUNG BY G. DAY & SON, EYE
RECAST 19(M)67
Fifth 7-1-13, B-6.5, 984Hz
MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON CROSIER BAILEY GAVE ME 1903 REVD THE HON: A. PARKER VICAR J.B. POMEROY W.B. FRYER H.L. CUBITT H.R.PARKER CHURCHWARDENS
RECAST 19(M)67
Sixth 8-2-27, A+4, 882Hz
THOMAS NEWMAN OF NORWICH MADE ME 1739
RECAST 19(M)67
Seventh 11-3-20, G+0, 784Hz
W AD 1606
LESLIE LLOYD BAILEY GAVE NEW LIFE TO ME 1903 RECAST BY MEARS AND STAINBANK LONDON HUNG BY G. DAY & SON, EYE
RECAST 19(M)67
Eighth 14-0-16, F#-5, 738Hz
IOHN BREND MADE ME 1638 RECAST 19(M)67
Ninth 18-0-24, E+2, 660Hz
T. NEWMAN MADE ME 1739 T. RANDALL S. PROCTOR R. GIBBS R.SEWELL CW
RECAST 19(M)67
Tenor 26-2-02, D+2, 588Hz
TVBA AD IVDITIAM (B) IB (B) CAMPANA AD ECCLESIVM TC ES EP IS CHVRCH WARDENS 1653 THESE BELLS WERE RECAST IN 1967 VICAR J.G.T. THOMAS CHURCHWARDENS P.R. BUCKTON J.E. CANTLAY G.S. SEMMENCE J.R. RICE
Tuning:
Each bell’s note is shown. The +/- cents indicate how sharp (+) or flat (-) the bell note is, a cent being one-hundredth of a semitone. The nominal frequency is shown in Hertz (Hz), the number of cyles per second. Middle C on a piano is around 261.6 Hz The tuning scheme is a modified ‘Just’ tuning with perfect fourths and fifths.
With thanks to Nigel Taylor of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for supplying the figures from the Foundry’s records.
Weights:
For those unfamiliar with imperial weights, one hundredweight (cwt) is 112 pounds (lb), just over 50 kg. Four quarters (qtr) make one hudredweight. One quarter is 28 lb (12.7 kg). 20cwt=1 imperial ton, and an imperial ton is approximately the same as a metric tonne. The smallest bells in the tower are therefore about a quarter of a ton in weight, and the largest is over one and a quarter tons, or about the same as a small family car.