Church’s bells ring for last time
THE Parish Church of St Chad’s have been removed as it replaces its current ring of eight bells with a ring of 10 bells.
The bells of the church have rung over the town for centuries.
Debra Holmes, tower captain, said: “This was a massive project.
“The eight bells were lowered from the bell tower into the church through two trap doors in the bell tower and ringing room floors.
“The heaviest bell, the tenor, weighing about three quarters of a ton took over five minutes to be lowered
“As they were lowered each bell was rung for a final time in the church.
“This was quite poignant. The oldest bells have been in the church for over 270 years since 1752.
“The bells were then on display outside the church for a short time last Friday morning before being loaded onto a lorry for transport to the bellhangers at Newark.
“These bells will be now be hung in various churches around the country to make new rings of bells.
“In the meantime work is underway on the new peal of 10 bells that will be installed at the Parish Church next spring during the 830th anniversary of the Rochdale
Church.”
The bells have been rung both in joy and in sorrow. To ring out the old year and ring in the new.
They are also rung for national and civic events. They were rung fully muffled for the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year and in celebration for the coronation of King Charles III this year.
The bells are rung open in celebration when couples get married and muffled in sadness for funerals and on Remembrance Sunday.
They are rung every Sunday morning as part of the church service.
There have been bells at
Parish
Rochdale’s Parish Church since the tower was first built in the 1500s.
At that time, there were ‘Fyve Grete Bells’. These bells were replaced in 1752 by a ring of six bells cast by Abel Rudhall, of Gloucester. Two additional bells were added in 1787 and the tenor bell was recast in 1812 to form the current peal of bells.
The bells at St Chad’s are rung full circle. This method of ringing bells in England has been around since the 1500s and is very different from the ringing of bells in other parts of the world, and is part of our heritage.
Sadly, time has taken its toll on the current bells, their fittings and the bell frame, which now need replacing. Bell-hanging firms estimate that the lifespan of the existing bell frame is three to five years.
A spokesman said: “We are very lucky as a ring of eight bells has been donated to St Chad’s.
“These bells previously rang out over Oldham at St Mark’s Parish Church, in Glodwick. They were cast by Mears and Stainbank at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1937. St Mark’s has now closed, and the Manchester Diocese has donated the bells to St Chad’s here in Rochdale.
“Two new bells will be added to this ring of eight to augment them to 10. The cost of these new bells was bequeathed to Rochdale Parish Church by John P Partington. John was Tower Captain at St Luke’s Heywood and restored the bells there back in the 1970s. He was a well-known and respected ringer not only in Rochdale but throughout the country, and was a great supporter of ringing at St Chad’s, in Rochdale.
“It had long been John’s wish that Rochdale should
have a ring of 10 bells. Sadly, this did not happen in his lifetime, but we can now make it happen now.
“These new bells will be much easier to ring than the current ring of eight bells.
“The six lighter bells will be ideal for training future ringers, especially younger ones, to ensure ringing at Rochdale continues.
“The old bells have been bought by the Keltek Trust, a charity that finds homes for redundant and
surplus bells. “We have been planning this project for many years and we are now very excited that the scheme is now going ahead.
“Work is due to begin in the first week in December, when the old bells will be removed from the tower.
“Sadly, this means there will be no Christmas bells ringing out this Christmas, but the new bells will be installed and ringing out again over the town next summer.”