St Sampson's Bell Project

On 13th November 2021, there was much excitement when a group of local people gathered to watch St Sampsons’s bells depart to the Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough, marking a significant milestone in plans for their restoration.
The five church bells include four historically important bells dating from 1698 with the newest and largest bell (the “tenor”, 36 inches in diameter and around 8 hundredweight) added in 1831. They have not been heard and fully rung for over 50 years, initially due to the condition of the tower (which was repaired in 2000) and during this time the installation deteriorated into a dangerous state. Consequently surveys were undertaken and quotations obtained resulting in the decision to restore the bells and allow them to sound out over South Hill once again after this silent interlude.

Recent fund raising and grants have enabled the first stage of the restoration project to be completed.
Work started in October with local volunteers removing the bell wheels in preparation for the main works.

On 8th November a bell hanger (Andrew Ogden) from the Taylor Bell Foundry arrived to undertake the dismantling and removal of the bells, supported by an enthusiastic team of local helpers.

Day 1: Hatches were extended in the 1st and 2nd floors to allow the bells to be lowered. A chain block was then used to lift the tenor up out of its bell “pit” and onto the bellframe to allow access to boards on the belfry (3rd) floor.
Day 2: Cutting a hatch in the belfry floor was less easy, as previous floor repairs had removed the hatch, added new supports and the boards were fixed down with large nails. Once achieved, the tenor was then slowly lowered through the hatch into the space underneath where a huge notch had been chipped out of the stone wall when the bell was installed in 1831. Even with the notch it was a tight squeeze and
the bell had to be tilted, twisted and turned to get it through. At the 2nd floor level another problem was encountered as the rolled steel joists (post-1831) supporting the floor were too close together, so again the bell had to be tilted, twisted and turned before it could be lowered through to the 1st floor, transferred to another chain block and taken down to ground level. In total the bell was dropped around 55 feet (17 metres), though it wasn’t simple as the hatches weren’t vertically aligned. This process was then repeated with the next largest bell.
Day 3: After a further challenge of creating a new lifting point on the other side of the belfry, the three small bells were lowered in the same way as before. A ramp was constructed ready for moving the bells from the tower floor and out of the church. The belfry x`flooring was then replaced, using screws to make it easier to take out again when the bells return. In the evening the bells were displayed on the tower floor and about 20 people came into church to view them.
Day 4: A lorry arrived early in the morning to transport the bells back to the Taylor Bell Foundry for storage. Each bell was loaded onto a trolley then wheeled down the church path and hoisted onto the lorry. Around 15 people gathered outside to see the bells off to Loughborough.

This concludes the first stage of the project and many thanks are due to the team of volunteers for their valuable assistance: Owen, Kevin, Dan, Peter, Kathy, Alex, Sue, Pete, Liz, Steve, Judith, Mike, Andrew, Caroline and Chris. Also thanks to Andrew Ogden from Taylors who worked hard all week to resolve various problems and to direct the team.

The earlier surveys found that the bells are unusually badly out of tune. Tuning of historic bells is sometimes allowed, but in our case the bell metal is particularly thin so any tuning would risk the bells cracking. Hence the advice was to replace the bells as a static chime and they will return with their unique St Sampson tone!

When funds have been raised, the next stage of the project will include conservation of the bells, new bell fittings, new electro-mechanical hammers to enable stationary chiming, repair of the bell frame and an electrical control clock.
We are very much looking forward to the return and reinstallation of our historically important bells into their rightful home and to resuming their participation in the life of the church and South Hill community.

The total cost of all this work will be approaching £30,000. Many thanks for the £2,000 grant already provided from ChurchCare with financial support from the Pilgrim Trust. This is a lot to raise but we are confident it will happen. For more photos and for any donation that you can give towards the return of the bells, please see
St Sampson's historic bells

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