Bellringing
| The bells of St Thomas | |||||
| Bell | Weight (cwt-qtr-lb) | Note | Bell | Weight (cwt-qtr-lb) | Note |
| Treble | 5-3-18 | Eb | Fifth | 9-1-10 | Ab |
| Second | 5-3-18 | D | Sixth | 10-3-27 | G |
| Third | 6-3-18 | C | Seventh | 13-1-11 | F |
| Fourth | 7-3-19 | Bb | Tenor | 19-3-0 | Eb |
St Thomas' has a ring of eight bells, given by two members of the parish in memory of a former vicar of South Weald, made by Mears and Stainbank Ltd., now known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd., and dedicated by the Bishop of St. Albans on 19th October 1887. The tenor bell, the largest of the eight, weighs 19cwt. 3qtrs. (or just over 1.1 tonnes) and the whole installation is the heaviest in south Essex and the sixth heaviest in the County.
The bells are rung for church services, calling the faithful to worship and to make all who can hear aware of the church’s presence in the town. They are also rung for national and civic occasions including Remembrance Sunday and for local organisations such as the Royal British Legion and St. Francis Hospice. They are also rung for more personal family occasions such as weddings, christenings and occasionally, funerals.
Change ringing is an English tradition that evolved in the early part of the 17th century. It is open to all – young and old, male or female, short or tall, musical or non-musical, church goer or non-church goer alike. The bells are rung by the ringer pulling on a rope which is connected to the wheel of the bell in the belfry, often many feet higher in the tower. The ringers cannot see their ‘instrument’ and rely on their other senses to achieve good striking.
The bells are tuned to a normal musical scale. The present bells are tuned to the scale of E flat major. They are initially rung down the scale in a pattern called ‘rounds’. Thereafter one of the ringers, the conductor, can call the bells to sound in a different order of choice (call changes) or to a predetermined pattern called a ‘method’. The main purpose of ringing is to ring for church services and festivals. Commonly this will involve short ‘touches’ of methods or call changes lasting about 5 or 10 minutes.
A full Peal may be rung to mark special events. It might comprise just one or several different methods and has over 5000 changes in the position of the bells with no same order of bells repeated unnecessarily and takes about 3 hours to ring. For the less ambitious ringers who choose not to ring for such a long time, a more popular achievement is the Quarter Peal which has over 1200 changes and takes about 45 minutes to ring.
St. Thomas’ is one of 169 towers in the county which are affiliated to the Essex Association of Change Ringers, a charitable body which exists to further the ringing of bells and to promote all aspects of the ‘Exercise’. It currently has a membership in excess of 1100 and is divided into six districts which each hold regular meetings and social activities.
We are currently raising funds for a complete overhaul of the bell installation, which is badly needed. If you would like to contribute to the bell appeal, or are interested in learning to ring, please contact the Parish Office.