Tower Keeper: John Eyre Willow Holme 59 Snaresbrook Road Wanstead E11 1PQ
Tel: 020 8989 9335
Ringers: Margaret
Manser: e-mail contact: margaretmanser@aol.com.
Michael & Sandra Course,
Christian Emms, Jeremy Green, Louisa & Ellen Hepworth,
Robert Wallis, Irene Wallen, Terry Warren.
Practice night: Tuesday from 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday Service ringing:
9 a.m. - 9.30 a.m. unless it is a joint service, which if it is at Christ Church
then ringing is from 9.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
6 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. except on the last Sunday in the month when the service is
at St. Mary's.
Bell Weights
Wanstead - Christ Church
Two smaller bells
were added to complete the octave and the peal was rehung in a new steel framework
A.D. 1972 by The
history of the Bells of Christ Church, Wanstead by
John Eyre – Tower keeper The history of the
Bells of Christ Church Wanstead The Rising Sun on
a frosty night was the only place from where the bells of Christ Church Wanstead
should be heard. This was the quote passed on to me when I took over from Ben
Petty as Wanstead's fourth tower keeper in 1956. Ben took over from his father,
Charles Petty, who in turn had taken over from Ben's grandfather, Joseph Marks,
being the first tower keeper and from whom the quote had originated. A few pints
of strong ale and a distance of at least mile and a half as the crow flies between
the bells and the listener appear to have been the minimum requirements before
the sound of the bells could be considered bearable in the1870s. Steel bells gradually
fell into disfavour and Wanstead's peal was replaced by a ring of six bells
cast in bell-metal by Messrs Taylor of Loughborough in 1934. The cost of the
six bells was £327 and the Rector, Canon Birchenough, entertained the
subscribers to an evening party in the church grounds after the dedication.
Bells cast in bell-metal can last for centuries and after only sixty years in
use Taylor's report on their inspection of the steel bells on March 13th 1933
must have come as something of a shock to the church council. Report extracts
state:- "The ringing order of the peal is in poor condition, due, in the
main, to the worn state of the gudgeons and bearings. The cast steel bells are
now very corroded and rusty and their musical effect is harsh and discordant.
Moreover, your bells were cast at a time when very little was known concerning
the scientific designing and tuning of bells such as we employ to-day; consequently
the harmonics or overtones of the bells are wild and chaotic in the extreme.
It would be a tremendous improvement to replace the existing steel bells by
a ring of six bells cast of the finest quality bell-metal". The Christ
Church Bell Fund was launched and with typical donations ranging from five shillings
to three guineas the money was raised and the work completed. The steel bells
were sold as scrap for the grand sum of thirty-five shillings. Very few steel
bells still exist and it is certain that if Wanstead still possessed its original
peal it would today be the subject of a preservation order and attracting interest
from far and wide. The new bells were
accommodated in the original frame in three levels. Three bells at the lower
level with two above in a complete oak cage. The heaviest bell, the 8cwt tenor,
was hung higher up the tower on its own massive timbers set against the tower
wall. To allow for the different sizes and swing of the new bells each bell
pit had to be modified thereby seriously weakening the structure. Apart from
the war years the bells continued to tell us the time, call us to services and
ring out for weddings and days of national rejoicing. During this time the strain
on the wooden frame caused the oak timbers to work loose and the movement was
endangering the masonry of the tower itself. The installation of steel tie rods
only served to delay the final deterioration of the frame to the point when,
in 1972, major works would be required or the bells would be silenced. To give a little insight
into the peculiarly English Exercise of Change Ringing I can probably do no
better than to recall a special event for Wanstead when, at 11am on Wednesday
1st January 1986, a group of eager bell ringers assembled outside Christ Church.
This was not a local band but a gathering of expert Change Ringers from the
London area who were going to attempt to ring a full length peal on Wanstead's
bells. By tradition the ringing of peals in Wanstead is generally reserved for
occasions of national importance but it was felt that, for once, there was no
reason why the joyous sound of the bells should not be heard on New Years Day
particularly as, if successful, the peal would have very special significance
for Wanstead in its own right.
Left: Fig 1 The bell
in the down position. Right: Fig 2 The bell
now 'raised' into the position where it stands until ringing begins. Pictures courtesy
of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The bells had already
been thoroughly checked to ensure there could be no mechanical fault. The key
to the ringing chamber was handed to the Conductor and the band locked themselves
in so that nothing could disturb the intense concentration that would be required.
The bells were pulled up from the safe, 'down' position (Fig.1) to the 'raised',
ringing position (Fig. 2) and then rung through a full circle in 'rounds', that
is from 1 to 8 in order. A short pause followed to make final adjustments to
rope lengths, loosen clothing, remove watches and, for one ringer, to wrap feet
in a sleeping bag. Then the rounds resumed. The Conductor eyed his band carefully
and happy that they were ready for the marathon ahead gave the command 'Go -
Wanstead Surprise Major' and the changes began. It was the 17th century
ringers who discovered that the special features of ringing a bell by rope and
wheel through a full circle could be employed to 'change' or weave the notes
of the bells not into tunes but into continuously changing mathematical permutations.
A simple example shows that six changes are possible on three bells:- 1 2 3 The numbers of permutations
or 'extents' possible increases dramatically when more bells are involved; on
five bells (doubles) 120 changes are possible; on six bells (minor) 720; on
seven bells (triples) 5,040; on eight bells (major) 40,320 and it would take
nearly 38 years to ring all the 479,001,600 changes possible on 12 bells (maximus)! The permutations can
be arranged in infinitely variable patterns that are composed into 'methods'
and given such names as Plain Bob, Reverse Canterbury Pleasure Bob, London Surprise,
Cambridge Surprise, Stedman, Grandsire, Kent Treble Bob, etc. The ringing of
over 5,040 changes in one or more methods qualifies as a 'full peal' below this
level are rung 'quarter peals' and 'touches'. An average peal will take around
three hours to ring and if successful will be recorded on a special board in
the tower and published in the ringer's own newspaper, The Ringing World. So it was that the
Wanstead peal, after two hours and thirty-five minutes ringing reached the required
number of changes. The ringing ceased and birdsong could once again be heard
across Christ Church Green. The Conductor declared the changes to have been
sound and true and Wanstead Surprise could now be registered as a new method
with The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Never before had such a permutation
of changes existed or been officially recognised. Never in the future could
this composition be anything other than Wanstead Surprise. Wanstead had earnt
its place for all time in the world of ringing. Those of us who may
be within earshot of the bells over Christmas may well be reminded of the lines
written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson on hearing Waltham Abbey bells from High Beech
on New Years Eve 1837:- Ring out wild bells,
to the wild sky, Ring in the valiant
man and free, John
Eyre 50 years of Campanology There are probably
very few people who have remained in any position either voluntarily or otherwise
for such a length of time, but yes it is true, our dear friend John first walked
into Christ Church belfry late in 1955. To cast our minds back to this era,
it is worth remembering that Queen Elizabeth had only been on the throne for
two years, Sir Anthony Eden was Prime Minister, Ruth Ellis was about to become
the last woman in the U.K to be hanged, & the country was still recovering
from the effects of rationing following the second World War. On a local note,
the rector of Wanstead was Alan (‘Pearly’) Gates, who was ably assisted
by his curate, the reverend ‘John Howitt’. Bell-ringing, by tradition,
has a reputation for being dominated by families with some prominence within
the church and the local community, and in the 1950s Wanstead was no exception.
The belfry was ruled largely by the Chalk and the Petty families, a fact born
out by the various plaques commemorating the ringing of peals. It therefore
must have been daunting for a callow youth of sixteen to find himself, in effect,
in charge of Christ Church ringing. Whilst the exact circumstances
of how John at the tender age of sixteen became Tower Keeper are somewhat unclear,
I believe it reads something like this. The Eyre family had recently moved to
Wanstead from Chingford. John was a pupil at Forest School, and was introduced
to Christ Church by two school friends who were members of the church choir
as well as the then famous AYPA (Anglican Young Peoples Association). These
friends informed John that if he were to join Christ Church, a girlfriend would
be lined up for him. I suspect this must have influenced his decision to become
a church member, and I have it on good authority that the proposed girlfriend
was none other than Sheila, whom we all know went on to become Mrs Eyre. John
and everyone associated with Christ Church over the years, therefore owe a great
deal of gratitude to these two friends. John was told that although there were
no vacancies in the choir, the belfry was short of ringers, and was crying out
for younger members. Hence he duly joined the band, and being the only one young
and agile enough to clamber up the ladder leading to the clock and bell chamber,
was duly appointed tower-keeper. The duties of a tower
keeper are numerous and are also extremely time-consuming. They include, amongst
other things, the weekly winding of the church clock, regularly servicing the
bell mechanism , repairing ropes and stays, and general maintenance, etc. I
have been a ringer since 1968 and cannot remember a Sunday when the bells haven’t
rung for services, or a week when the clock has failed to chime. All this is
down to John’s amazing enthusiasm and dedication. In addition to his tower-keeping
duties, John has been responsible for teaching many people of all ages and abilities
to ring. I calculate that in my time alone, he must have taught more than one
hundred people to ring. If all this wasn’t enough, John is himself a skilled
ringer, who is able to conduct and train the band to ring different and progressively
more difficult methods. To mark the achievement
of fifty years service, a dinner was held in John’s honour on 29th November
at the NAM AN Vietnamese restaurant in Wanstead. Our thanks must go to Margaret
Manser for her superb organisation of the occasion. This involved the task of
tracing and contacting previous Wanstead ringers, as well as those from the
wider Essex Association, and achieved considerable success. During the occasion,
John made a heartfelt and witty speech, in his inimitable style, in which he
thanked all the past and current ringers and clergy for their support. He then
went on to quote many interesting statistics amassed over fifty years, examples
of which included; the number of revolutions the bells had made, how many belfry
steps had been climbed, and the number of times the clock had chimed. On a serious
note John finished up by stressing that the prime purpose of bell-ringing was
to introduce church services, and that in this respect Christ Church Wanstead
was a leading tower in the country. John, I’m sure
everyone will agree that you have done a superb job over the last fifty years,
for which we all owe you a debt of gratitude. We now feel that you have passed
your probationary period with flying colours, and would like to offer you the
position on a more permanent basis. Robert Wallis. 
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry
London
THE
CHURCH BELLS
Wanstead
Belfry
The explanation to all this lies in the fact that the first ring of six bells
installed into the new tower in 1869 were made of steel instead of the conventional
bell-metal (bronze). They were presented to the church, with a Turret clock,
by Lady Morrison who lived at the Hermitage in Snaresbrook. She had already
contributed £1000 towards the extension of the church in 1867 and a further
£1350 towards the erection of the tower and spire in 1868. The new bells
were to be named 'The Morrison Peal.' The bells were manufactured by Messrs.
Naylor Vickers & Co., of Sheffield. The firm had obtained Riepe's German
patent for casting steel in 1854. Cast steel bells were being widely promoted
and advertised at this time, the principal advantages being claimed by Naylor
Vickers' advert of 1864 as:-
"Cast Steel Bells cost forty per cent. less per lb than Bronze Bells.
Bells of the same diameter and depth of tone are forty per cent. lighter in
steel than in Bronze.
The PRICE of Cast Steel Bells, therefore, is only ONE-THIRD that of Bronze Bells.
Cast Steel Bells have a very melodious sound, fully equal to the best Bronze;
and their vibrations being more powerful, their sound penetrates to a greater
distance. (See Testimonials annexed)."
Sadly, with the exception of the degree of sound penetration this last claim
is not true, the reality being that steel bells are subject to rust and are
inferior in tone, the sound roughly equating with that of scaffolding being
dismantled. One can only suspect that the testimonials were press ganged from
the likes of the clientele of the Rising Sun!
The first full length peal on the new bells and rung by a local band was rung
in two hours twenty minutes on Thursday May 12th 1937 to commemorate the coronation
of their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The new bells certainly
produced a superior sound. Bell-metal consists of four parts copper to one part
tin with other traces of precious metals thrown in to give the bells a distinctive
sound peculiar to the founder. Under a microscope bell metal appears honeycombed
which accounts for the musical resonance and quality of tone. The biggest mistake
made in 1934 was to hang the bells in the original oak frame.
The church was heavily committed financially and had it not been for a very
generous bequest by the late Ronald Charles Henham Barrow the plans for the
bells would have been shelved. Miss Henham Barrow decided on behalf of the family
that her brother would have liked the money to go to providing a new frame for
the bells and to adding two additional lighter bells to make a ring of eight.
The two new bells were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1972. The Foundry
has made bells for well over 400 years. It was originally on the opposite side
of Whitechapel Road and in 1738 moved to its present site occupying the ground
of the Artichoke Inn (c1670). It is the oldest manufacturing company operating
in London and still uses traditional methods of production, the only concession
to modern technology being the installation of an electric arc furnace and electronic
bell tuning. The Foundry has also been the subject of an interest visit by the
Wanstead Historical Society in recent years.
Quite a large party from Wanstead were present in 1972 to witness the exciting
spectacle of molten metal being poured into the moulds for the two new bells.
They were delivered to the church at the end of September and were blessed at
Evensong on October 1st. The larger bell was named Ronald and bears the inscription
RONALDUS + QUEMADMODUM GALLINA CONGREGAT while the other was given the name
of Charles and is inscribed CAROLUS + EXULTABIT LINGUA MEA. The peal of eight
bells was hung in a brand new steel frame also supplied by the Whitechapel Foundry
in 1972. The opportunity was taken to fit all eight bells into the new frame
in two tiers rather than three. The Tenor bell (No 8) was brought down from
its high position in the tower and now rings with bells 1,2,4, and 6 in the
lower tier. Bells 3, 5 and 7 are in the upper tier. The first peal was rung
with the eight bells on the morning of 18th November 1972 to mark the Silver
Jubilee of the Queen's wedding to Prince Philip. More recently the new Millennium
was marked by the ringing of a peal of 'Redbridge Millennium Delight Major',
specially commissioned by the Borough and rung for the first time at Christ
Church on 1st January 2000.
2 1 3
2 3 1
3 2 1
3 1 2
1 3 2
and again 1 2 3
Despite the endless number of possible permutations at no time do rows of numbers
have to be learnt. In the same way as a walk through a wood does not involve
remembering every tree but rather the characteristics of the track so a ringer
studies the 'path of work' in a method and can tell he or she is right by how
he or she 'meets', 'passes' and 'dodges' with other bells. The Conductor of
a touch can call out special codes, known as 'Bobs' and 'Singles' which instantly
re-programmes some or all of the ringers on to a new path in a different part
of the wood and extends the ringing to the required duration until once more
the bells fall into rounds.
It is hoped that sometime our own band of ringers may be able to learn Wanstead
Surprise, which incidentally can be practiced in its 'Plain Course' form lasting
about 10 minutes. In terms of expertise the visiting band were attempting the
North Face of the Eiger whereas the ringing by our own band equates to hiking
in the Quantocks, but there is nothing wrong with this and it is the ability
to continually aim for achievable targets that is the beauty of bell ringing.
Wanstead is traditionally a training environment with the focus on maintaining
regular ringing for services and weddings. The local band is able to progress,
at its own pace, towards a point where maximum enjoyment and satisfaction is
achieved by ringing as a team. Individuals from all walks of life can find,
in ringing, a challenge worthy of their skills.
The flying clouds, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Harold Wilson once remarked that ‘a week is a long time in politics’.
One wonders how he, or anyone else for that matter, would describe fifty years
in campanology or, as it is more commonly known, bell-ringing.
