The Bells
Ivinghoe Bells
The church building dates back to around 1230, but the tower itself was not completed until after 1400.
The earliest record we have for the bells is from an inventory record dated July 1552, which lists 5 bells and a Sanctus bell.
Since 1591 they were tuned or recast some 5 times, until 1875 when the present ring of 6 bells was installed, these were all cast by John Warner & Sons of Cripplegate London, who ceased business in 1924.
These replaced the 5 larger bells, the only record of which was the tenor bell, dated 1628.
This is probably when the present 17th century oak frame was installed.
The ringing chamber on the first floor was added in 1848 when the present clock was installed, both given to the church by Lady Brownlow of the Ashridge estate, who also built the local school and had the east window glazed in memory of her husband.
Before that, from 1819, the bells were rung from the ground floor where the altar is now, and this replaced a 1637 temporary ringing floor hung between the 2 tower arches.
The Sanctus bell is a small bell, which was chimed at the consecration during mass. It called the attention of people at work in the fields or town to what was happening in the service, enabling them to stop and pray for a moment.
During 2005 all the old and worn out parts were replaced with second hand spares from Aston Clinton Church. This included the bearings, wheels and pulley boxes.
Ringing practice is on Monday evenings (except bank holidays) between 19:30 and 21:00.
Sunday service ringing is 09:00 to 09:30 2nd 4th and 5th Sundays.
Marsworth Bells
The Tower of Marsworth Church was built in the early 15th Century, but the earliest documentary reference to bells is in 1552, at which date there was a ring of 3 bells. By 1637 this had been augmented to 4, and a Sanctus bell added, although the Tower was stated to be in considerable decay. Then in 1662 the chapel at Tiscote in Hertfordshire, but in the parish of Marsworth, was demolished and its bell brought to Marsworth. Presumably it was this bell that was recast by Henry Knight of Reading in the same year to augment the ring to 5 bells, and for which a new bell frame was installed at about the same time.
The 4 older bells were all subsequently recast at the bell foundry established by the Chandler family in 1635 behind their blacksmith’s shop at Drayton Parslow, just a few miles away - the tenor in 1679, 4th in 1682, 2nd in 1694 and the 3rd in 1702. The Sanctus bell was re cast by Lester & Pack of Whitechapel in 1767 (the Drayton Parslow foundry having closed in 1756).
When Rev Ragg became Vicar in 1880 he found the Church to be in a somewhat dilapidated state, the bell frame decaying and the tenor bell cracked. Ragg soon set about a skilful restoration of the Church. This included the partial reconstruction of the bell frame and repair of fittings by George Montague, a wheelwright & carpenter from Cheddington, in 1886. The cracked tenor bell was recast by Warner’s of London in 1887, and first rung on Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Day. The clock, believed to have been manufactured by Thwaites & Reed of Clerkenwell, but carrying the name Field & Son, Aylesbury (who presumably supplied it), was installed in 1888 and chimes the hours on the tenor bell.
Unfortunately, the quality of the workmanship of the bell frame repairs was not particularly good and it was not too long before the bells fell silent again. They were rung again briefly in the 1950s but the local team disbanded after a few years due to the difficulty of ringing.
In the late 1980s, following extensive restoration work to the Tower, interest in the bells was rekindled. Some minor repairs were carried out to allow the bells to be rung occasionally, but they were very hard work and it was clear that, before any regular ringing could be contemplated, complete rehanging would be necessary. By 1990 a local band was formed which learned to ring at Cheddington, and in 1992 fund raising commenced. The bells were transported by canal to Taylor’s bell foundry at Loughborough in May 1994 for refurbishment and tuning. The opportunity was also taken to have a 6th bell cast, and a new steel bell frame was built and installed by local voluntary labour to Taylor’s designs.
The bells were hung in June 1995, with the service of dedication taking place on 28th July, and on the following day the first ever recorded quarter peal was rung at Marsworth. One side of the old 1662 bell frame was subsequently re-used as a balustrade to a new ringing gallery. The total cost of the project was £25,310, of which £6,200 was received in grants.
Marsworth and Cheddington have a combined bell-ringing team. Practices are held on Thursday evenings from 7:45 to 9pm, alternating monthly between the two Towers. Service ringing takes place once every Sunday, usually at either Marsworth or Cheddington, but occasionally at Mentmore. New ringers are always most welcome - full instruction is given so it is not necessary for recruits to have any previous experience. Visiting ringers are always very welcome to both practices and Sunday ringing. Please see www.cmmbells.org.uk for further information, including contact details and a diary giving ringing dates, times and locations. Visiting teams of ringers frequently come to Marsworth, and we also host the practice for the Chiltern Branch of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers once a year.
Details of the bells are as follows:
| Bell Founder |
Date |
Weight |
| cwt-qtr-lb |
kg |
| Treble John Taylor & Co Ltd, Loughborough |
1994 |
5-0-18 |
262 |
| 2nd Henry Knight II, Reading | 1662 | 5-1-18 | 275 |
| 3rd Chandler, Drayton Parslow | 1694 | 5-1-12 | 272 |
| 4th George Chandler, Drayton Parslow | 1702 | 6-2-10 | 335 |
| 5th George Chandler, Drayton Parslow | 1682 | 8-0-0 | 406 |
| Tenor John Warner & Sons, London | 1887 | 10-3-10 | 551 |
Richard Booth, Tower Captain. April 2010.