St James
West Tilbury, Essex
© Nigel Anderson - St James Trust
The Church Bells
It is difficult to tell when the first set of bells were rung at St James, but
certainly there was a “Ring of Five Bells” in place by the beginning of
the eighteenth century. These were hung in the wooden tower that
was constructed in 1712 after the original stone tower had collapsed.
In 1885 the bells were re-hung in the new tower (built in 1883)
together with a new framework and fixings allowing the bells to all
swing in the same direction. Due to the size of the tower, a ‘gallow
end’ had been fitted at the end of the 3rd bell pit, as there was no
room to fit a conventional frame side.
The 2nd bell had been recast at this time and was connected to a
mechanical turret clock mechanism that would sound the hour.
In 1978 the stonework on the western buttresses of the tower began to crumble and the bells have not been rung since that time. It is
thought that the ringing of the bells had not been a contributing factor in the deterioration of the tower as there was no evidence to
suggest that there had been any appreciable framework movement when the bells were rung.
In 1984 the bells were removed and taken to the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry for reconditioning before
being placed as part of a new ring of eight at St.
Peter & St. Paul’s in Grays.
The large Tenor bell was separated from its
compatriots, being placed two years later in St.
Mary the Virgin, Little Baddow.
Pictured are Andy Good, Chris Laub and David
Culham (picture in Thurrock Gazette of 29 June
1984) as part of the team removing the bells from
St James tower on their way to be reconditioned at
the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
There was initially a week delay in the lowering of the bells, as the main cross
beam in the tower had cracked on the first attempt.
The Removal of the Bells from St. James
Not everybody was happy with the removal of the bells as is highlighted by an extract from “Uncertain Harvest - Field Notebooks
of West Tilbury (1981-97)” by Randal Bingley.
The Ring of Five
Number
Note
Diameter
Weight
Date
Tenor
Bb
2ft 10”
7-0-22 / 365kg
1953
4th
C
2ft 8”
5-3-20 / 301kg
1621
3rd
D
2ft 4¾”
4-2-14 / 235kg
1694
2nd
Eb
4-0-00 / 200kg
1883
Treble
F
2ft 1½
3-1-00 / 165kg
1694
The Tenor Bell (Bb) – 1694/1953
The tenor bell, originally cast by John Wood in 1694, was recast by the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry and re-hung in St James (by Mears and
Stainbeck) in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The tenor bell was cast without canons (the metal loops normally cast at the
top of the bell as a means of attaching it to a wooden headstock).
The bell is inscribed “EIIR recast 1953”
As the Bb tenor bell did not fit in with the new ring of eight at St Peter & St
Paul in Grays, it was kept for safe keeping at the Whitechapel Bell foundry
until a new home could be found for it.
In 1986 the tenor bell was moved to its new home at St Mary the Virgin in
Little Baddow, Essex, to become a new 7th bell of a ring of eight.
This was as a substitute for a previous bell of approximately the same size
and weight, but which was exceptionally poor in tone.
The 4th Bell (C) – 1621
The 4th Bell bears the inscription
“Thomas Bartlet made me 1621”.
The Whitechapel Foundry mark is also impressed on the bell.
When the bell was tuned in 1984, a crack was discovered in the crown, which was
repaired by welding. The 4th now forms the 5th of the new ring of eight at St. Peter & St.
Paul.
Two original cast canons are missing, having been removed (probably in 1885) to
facilitate the fitting of false crown staples (the stumps of the original cast-in staples
remain).
The 3rd Bell (D) – 1694
The 3rd bears the inscription “TF 1694”.
And on the waist is crudely scratched “I W Made Me 1692”
It is believed to have been cast by John Wood and is listed for preservation by the Council
for the care of churches.
The 3rd now forms the 4th of the new ring of eight at St. Peter & St. Paul
Two original cast canons are also missing from the 3rd (the stumps of the original cast-in
staples remain).
The 2nd Bell (Eb) – 1883
The 2nd was also originally one of John Wood’s bells, but it was recast in 1883
when the West Tilbury bells were rehung in new fittings by Gillett & Co, Croydon.
The 2nd originally had angular canons.
The bell was originally inscribed “TF recast by Gillett and Co, Croydon 1883”.
It was again recast in 1984 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry before becoming the
3rd in the new ring of eight at St. Peter & St. Paul.
The bell is inscribed “In memory of Janet Lennox Hayston” and the recasting
was made possible by the donation of John Hayston in memory of his wife Jean.
The Treble Bell (F) – 1694
The bell is dated 1694 and is inscribed “IB”
It is thought to be made by John Wood for John Bartlet of Whitechapel.
The Treble could not be tuned to blend with the other bells in the new ring of eight
at St Peters & St Pauls, but it has been retained with them and is used as a service
bell. It is also connected to the churches clock mechanism to chime the hour.
It remains in its original St James’ fittings and is hung in a timber frame that was
part of the West Tilbury frame that was originally constructed by P.T. Saunders in
1885.
The Bells at St Peter & St Paul, Grays Essex
An appeal for £24,000 was launched in July 1983 to combine the ring of bells at St
James with those from another redundant church, St Clement (the parish church of
West Thurrock & Purfleet) into a new ring of eight bells at St Peter & St Paul in
Grays.
These bells, together with the original bells at Grays, were sent to the Whitechapel
Bell Foundry for cleaning and tuning with two of the bells (the new 2nd & 3rd) being
recast.
A new steel bell frame was fitted into the tower of St Peter & St Paul after a
reinforced concrete ring beam had been inserted to strengthen the tower which had
originally been built in 1846.
In April 1985 volunteers, under the supervision of Andrew Barham, installed the new
bells in the tower.
The bells were rededicated on the 8 May 1985 by the Bishop of Chelmsford after
which a quarter peal was rung to commemorate the 40th anniversary of VE Day
The picture (right) shows the 3rd bell being installed in St Peter & St Paul in April
1985
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The history of St James’ bells have been closely tied to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry throughout their
joint history.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is Britain's oldest manufacturing
company, having been established in 1570 (during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I) and being in continuous business since that date.
Whitechapel's famous bells include the original Liberty Bell (1752), the Great Bell of
Montreal and, probably best known of all, Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. Cast in
1858, this is the largest bell ever cast at Whitechapel, weighing 13½ tons. To this day, a
cross-section of the bell surrounds the entrance door to the Foundry
England's heaviest change ringing bell - Liverpool Cathedral tenor,
weighing over 4 tons - was cast by Whitechapel in 1939. In 1991, the
world's first peal of 16 change ringing bells were installed by Whitechapel
at the Church of St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, England
Whitechapel Bell Foundry's long history spans the reigns of twenty seven
English monarchs, and among the royal visitors to the foundry were King
George V and Queen Mary who came to witness the casting of two bells
for Westminster Abbey.
August 1856: Casting Big Ben
The Foundry buildings date from 1670, four years after the Great Fire of London, and
presumably replaced earlier structures lost to that conflagration.
Originally built as a coaching inn called the Artichoke, the lease of the buildings was
acquired by Thomas Lester - then Master Founder at Whitechapel - to accommodate the
need for extra workshops and space during a time of great expansion in the craft of bell
founding.
The traditions of craftsmanship and old skills working alongside modern technology today
still produce bells which are renowned, at the "sign of the three bells" in London's East
End