Having been installed in their present frame in 1937, the bells have largely remained as they are today. Cast in the mid 19th century by Mears and Steinbank of Whitechapel, they are in the tone of F#, and the Tenors’ weight is 12¾ cwt. Being in good repair and carefully maintained, they are not only good to listen to; to hear ringing out over the village, but are also good bells to ring! You will most likely hear the bells as the familiar ‘clock-chimes’. Bells 4 and 6 are struck mechanically for the ‘quarter-hours’, and the tenor is struck to sound the hours. The automatic electrical striking and winding mechanism also allows for the bells to be silent during the night!
When the bells ring out for their other purposes, to announce a church service, or to celebrate a special event, you will perhaps hear all the eight bells being rung. This ringing is not automated; this ringing requires the efforts of bellringers!

Bells are described as ‘The Voice of The Church’. They are an internationally recognisable sound of religious gathering. Bells have been, and still are, used for a variety of other purposes. In England, before time-keeping was easily available, the sound of the bells was a method by which people were not only summoned to Church for service, but were informed of the time of day. The sound of the bells ringing over the fields to signal the end of a working day, would have been very welcomed!

The Church Bells of England are however unique. Only in Britain and places where the British have touched, (in days of Empire), do Church Bells ring in the peculiarly English method. An English Church Bell is mounted on a large wheel within a frame, and by means of a rope can be swung through 360’ so that the ‘clapper’ can be struck against both sides of the bell at a speed dictated by the ringer who handles the rope. The Italians swing their bells to make them speak, others merely chime them, but no-one else can ring them like the English! Bells have been rung ‘full-circle’ in this way since the 17th century. Many improvements in engineering have allowed for the physical effort; of turning such large and heavy objects around in some sort of harmonious synchronisation, possible. Ringers in the past had to perform the feat without the, as yet undiscovered, ball-bearings and make do with wood-on-wood, or plain axles. The effort required therefore meant that bell-ringing was the preserve of the menfolk and hefty ones at that! It is true that in those days the men were paid quite handsomely to ring the bells and quite often they were not a very sober bunch! Nowadays happily, anyone of reasonable fitness and ability can manage to ring, male and female, old and young, musical or not.

Churchbell ringing is NOT Campanology! Churchbell ringers get quite animated when people say, “Oh, you’re a campanologist then”, when their hobby is revealed. Campanology, I am sure, encompasses far more than the bare skill of bellringing; it implies a knowledge of harmonics, of music and it’s creation. A Church bellringer just rings bells! Although we don’t all claim to be musicians, there are a good number who are. There are also housewives, accountants, civil engineers, driving instructors, police officers, students, University professors, retired fork-lift truck drivers and pensioners, (O.A.P.’s). As a ringer you become part of an informal fraternity and you are made welcome wherever you go.

Ringing Churchbells is a fascinating activity. Of course if you have moved house to within the sound of the bells, and you do not like them, you will be less than sympathetic to being roused at 9.15am on a Sunday, and less tolerant of the necessary practices that take place. If however you have ever heard, and listened to the beautiful sound of Churchbells, the music carrying on the wind, you may appreciate them! It is unfortunate that there are more bells to ring than there are ringers, many towers are struggling to keep their bells heard.

The total weight of bell-metal in the eight bells of the peal at Chiddingfold is about 3 tons. The bells are fitted with ‘headstocks’ which retain the bell in it’s position on the wheel on which it is mounted. Each bell has a ‘clapper’ that swings independently inside, and slower than , the bell. The bells are all mounted on a large frame which is itself supported by a massive concrete structure. Just as well that the tower is strong!

A plea! If you are a ringer who has perhaps lost a previous enthusiasm for attending practices and such, but is still able to ring for Sunday service, please do come along, you’re efforts would be much appreciated.
Towers are always ready to welcome brand-new recruits and as a newcomer you will be very valued and made very welcome. All you have to do is make contact, or even just turn up on a Wednesday practice night.

How do you learn churchbell ringing?
If you have an interest then make contact with us and you can then proceed at your own pace. You will be shown the bells and how they strike to produce the notes, how they are swung by the ropes and how you should pull the rope. It all sounds very easy. The skill however is much more tricky than it sounds and it really has to be seen and experienced to be appreciated.
Above all, safety is the first aspect you have to absorb, it can be dangerous!

Winchester and Portsmouth Guild
founded 1879 Guildford District of W&P
formed 1904

A Church has stood on the site of St, Mary's, Chiddingfold, since the 13th century.
At that time it would have had a wooden tower.
The first stone-built church was built in the mid-16th century.
In 1869, the tower was raised by 13feet.
The bells, the oldest of which was cast in 1470, were removed in 1936; the The remaining seven were recast into the present eight, by Mears and Steinbank, Whitechapel Bellfounders.
and rehung in the tower on a cast iron frame, itself mounted on a concrete ring frame.
Shown as a 6-bell tower 1891. Tenor weighing 18½ cwt.
First shown as an 8 bell tower 1896, 11cwt.
Weight shown in 1927 as 11¾ cwt.
and from the 1937 rehanging, 12¾ cwt.

There is no record of Chiddingfold in Annual Reports prior to 1891.
No records available for 1903 and 1913.
No reports for 1915 - 1919 during WW 1.
Only the Tower Captains are recorded for 1920 - 1923
There was a ban on ringing during part of WW 2. and no reports were published between 1940 and 1946.
No recorded members 1951 - 1952.

The following entries are the first and last dates that records show the ringer as a subscribing member to the Guilds.
There are no records of ringers who were not accredited to the Guilds.