The Bell of St John
St Mary’s has a ring of 10 bells, the tenor weighing in at 25 cwts 18 lbs. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536-39, the parishioners bought the four bells, weighing a total of 45.5 cwt, which hung in the Priory Church.
The tenor was recast in 1603 and the 3rd recast in 1666, by the Purdues of Bristol. The treble was recast in1706 by Abraham Rudall.
The bells were augmented to five in 1835 and then to six in 1845 by Jeffries & Price of Bristol. To commemorate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887, the bells were rehung and augmented to eight by Llewellins & James of Bristol, the same firm recasting the tenor (19 cwt) in 1893.
1947 - The ring of 8 bells before replacement
Finally, in 1947, these bells were replaced by the present magnificent 10 from the Loughborough foundry, in thanksgiving for the end of the Second World War. They are considered to be the finest ring of 10 bells in Christendom and bell-ringers from all over the country come to ring the changes.
The medieval 6th of the old ring, dated 1308, is preserved in the nave and inscribed ‘May the bell of John last many years’ – perhaps indicated that this was one of a peal of bells donated by John de Hastings, the man responsible for the first restoration of the Priory Church.
How long does it take to ring church bells?
Of course, that depends on how many there are.
The full extent of permutations on three bells is 1x2x3 = 6
On five bells (doubles) it is 1x2x3x4x5 = 120, which would take four minutes to ring
With six bells (minor) there would be 720 permutations, which would take 20 minutes.
With eight (major) there are 40,320 permutations which would take 18 hours.
And the full extent on a ring of 12 bells would take approximately 30 years of non-stop ringing to get through!
More information about bell ringing can be found here.