Our Bells
St Laurence’s Bells
St Laurence’s has one of the finest rings of 10 bells in the country. The bells have significant historical interest and feature in the early development of change ringing as well as in the poetry of A E Housman
Oh come you home of Sunday
When Ludlow streets are still
And Ludlow bells are calling
To farm and lane and mill.
Or come you home of Monday
When Ludlow market hums
And Ludlow chimes are playing
“The conquering hero comes”
There are 13 bells in St Laurence’s bell chamber:
• Three are hung ‘dead’ – they sound only when computer-controlled hammers strike the outside of the bell as part of the carillon.
• Ten are hung for full-circle ringing – skilled ringers standing in the ringing chamber high up in the tower use the bell ropes to swing the bells through 360 degrees, creating a sound each time the clapper strikes the inside of the bell; the ringers control the order in which the bells sound to create musical sequences called methods; these bells are also fitted with hammers so that, when not being rung in this way, they form part of the carillon which plays well-known tunes four times each day.
The original ring comprised eight bells cast in 1732 by the Abraham Rudhall foundry in Gloucester with a tenor weighing 25-0-18 cwt in the key of D. They were tuned and rehung with new fittings by Taylors of Loughborough in 1988, who recast the tenor. Tower movement when the bells were rung had always been a problem. So in 2008 they were remodelled into a lighter ring of ten. The old seventh became the tenor and further bells were added. Two redundant bells from Kidderminster became the treble and second. Three new bells were cast by Whitechapel foundry to special profiles to match the Kidderminster bells. The old Sanctus bell and another new bell were tuned to form a treble and second in twelve for a new automated carillon system, provided all by Nicholson Engineering of Bridport in 2009. The old fifth bell was retained as a flat tenth in twelve. The bells are tuned to Fifth Comma Meantone Temprement and are in the key of E. The complete peal was rehung with a mixture of modified original and new fittings.
The Peal of Ten Bells
Our Bellringers in action
The Carillon, an automatic system for chiming bells using hammers, has been in use at St Laurence’s since at least 1683.
