- 13b - Church Bells

The tall tower with its slender spire contains a ring of 8 bells.
In 1521 (the first year for which accounts survive) 2^d was spent on leather for the bell shackles. In 1559 a broken bell was hauled to Wigan on an Ox-Cart to be recast. There was an ale stop at Billinge and the costs included bread and ale for the Bell Founder and his men and a new axle and wheels for the cart!
In 1638 the bells were taken down and recast at very considerable expense as is shown in the Church wardens account for that year. In the Wardens accounts for the year 1690:- "Paid the ringers for ringing the bells the day that news came from the Bishop that the Vicar had resigned and was quite outed 2^s-6^d" (The Vicar was Edward Goodall MA 1677-1690.
A new ring of six bells was cast at Holmes Chapel in 1711. (This date my not be right because some records say that the ring of 1638 was given away in 1845).
In 1845 a decision was made to replace the 6 bells with an entirely new and heavier ring of 8 bells, to be cast by the Whitechapel, London, Bell Foundry of C&G Mears. The new bells were cast in 1845 and delivered and installed at Prescot Church in the same year. The old bells were sold and the proceeds went towards casting a brand new ring of eight. The old fittings were reused for the back six. The wooden frame extended to accommodate the two trebles. Locally it is said that the old bells were presented or sold to Huyton but this is unlikely unless only the second bell was sold to St. Michael's Huyton a neighboring parish church. There is also a possibility of the old second bell ending up at St Ann's Rainhill (q.v.) The tenor bell was in the key of F and weighed 14¾cwt - significantly larger than the old tenor bell. To accommodate the 8 larger bells, the old timber 6 bell frame suffered some handed modifications which significantly weakened it.

The first peal rung on the bells in 1845.

They where rehung by Taylor's in 1883 and new ropes fitted in 1899.

In March 1934 were retuned and re hung and turned a ¼ of a turn. They were rededicated by the Lord Bishop of Portsmouth Rt. Rev. Neville Lovett the brother of the vicar of Prescot Church. Ultimately, time took its toll, and the tower and spire became structurally unstable due to the combined effects of, several lightning strikes, stone erosion and the weakened bell frame.
The tower languished in a parlous state for many years, and the bells were to remain silent on safety grounds from the 1960's until 1994.

Phases restoration programme for the whole of the church is currently underway - the second phase of which has included the restoration of the clock and the bells within the newly restored tower . The bells were removed in November 1991, and were retuned to the London foundry where they were cast 150 years ago and retuned in December 1993. A new metal bell frame was made to take the bell's in August 1994. The old wooden bell frame was left in the tower. The new metal bell frame was put into a lower floor.
The tenor bell now weighs 13¼cwt. and is in the key of E.
The bells where inaugurated by HRH The Duke of Gloucester at a special ceremony on 6 December 1994 and re-dedicated by the Archdeacon of Warrington.

We are always keen to recruit new ringers come along on a Monday at 8.00pm..