Bell Ringing at Marshchapel, Lincolnshire

Filmed 22nd May 2021, the same day as Riby, some ringing (mostly Original Singles and the lower) on the heavy ring of three bells.
Known as The Cathedral of the Marshes, St Mary’s church is a magnificent building, probably funded (at least in part) by the salt works local to here. A chapel was recorded here by 1347 - the name of the village is a pretty good clue to its origins, literally meaning "Chapel in the marshland"! This building was replaced by the current church (believed to have been completed sometime around 1420, when bells were installed). Built of Ancaster stone, it is somewhat unusual in that it was built all at once, and not in stages. A major restoration in the 1800s saw the chancel slightly rebuilt, and many of the fine interior decorations we see today installed (including the pewheads, dating from 1864; these being 134 poppies, each unique, carved by Thomas Swaby, a local craftsman).
The bells were three in number at the time of our visit (but have since been rehung in a new frame and augmented to six, courtesy of three bells, transferred from Rochdale, sourced through the Keltek Trust). Prior to this work, the three bells hung in a substantial wooden frame; reading the reports, it seems this had been causing concerns for some time, and was infested with death watch beetle, hence its eventual replacement. (Indeed, the bells were marked Unringable on Dove in August 2021, just three months after our visit - I do not believe the two events are correlated!). Taylors had rehung them in 1919, when the treble (originally a 1742 bell by Daniel Hedderly) was recast as a memorial to those lost in the Great War. It is a finely decorated bell, and bears the names of the 9 men from the parish who perished in the conflict. The 2nd was cast by Samuel Smith of York in c.1699, and the tenor, named John, in 1584 in Nottingham. Its inscription bears the Tudor Rose, and also (slightly unusually!) an eagle feeding - or maybe devouring - a child. The bells sound very grand, especially outside, and handled very well. The ringing environment, on a gallery overlooking the church, was equally pleasing (especially the live-action CCTV footage showing the bells swinging as you rang!).
Tenor 13-0-18 in F.
dove.cccbr.org...
For those on Facebook, photos of the bells (with corresponding descriptions) may be accessed here:
/ 8940706486039413
For more information on the church, including a page on the bells, visit here:
www.marshchape...
A video of the 3 bells being removed:
• St Marys Church Marshc...
A video of the installation and test ringing of the restored six bells:
• Marshchapel St Marys C...