The Bell Ringers of St Peters Church

The History of the Bells of St Peter-in-Thanet Church

St Peter’s church has had bells for over 600 years, but it is not known exactly when they were first installed or how many bells there were. A single bell was in the south east corner of the church and it is said that there are signs of wear caused by a bell rope on the wall of the present Lady Chapel. St Peter’s present tower was built in the 15th century at the north west corner of the church, but nothing is known about the bells until the mid-eighteenth century when the parish registers record that the bells were recast from 5 to 6 between 1754 and 1757.

The Bells of St Peter’s

John Mockett records in his Journal some work done on the bells both during his time as churchwarden at the end of the 18th century and when his father Elijah was churchwarden some years earlier. In 1777 the fourth bell was recast and put up when Elijah Mockett and John Stainer were Churchwardens.

In 1798, John Mockett tells us “The parishioners having appointed Mr Thomas Paine and myself churchwardens for St Peters, we put up a new tenor bell, in consequence of the former having laid, for some years, useless.” The churchwardens’ accounts tell us that the bell was transported by boat to and from Mears’ Whitechapel Foundry and the bill for the recasting was £32.15s.9d.

The bell ringers meet to practise at St Peter’s on Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm with a special session for beginners from 6:30 to 7:00 pm. New ringers are most welcome to come along and learn how to ring. If you have ever thought you would like to learn to ring, why not come along to on a practice night to see what is involved. You can be any age from early teens onwards and it doesn’t require particular strength. For further information, please contact the Bellringing Captain using the form opposite/below.

https://stpeterinthanet.org.uk/c/bell-ringers/