On 9th June 1991, two hundred and fifty intrepid walkers accompanied the oldest bell in the tower of St Mary’s church, Stansted, Kent, back to Whitechapel Bell Foundry, a distance of 25 miles. The project involved dismantling and removing the existing bells, installing a new bell frame, a ringing gallery, and casting three new bells to create a ring of six. The whole enterprise was a remarkable example of an idea catching hold and the community joining together in a common cause.

Stansted’s church bells
For centuries, three bells hung In the belfry of St. Mary’s church in Stansted, Kent:

• The treble is one of Kent’s three or four oldest church bells. It bears the Latin inscription “My name is John” and was cast by John Walgrave, a London founder, between 1418 and 1440.
• The second bell is more recent. It was recast in 1882 by John Warner and Sons of London.
• The tenor bell, weighing just over six cwt, was cast by a reputable Kentish founder, William Hatch of Ulcombe, in 1656.

Three bells in a church are relatively uncommon, as most change-ringing towers have six or more bells. Many churches with church towers have a single bell for basic tolling. Many rural churches have three bells, often used for simple chiming rather than more complex change ringing.

Why do we have church bells?
It has been claimed that bells are the only loud noise made to God’s glory. They ring joyously at weddings, victories, and celebrations and toll on the occasion of sadness. Above all, bells proclaim that the church is alive. They provide an attractive way of engaging people in the church and, in particular, retain the interest of young people during adolescence. A recent survey showed that more teenagers contact the church through ringing than through any other activity in rural areas.
It is reported that there are at least 5,206 towers with a peal of bells in England, 200 in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and only 76 in the rest of the world (figures for 1982). A ring of bells is a particularly English sound that calls us to worship.

The problems
In 1990, the bells were inspected and appeared sound but required re-tuning and re-turning. The fittings, however, were generally in poor condition. The bells had last been able to be full circle change rung in the mid-1950s by Reg Palmer (Scout assistant), Alf Blakeman (Scoutmaster) and Stan Chapman. In 1989, the three bells were rung, but the wheel on the oldest bell broke. It was only possible to chime two of them and, even then, with great care.

The Proposals
The future of the bells has been discussed many times, and in 1989, it was proposed that the three bells be restored for full circle ringing. In 1990, an anonymous donor pledged £25,000 towards restoring the bells and casting three new ones to provide a six-bell peal. Six bells needed to be supported on one level on a new frame within the belfry. A new belfry floor was necessary for both sound control and maintenance. It was also proposed that a ringing gallery level with the cill of the west window should be installed. Access to the gallery was to be from a new door in the turret staircase to match the existing one.
At the same time, the font (which was positioned centrally at the tower end of the aisle) was to be relocated to what is believed to be its original position by the north door. The west door would also be reopened, and a new path would be laid.

Who would ring the bells?
The anonymous benefactor stipulated that the bells should be rung regularly as a condition of the offer. Accordingly, from July 1990, Sir John Rogers (former High Court Judge) trained five parish members at St George’s, Wrotham. From the beginning of 1991, Lyn Briers trained five members at St Peter and St Paul, Ash. This was all undertaken under the eye of the Bell Captain, Keith Foxwell.

The cost
The works to the bells and frame were to be undertaken by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, established in 1570 and one of only two bell foundries then operating in the UK. The total cost of the project was initially estimated at £45,000. As with many projects on historic buildings, costs rose, and, in the end, the total cost rose to £60,000. Generous help from the Kent County Association of Change Ringers, free transport, and local labour to assist the foundry bell hanger represented a £5,000 saving. £30,000 therefore needed to be raised.

Fundraising
The St Mary’s Church Bells Appeal was launched under Tom Sheldon’s chairmanship to raise the missing £30,000. The membership of the committee was: Alan Bickle, Johneen Bickle, Rev. David Clark, Peter Draper, Keith Foxwell, Melita Gandolfo, Terry Goble, Russell Holmes, Stan Marchant, Nevill Phillips, Jeff Richards, and Tom Sheldon.
The timescale was to complete the works and ring the six bells for the first time at Easter 1992. Many fundraising initiatives took place, the main one being the Bell Pull Walk. Other initiatives included:

• Concert at St George’s, Wrotham. This was a recital by the London Chamber Orchestra, the Principal oboe player of which was Gordon Hunt, who lived at Goodman’s Farm in Stansted.
• Sale of a church painting. This was an 18th-century copy of ‘The Madonna with St. Jerome,’ a painting by Correggio, which Miss Stap had gifted to the church in the early 1950s. It sold at auction for £1,800.
• Grants and donations from the Mercers Company, Stansted fete and gymkhana, and the flower show.
• A Horse Show on the top of Windmill (Stansted) Hill on land belonging to Fred and Sarah Hohler, the profits from which went to the Bells Appeal.
• The sale of merchandise (sweatshirts, etc) raised about £1,300.

The Organising Committee for the Bell Pull consisted of Nevill Phillips, Stanley Maughan, Rodney Sheldon, Alan Ferguson, Tom Sheldon, Peter Webb, Neville Acheson-Gray, Alan Bickle, Alastair Oag, and Pam Sheldon. Kit Maughan, Denise Ross, and Sheila Carter were in charge of catering.

Tom Sheldon takes up the story.
“Whereas the gift from our benefactor was explicitly directed towards the bells and frame, the cost of the associated building works, new ringing gallery and access thereto was down to us. How were we going to do it? Our local fete tends to raise around £1,000, and when we realised that our target figure was the equivalent of 20 fetes, we visibly went weak at the knees imagining the amount of work involved.
At one of our committee meetings, we discussed the free transport of the bells back to the foundry when one of our members suddenly sprang to life. “We will carry the bells to Whitechapel and raise money on the way!” “Nevill, the lightest bell weighs a quarter of a ton, and it’s about 25 miles”, I said. Nevill was undaunted. “That’s no problem; it’s what they would have done in the Middle Ages.” The committee broke up, invigorated on the one hand by a madcap idea but with little doubt in most people’s minds that it was impossible.
The ringers at Wrotham, who were very kindly training up part of our band, were consulted over a pint after a Monday evening bellringing practice. “Not a chance”, said Harry Rayner, whose business is bulk transport. “Why don’t you wheel it to Gravesend, put it on one of my barges, and take it upriver?” Ten miles seemed more sensible than 25. After further discussion, a compromise was reached – we would go the whole way but wheel the bell on a trolley.”

The Bell Pull
On 9 June 1991, 250 intrepid walkers pulled the oldest bell, “John,” the whole 25 miles to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The members of this extensive team found sponsorship to walk all or part of the way and collectively raised the enormous sum of £15,500 towards the target.

Tom Sheldon further commented.
“So it was that the day of our Bell Pull Carnival arrived. A few weeks earlier, John, the name of our treble, the oldest bell in the tower, dating from the early 15th century, had been lowered from the tower by the Kent County Association of Change-ringers and onto a trolley provided by the Royal Engineers at Woolwich. This had been adapted by putting sides on so that coins could be thrown and made to ring the bell en route. The church flower-arranging team had beautifully decorated it.
Dawn broke, and unbelievably, the clouds rolled back after two or three weeks of almost contínual rain. People appeared from all directions, most dressed in mediæval costumes, the remainder in our “Support Your Bells” sweatshirts and T-shirts. There were knights and Lady Godivas on horseback, two goats, a jester on a penny-farthing, numerous monks, varlets, and wenches, and a scale model of our church, towed behind a Land-Rover, with the sound of the bells of Norwich Cathedral emanating from the tower.
After a rendition of mediæval airs by resident Gordon Hunt, the UK’s leading oboe player, and his wife Vicki, the procession was sent on its way by the Bishop of Rochester, the Bishop of Tonbridge, and the Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling. The Bishop of Rochester wielded his crozier across the face of the bell and snapped off the head, much to the amusement of those assembled.
Our route, which we had broken down into six stages, was along the A20 past Brands Hatch to Farningham, where the Mayoress of Sevenoaks, sandwiches and the bells of Saint Peter and Paul greeted us. At this point, the horses were boxed up and returned home. Rob Durrant, a resident with an old London double-decker bus, provided a shuttle service so that walkers could walk all or any part of the way. As it turned out, most people surprised themselves by the distance they could walk, and a girl of 14, a boy of 12 and several old-age pensioners did the entire 25 miles.
From Farningham, it was uphill to the M25, where a police escort arrived on cue to lead us safely under the motorway and to St. Mary’s, Swanley, and breakfast.
We arrived at Sidcup for lunch to be greeted by the Mayor of Bexley and the bells of St. John-the-Evangelist ringing out a welcome. Thirteen miles gone, and there were one or two tell-tale signs of fatigue and blisters, but with our bellies full, we were off again, heading for St. John-the-Baptist, Eltham, and from there to St. James’, Kidbrooke, for tea.
The less interesting middle stages over, we marched across Blackheath and through Greenwich Park to the Thames foot tunnel alongside the Cutty Sark, where we were met by the Mayor of Greenwich, who released the balloons we had been selling along the way. At this point, the church and safety vehicle peeled off through the Blackwall Tunnel to meet us at Island Gardens, the rest of us with the bell going under the Thames via the foot tunnel. Fortunately, both lifts were working. If we had organised our event two months later, we would have discovered that there were no lifts since they are being replaced, and it would have been stairs only, which would have been nigh on impossible with the bell and the trolley. Here, we were joined by a nonagenarian, Margot Firebrace, one of our oldest residents. Margot was born in 1900, the same year the tunnel was built, and was sponsored for every foot of the tunnel, a total of 1,208 feet.
On arriving at Island Gardens, we were greeted by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and more tea, and from there, a fascinating walk through the Isle of Dogs, past Canary Wharf and finally to the Whitechapel Foundry itself, where we arrived somewhat weary but elated at about 7 pm. Alan Hughes from the Foundry had entered into the part magnificently, suitably attired in mediæval costume as he signed an official receipt for our bell with a quill pen.
A total of 250 people took part in the walk, about 60-70 walking the entire distance. There were many others involved in providing food and backup transport. It was a wonderful day, and it achieved its objective of raising over £15,000 through sponsorship and, perhaps more importantly, getting a large section of our community out to do something together for a common cause.

Outcome
Building works commenced in January 1992, and the six bells rang for the first time at a service on Easter Day. The Bishop of Tonbridge dedicated the bells and new ringing gallery on 16th May 1992.
The architect for the project was Tom Sheldon’s uncle, Norman Hodgson, who had previously been employed by English Heritage and had a long association with Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. The builder was Gilbert Butcher Ltd., based in Penshurst, and Tom Sheldon acted as Project Manager.

The Dedication Service was followed by the Bell Ball & Banquet at the Barn at Court House, Stansted. It was a sit-down, medieval-themed barn dance and hog roast supper for 250 guests. This event also raised £2,500 towards the Appeal.

The bells have been rung regularly ever since, under the guidance and organisation of our bell captain, Keith Foxwell.