The Bells of St Nicolas', Guildford

Bells were first mentioned here in the church inventory of 1552; there were four bells with a tenor weighing 13cwt and a sanctus bell.  Five bells were cast for St Nicolas by Richard Phelps at Whitechapel in 1725, possibly including metal from the old bells.  The octave was completed in 1736, and may have included the bell from St Catherine's Chapel at Artington.

The first peal to have been rung in Guildford, 5040 changes of Plain Bob Major in three hours and five minutes, took place at St Nicolas on 27th December, 1762.

The medieval church was demolished in 1836, with the tower left standing.  The new church decayed rapidly, and this too was taken down with the tower in 1874.  The bells were sent to Taylor's bell foundry in Loughborough, and were found to be in a poor condition.  At a total cost of £658, Taylor's cast a new ring of eight bells with fittings.

Designs for the new St Nicolas church were completed by Ewan Christian and the new bells were hung for ringing by Easter 1880, with the dedication on 14th July, 1880.  The first peal was rung on 27 December, 1881, being Union Triples in three hours and twelve minutes.  This was the first peal to be rung by the Winchester Diocesan Guild.

The bells were augmented to ten in 1894, the two new treble bells being cast at the Whitechapel Bellfoundry at a cost of £62.  Hung by Thomas Blackbourne, the bells were dedicated on 24th March with the first ten bell peal (Grandsire Caters) being rung two days later.

In 1926, the four small bells and the tenor were recast at Loughborough; the other bells, except the ninth, were retuned and were rung to a peal of Grandsire Caters on 2nd January, 1929.

With the development of the new university in Guildford in 1968, the University of Surrey Society of Change Ringers was born in 1972, adopting St Nicolas as their 'home' tower.  University ringers play a part in bell ringing at St Nicolas to the present day and sowed the seeds of fundraising to improve the 'go' of the increasingly difficult to ring bells.

Eventually, sufficient funds were raised, including a significant grant from the Guildford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, for work to proceed on the bells.  The last peal to be rung before work commenced was 5040 changes of Plain Bob Royal on 1st August, 1987.  By 1988, the new bells were rehung with new fittings and headstocks and hung in a new cast iron frame mounted on a steel grillage.  The 'go' of the bells improved significantly; they are now to be heard ringing on many occasions, whether for practice or for service.

Written by Fr. Brian Taylor, 1988.

Particulars of the Bells