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Preserve and Renew: Elmley Castle Bells
We done it!
The National Heritage Lottery has awarded Elmley Castle £119,555.00 to complete this project.
A big thank to the National Heritage Lottery and to all those who have supported this worthy cause to provide Elmley Castle Church with a new ring of bells.
The Elmley Castle Bell Restoration Project had been made possible with a National Heritage Lottery Fund Grant
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The new frame has arrived!
Elmley's new frame has now been delivered from the Loughborough Foundry. Unloading is a relatively easy process as the west end tower leads directly onto a footpath and then onto the road. The picture on the right shows the hauliers lorry backed up close to David's Gate, although not quite close enough for the crane to pop items over.
Most of the frame has now been installed in the tower. Next will be the frame sides and then a specially constructed A frame that will take the old redundant bells for preservation.
Cast iron frame sides
With the belfry floor now gone, this is a view of the tower looking up
A view of the clock room and belfry with the belfry floor removed. One of the four wooden trestle support frames against the south wall that once supported the belfry floor.
ELMLEY BELLS NOW CAST AND IN THEIR NEW FRAME
Works have now progressed to the fitting out of Elmley's bells and frame in Taylor's foundry.
The four old bells now have their own specially fabricated support beam and will be located on the northside of the tower. This support beam is directly connected to the the secondary beams through an A frame construction which in turn spreads the load across the tower walls. The full circle ringing bells are housed in their own frame with a traditional eight bell layout.
Elmley tower is quite roomy being approximately 20 x 15 feet. This has allowed the old and new bells to be fitted on one level. The westside of the tower has an additional secondary beam allowing for two trebles to be fitted in the future, and eventually giving Elmley a ring of eight bells.
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The old bells in their new A frame
The complete installation taken from a high vantage point in the foundry, roof trusses included.
The preserved bells are located on the northside of the frame. All preserved and full circle ringing bells will have electromagnetic hammers fitted to them. The additional secondary beam can be seen on westside of the frame. This will house the two additional trebles when funds allow.
The band in order from left to right
With thanks to the band for supporting The Elmley Castle Bell Project
Peal rung at Little Comberton
On Sunday 11th January 2026 a peal of 5040 changes was rung to acknowledge the National Heritage Lottery Grant given to The Elmley Castle bell restoration Project.
Peals on these bells are challenging to ring due to the instability of the oak frame. This causes excessive tower sway and makes the bells' swing unpredictable due to them not reaching their full swing potential. The bells are also out of tune. Little Comberton suffers with the same problems that Elmley once had and it is hoped in the not too distant future to restore these bells also.
With thanks to the National Lottery players
The peal details and ringers were:
Worcestershire & Districts Association
Little Comberton, Worcestershire
St Peter
Sunday, 11 January 2026 in 2h 52 (13–1–18 in G)
5040Minor(9m)
London S; Carlisle S; Kent TB; St Clements CB, Double Oxford B; Beverley, Surfleet S; Norwich S; Cambridge S
1 Ashley C Fortey
2 Christopher B Hartley
3 Paul R Smith
4 Craig P Homewood
5 Darran Ricks(C)
6 Christopher J Pickford
In support of The Elmley Castle Bell Restoration Project
with thanks to the National Heritage Lottery Players.
St Eadburgha' s Church
Tis the Feast of St Thomas
On Sunday 21st December six keen but bleary eyed bell ringers arose early (6am!) to ring out the bells of Broadway Church St Eadburgha's for The Feast of St Thomas.
This tradition is still alive and well around the North Cotswold area where the bells of Willersey, Ebrington and Chipping Campden can be heard on this day.
Ringing forthe Feast of St Thomas will be revived at Elmley when our new ring of bells are finally installed.
The ringing of the bells on St. Thomas's Day, also known as the "Doleing Day," traditionally takes place around 6:00 a.m.. Historically, this served several purposes:
- A signal to prepare for Christmas: The sound prompted villagers to start their final preparations for the upcoming Christmas festivities.
- A sign for alms-giving: It was a signal that alms (charitable donations), often in the form of a loaf of bread, should be given to the poor in the community.
Elmley Castle Bell Casting Tour
On November 6th a party of 20 people drawn from parishioners, bell ringers and volunteers journeyed to Loughborough to witness the fascination and magical creation of Elmley’s new bells at John Taylor and Company bell foundry.
The present company is part of a line of bell founders dating back to Johannes de Stafford in the 14th century, who was also a mayor of Leicester. The Taylor family became involved in 1784 with Robert Taylor (1759–1830), and a foundry was established in Loughborough in 1839 by his son John Taylor (1797–1858), moving to the current site in 1859. The Taylors also had foundries in Oxford and St Neots between 1786 and 1854.
Before the bell casting we were treated to a tour of the foundry and museum. The museum houses many old bells, some dating from the 13th century. Great fun was had by tapping different bells with a mallet to hear how they sounded. The bell ringers among us were also treated to a ring on the foundry’s own peal of bells.
Starting with a short history of the company and bell founding techniques, the tour guide led us around the foundry. But this was no ordinary tour, what you see is a working foundry with all the smells and noises created through various processes.
Many specialised crafts and techniques are required to produce a ring of bells. Carpenters, metal workers, bell tuners and of course bell casting were just some of the skills in action during the tour.
The crowning moment of the day came with a call to the group that the molten bell metal had reached the right temperature of about 1200C. To recognise their sacred duty, a moment of consecration was given by Katryn – only then was the molten metal carefully poured from the ladle and into the casting molds. One of Elmley’s new bells will bear this inscription:
‘Tell out my soul the greatness of the lord
To children’s children and forevermore!’
A BIG DAY FOR ELMLEY BELLS
ON THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6TH THE ELMLEY CASTLE BELL PROJECT WILL HAVE REACHED AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE A GROUP OF VILLAGERS, PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCILLORS AND BELL RINGERS WILL WITNESS THE CASTING OF THREE NEW BELLS FOR ELMLEY
PICTURES OF THIS EVENT TO FOLLOW!
Elmley's bells on their way to Loughborough
All of Elmley's bells have now been lowered from the tower and safely made their way to Taylor's Foundry. The Druce bell cast in 2011 has also been removed from its display in the church having been sat at the west end of the nave for the last 14 years. The old oak frame has also been removed in preparation for the new steel and cast iron frame.
Work has now started on dismantling Elmley's bells
On Wednesday 27th five volunteers started work on dismantling the bells ready for Taylor's to take out the bells and frame. Thanks to Nick, Matthew, Ray and Christina for the hard work.
The last ring on Elmley Castle's bell
On 25th August bank holiday Monday 7 - 8.30pm Elmley tower will be open for general ringing and all are welcome. This will be an opportunity for those who have not rung at Elmley before and those who just want to have a final ring on the bells before they are taken out on 1st September.
Please do join us for this last ring.
The last peal for Elmley Castle bells has now been successfully rung
Elmley's old bells will now go into semi-retirement and will be chimed only as will Elmley's oldest bell cast in 1420. Elmley's 1420 bell started life as a swing chime bell. The bell would have been swung in a low arch and at this time would probably had an additional two bells to make a ring of three. The additional old bells have long since been lost, most probably through recasting due to them having become cracked at some point. Through 600 long years of life its full circle ringing duties have now come to an end and will begin a new chapter of its life by static chiming only.
The band bell ringers who took part in the peal
Worcestershire & Districts Association
St Mary
Friday, 22 August 2025 in 3h 7 (17 in E)
5040Minor(5m)
1 x Norwich S, Beverley S, Surfleet S. 2 x Cambridge S, Plain Bob.
1Richard Lewis-Skeath
2Alex J Parsons
3Christopher B Hartley
4Stephen Bowley
5Craig P Homewood(C)
6Paul R Smith
The final Peal on the bells before their restoration
Learn to ring on Elmley Castle's new bells
If you are interested in learning to ring bells at Elmley Castle please leave your details below
A new ring of bells for Elmley Castle
Elmley Castle has now secured a grant from the National Heritage lottery for our Bell Restoration project. We'll keep you updated as work progresses.
Taylor's Bell Foundry will be casting three new bells for Elmley. Taylor's are world famous for their bells. Worcester Cathedral, St Pauls Cathedral and York minster have all been cast by Taylor's. Check out their website: taylorbells.co.uk
Come and be part of history and experience a flavour of Tudor England at Elmley Castle Sunday 29th June
450 years has past since Queen Elizabeth I visited Elmley Castle on one of her summer progresses. This memorable event lives on in the minds of Elmley castle's inhabitants, and such is the link with this great event, the village pub is named in Elizabeth's honour. To celebrate this event the village is holding a great day of Tudor pageantry and merriment.
Queen Elizabeth I's progresses were summer tours through England, allowing her to connect with her people and maintain a sense of royal authority, while also providing hosts with opportunities to display their wealth and influence. These journeys involved traveling with a large court, sometimes hundreds of people and thousands of horses, and required meticulous planning to ensure the Queen's safety and comfort.
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Relive the magic of the Great British rock band Queen Saturday 28th 6pm - 11.30pm as part of the 450 anniversary celebrations of Queen Elizabeth I's visit in to the village in 1575
A great evening of music for only £25
Get your ticket now!
Learn to ring
Bell ringing is a team activity that stimulates the brain and helps keep you fit (especially climbing some of those tower steps!) and it also makes a glorious sound!
Ringers come from all walks of life and generally range in age from ten to those in their eighties. Many different societies have been formed, bringing together people from the same geographies or similar interests – all of them being pretty much an excuse to do more ringing!
“When I’m ringing I forget all the tensions and frustrations of the day. Even better: I couldn’t wish for a nicer group of friends!”
Register using our Learnto Ring form to find a tower near you!
Could I become a ringer?
“Almost anyone can ring. And you can learn to the level you are personally happy with. Ringers might be unmusical, might be bad at maths, might not be very strong physically, and some might have mental and/or physical disabilities of some sort – it is really such an inclusive activity!”
Ringing is well within the capabilities of most people. The initial learning takes several weeks, after which you can begin to ring with the rest of the band (that’s what we call a team of people who ring together). Most ringers practise once or twice a week and ring before or after church service on Sunday.
Ringers come from all walks of life, and learn at different ages. A recent young (teenage) ringer says this about ringing: “Over the past 2-3 years I have learned a lot, and it has helped me improve my social skills and confidence as well as team integration. Bell ringing also has opened up the opportunity of going to new and exciting places which I always look forward to. I would highly recommend it to anyone!”
Why learn to ring?
“Learning to ring is much like learning to play any musical instrument – it takes practice and there are countless levels of skill to explore”
- Make friends around the world
- Develop a lifelong learning experience
- Maintain a traditional skill
- Provide a service to the church and the general community, as well as for those getting married, celebrating another special occasion, and saying goodbye to a loved one in a very special way
- Take part in a team activity
- Share stories and receive support (not just about ringing) and friendship in the pub after practice
- Have a great mental workout
- Have the opportunity to visit amazing places
- Use this new skill to complete part of your Duke of Edinburgh award, or to fundraise for a cause you believe in
How do I get involved?
Listen for the bells at a church near you or register on ourLearn to Ringwebsite, so we can find a tower in your area. Then go along and see what ringing is all about.
Beware! Once you’ve got the bug, you may find it hard to give up:
“I learnt to ring over forty years ago and I still get the same buzz that I did when I first started.”
“I have been ringing just a few years, and it’s obsessive for me! But for others it is about ringing once a week, and they are really happy with that.”
To find out more about bell ringing visit the Central Council Of Church Bell Ringers: https://cccbr.org.uk
See Our Progress
- Climbing the Bell Tower !
The actual Appeal-o-Thon can be seen in St.Mary's Church.
Very many thanks to Martin Buckley for designing and constructing it.
Preserving Our Church Bells
A new ring for Elmley
With the successful Heritage Lottery Grant, we can now start the process of dismantling the wheels, stays, Sliders and clappers ready for Taylor's Bell Foundry staff to remove the old bells and belfry floor.
Approach
Fundraising Strategy
The fundraising project at St. Mary's Church, Elmley Castle is making steady progress in preserving the bells and replacing the old oak frame with a new steel frame.
We have devised a project that retains historic features where possible alongside tried and tested modern materials whch will be essential to making the project successful.
Planning
Fundraising Project Roadmap
Our roadmap for the Fundraising Project outlines the steps to achieve our goals of preserving four old bells and casting three new bells, as well as replacing the old oak frame with a new steel frame, all based in St. Mary's Church, Elmley Castle.
1
Planning Phase
This is our current stage
A detailed project plan has been submitted and has been reviewed by the Church authorities and Historic England and is awaiting final approval
2
Awareness Campaign
Through an awareness campaign, we aim to inform the community about the importance of preserving the four old bells and casting three new bells.
3
Fundraising Events
Organizing various fundraising events will help generate the necessary funds to support the goal of replacing the old oak frame with a new steel frame.
4
Bell Preservation
Skilled professionals will be engaged to preserve the four old bells, ensuring their longevity and historical value.
5
Casting and Framing
New bells will be cast and a new steel frame will be installed, enhancing the sound quality and durability at St. Mary's Church in Elmley Castle.
Updates and Downloads
Preserving Historic Bells
Detailed Report of the Works Required
Updates
You can also find more information about the project in the Church
Restoring Our Heritage
Statement of Need to Historic England
Maintaining Tradition
History and Provenance of Our Bells
Elmley Castle bell ringers at the home tower. Christmas 2023
News & Resources
Updates & Info
Fundraising Events
We are planning a series of fundraising events and activities over the coming months. Please get involved.
Donations have now closed
We have now raised the funds we need through a Heritage Lottery Grant and kind donations given by members of the public
A big thank you to you all!
further project updates will be posted in due course