Old Cumbria Gazetteer |
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| included in:- |
 St Andrew, Dent |
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| St Andrew, Dent: bell ringing | ||
| locality type:- | ring of bells | |
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 BQY29.jpg (taken 1.7.2009)  BQY30.jpg (taken 1.7.2009)  BQY31.jpg (taken 1.7.2009)  BQY32.jpg (taken 1.7.2009) |
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| Wood and iron from the bell frame, broken up during restoration work, 2009. |
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| hearsay:- |
Adam Sedgwick remembered the church tower being built, about 1787? And when the tower
was opened, with the bells ringing:- |
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| "A young man, named Thomas Batty, took me from the nurse's arms, and carried me up
the ladders of the steeple to shew me the bells while they were ringing their merry
peal. However sweet the bells might be at a proper distance, their noise was terrific
and enough to tear the bones of the head asunder when the ear was in the same room
with them. So I kicked with my little feet against the breast of the bearer, and he
soon took me down and restored me to my nirse's arms." |
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| Church bells were used to give notice of 'news'. Adam Sedgwick heard the bells of
Sedbergh, and being told what they were for, got the news of the victory of the Battle
of Waterloo, 1815, from the postman, hurried to Dent and announced the news in the
market place:- |
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| "... I read, at the highest pitch of my voice, the news from the Gazette Extraordinary
to the anxious crowd which pressed around me. After the tumultuous cheers had somewhat
subsided, I said, 'Let us thank God for this great victory, and let the six bells
give us a merry peal.' As I spoke these words an old weather-beaten soldier who stood
under me said, 'It is great news, and it is good news, if it brings us peace. Yes,'
continued the old soldier, 'let the six bells ring merrily, but it has been a fearful
struggle: and how many aching hearts will there be when the list of killed and wounded
becomes known to the mothers, wives and daughters of those who fought and bled for
us! But the news is good, and let the six bells ring merrily.'" |
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| But by the 1860s the bells were silent of 'news', Adam Sedgwick:- |
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| "... when I revisited the home of my early life, the bells were as silent as the grave;
because the inhabitants grudged the little fee which in former times had been paid
to the ringers. ..." |
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| :- |
The 6 bells were cast by William Mears, 1787. They have not been ringable for 100
years. They were taken off to Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 2009, to be renovated, and
will come back to be hung for change ringing. |
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| Dove data:- |
scale:- |
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| A, B, C sharp, D, E, F sharp |
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| First 6 notes; intervals TTSTT; A major. |
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| Unringable |
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| Bells cast by William Mears, 1787. |
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| Dove 2009 www.dove.cccbr.org.uk |
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