New bells for Rochdale Parish Church

Date published: 05 November 2023

The Parish Church of St Chad’s is to replace its current ring of eight bells with a ring of 10 bells.

The bells of the church have rung over the town for centuries, for joyous and sorrowful occasions, ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, for national and civic events, and are rung every Sunday morning as part of the church service.

There have been bells at Rochdale Parish Church since the tower was first built in the 1500s: at that time, there were ‘fyve grete bells’. These were replaced in 1752 by a ring of six bells, cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester. Two additional bells were added in 1787 and the tenor bell was recast in 1812 to form the current peal of bells.

St Chad’s bells are rung full circle, a method of ringing bells which has been around in England since the 1500s. Ringing bells full circle is very different from ringing bells in other parts of the world.

However, time has taken its toll on the current bells, their fittings and bell frame which all now need replacing. Bell hanging firms estimate the existing bell frame has a lifespan of three to five years. If nothing is done, the bells at St Chad’s will fall silent after 500 years of ringing.

A ring of eight bells has been donated to St Chad’s from the Manchester Diocese. These bells previously rang out over Oldham at St Mark’s Parish Church in Glodwick. They were cast by Mears and Stainbank at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1937.

Two new bells will be added to this ring of eight to bring them to 10. The cost of these new bells was bequeathed to Rochdale Parish Church by John P Partington, the Tower Captain at St Luke’s Heywood who restored the bells there back in the 1970s.

Reverend Anne Gilbert, Vicar of St Chad’s, said: “John was a well-known and respected ringer not only in Rochdale but throughout the country and was a great supporter of ringing at St Chad’s in Rochdale. It had long been John’s wish that Rochdale should have a ring of 10 bells. Sadly, this did not happen in his lifetime, but we can now make it happen now.”

The new bells are expected to be easier to ring than the current eight bells, with the six lighter ones “ideal for training future ringers.” The old bells have been bought by the Keltek Trust, a charity that finds homes for redundant and surplus bells.

Work is due to begin in the first week in December when the old bells will be removed from the tower, meaning there will be no Christmas bells ringing out this year. The new bells will be installed and ringing out again over the town next summer. Funds have been raised for this project through grants and donations.

Reverend Gilbert added: “We still have some money to raise so please consider donating to the Rochdale Parish Church Bell Appeal.

“The fittings for the bells need replacing so perhaps you could sponsor a new rope (£100 each), clapper (£250 each), wheel (£500 each) or headstock (£750 each). Alternatively, £1,600 would make one bell ring.

“Any amount small or large will be most welcome to ensure the bells continue to ring over Rochdale for centuries to come.

“If everyone in Rochdale donated just one pound, we would reach our target in no time. All donations will be used to ensure that bells continue to ring over Rochdale for centuries to come.”

Donations can be made by:

• by cheque payable to Rochdale Parish Church and have Bell Appeal on the reverse, or
• online - Account name: Rochdale Parish Church Sort code: 05-07-22 Account no: 24990011 Payment reference: Bell Project

For more information about the project, please contact the tower captain, Debra Holmes or the project manager, Andrew Webster by emailing Rochdalebells@gmail.com.