Bell ringing at St Bene’t’s

 The church tower dates back to Saxon times and was probably completed around 1033. It is likely that it was built to contain bells from the beginning, however the earliest record of bells in the tower dates to the 13th century when the bell of the church was used to summon students to special lectures and to examinations. The Rector, Alan, complained about this in 1273, but was persuaded by Hugh de Balsham, the Bishop of Ely, to permit the bell to be used 'in a civil and honest way'. A condition was made that the parish clerk should be satisfied for such ringing in the usual manner, and an annual fee of 6s 8d was paid to him. It is likely that there was more than one bell in the tower so it may have possessed a peal of four bells and the tenor was the best bell in town.

For many years after that, St Bene’t's bells were used for summoning to 'ye schooles ... acts, clearums, congregations, lecturs, disses, and such like' according to a receipt for the 6s 8d dated 1624. In 1553 there were 'thre great Belles and one Sanctus Bell', but by 1650 they were 'much out of frame and almost become uselesse'. In 1655 the churchwardens appealed for money to repair the bells. The University gave thirty shillings, with the caveat that it was a free gift, not to be regarded as setting a precedent. Corpus Christi College also gave money. Although the tenor bell is dated 1618, the churchwarden, Alexander Jacklin, was only born in 1605, suggesting that the bell is actually a later recasting of a 1618 Draper bell and perhaps dates from this time. Since 1660, the bells of Great St Mary's exclusively 'have been made use of for Congregations, Clerums, Diput: &c:'. The ring of bells at St Bene’t’s was completed in 1663 when the treble bell of the six was hung. Further work was carried out in 1725 when Thomas Newman of Haddenham was paid £1. 10s. for casting brasses (bearings) for the peal.

Traditionally St Bene’t's is associated with Fabian Stedman, the inventor of English change-ringing in the 17th century. Our Stedman was born in 1631 and was a parish clerk of the church in 1670, following the 1655 restoration, before moving to London in his trade as a printer. The restoration in 1932 was associated with the tercentenary of his birth. A plaque on the north wall of the tower records that the restoration was, 'paid for by the bell-ringers of England in commemoration of the tercentenary of the birth of Fabian Stedman, founder of change ringing'. Modern studies suggest that the Fabian Stedman who founded change-ringing was actually born in Yarkhill, Herefordshire in 1640 and was apprenticed to a London printer in 1656. He became a prominent London ringer and died in 1713.

A barely legible board high in the tower commemorates the ringing in 1785 of a course of 720 Bob, giving the names of the ringers. This was not a full peal, which consists of 5040 changes and takes about three hours to complete. Forty five such peals have been rung on the bells, some rung for pleasure, others to commemorate a special event such as the retirement of a vicar, a wedding or the passing away of a loved one.

In April, Mere's commemoration is held in the church and the bells are specially rung for the service as it is the only one at which the University Bellringer is requested to be present. The Parish Clerk is also requested to be present (although this post no longer exists), and both he and the University Bellringer are paid for attending, their fees being ijd and iijd respectively.

The bells are regularly rung for Sunday morning service (9:00 to 9:50) and sometimes a quarter peal is rung for the evening service. They peal loudly for weddings and half-muffled for funerals. Friday night is practice night, so if you would like to learn how to ring, come along between 7:30 and 9:00 pm.  Occasionally the times of ringing may change, so check for any changes before planning a visit.

Today there are still 6 bells in the tower:

Bell	Note	Weight		Date	Founder
		(cwt)	(Kg)
Tenor	F#	13-3- 3	626	1618	John Draper, Thetford
5th	G#	10-1- 0	465	1610	Richard Holdfeld, Cambridge
4th	A#	8-3- 0	397	1825	William Dobson, Downham Market
3rd	B	6-2- 0	295	1607	Richard Holdfeld
2nd	C#	5-1- 0	238	1588	Unknown
Treble	D#	3-3-14	180	1663	Robert Gurney, Bury St Edmunds

Bell Inscriptions:

On the Treble bell, in addition to the other mis-spellings, the B of ROBARD is reversed and the A inverted. Tonally the 4th is the best bell and the 3rd the worst. They all retain their canons (supporting loops) and are hung on wooden headstocks, swinging on ball bearings. The bell frame, made of wood, probably dates from the mid 17th century, though it was reconstructed and lowered some 10' in the tower during restoration work in 1932. It now sits on a modern concrete ring beam.

 The present tower captain is Jonathan Shanklin, who works for the British Antarctic Survey as a meteorologist. He looks after the bells, teaches learners and runs the ringing out of the University term. During University term the Assistant Master of the Cambridge University Guild of Change Ringers runs the ringing. Catriona Shearer is the current Assistant Master. The CUGCR or "Guild" also runs the ringing at Gt St Mary's at 5:30 on Sunday evenings during term time.  They have a practice at St Andrew's or the Catholic church on Thursday evenings, and there is often a quarter peal during Tuesday lunchtime at St Andrew's.

St Bene't's is in the Cambridge District of the Ely Diocesan Association of bell ringers.  District meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month, and are sometimes held at St Bene't's.

Other local practice nights are Gt St Mary's & Fen Ditton on Monday night, St Edward's & Cherry Hinton on Tuesday night, Trumpington on Wednesday night and Chesterton on Thursday night. Sunday ringing is at 8:30 for Gt St Mary's, 8:50 at Cherry Hinton, 9:30 & 18:00 at Trumpington and 10:30 at St Edwards.  Other nearby churches may also ring on Sunday, although there is no Sunday ringing at the Catholic or St Andrew's.  Occasionally the times of ringing may change, so check for any changes before planning a visit.