OS: SO849491
Kempsey, St Mary the Virgin
Kempsey Parish Church is situated down a quiet lane close to the River Severn with great views looking west towards the Malvern Hills. The bells are in the 15th Century tower which, to me, seemed very large for a village church. There is a door in the tower that opens on to a narrow spiral staircase that leads up to the ringing room and then on up to the bells themselves.
I visited for the first time on Thursday 12th April 2007 and was made very welcome. I arrived at 7:30pm which is when I thought the practice was supposed to start but I was mistaken and it didn't start 7:30pm. However, since I was early I was taken up to see the bells themselves. The large tower allowed the 6 bells to be arraged all on one level. They plan to add two more trebles in the near future and there is even room for these additional bells without having to stack them above the existing ones. This was apparent when ringing, the ropes all being similar in length and it was also clear to hear which bell you were ringing. The big square tower means that the ringing room is very spacious.
There were about a dozen people at the practice and they encouraged me to try most of the bells. I rang up on bell #2 and down on bell #5. I did some plain courses of Plain Bob Doubles on bell #3 and also did some call changes and Plain Hunt on bell #4 and the tenor.
This was the first time ringing on an anti-clockwise set of bells.
The Bells
The tower has a peal of 6 bells. The front five bells are inscribed with the date 1686 and were cast by Matthew and Henry Bagley at Chacombe (Near Banbury). The tenor was cast by Thomas Mears in 1821.
There is another bell, that is not part of the peal, which is known as the sanctus bell.
Dove's Guide includes details of the bells at St Mary the Virgin with more information provided by the Worcestershire & Districts Change Ringing Association.
| Bell | Note | Diameter | Weight ? | Inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-2-6 | CANTATE DOMINO CANTICVM NOVVM. 1686 | ||
| 2 | 6-0-19 | FEARE GOD AND HONOVR THE KING. 1686 | ||
| 3 | 6-2-6 | MATTHEW BAGLEY MADE MEE. 1686 | ||
| 4 | 8-2-9 | HENRICVS BAGLEY ME FECIT. 1686 | ||
| 5 | 10-0-23 | WILLIAM WIGFALL AND WILLIAM IONS CHVRCH WARDENS. 1686 | ||
| Tenor | E | 15-0-0 | T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT. 1821 |
Historical information is also available here.
