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The Church Bells
History
The tower as modified by the Normans was certainly designed
to house bells, though nothing precise is known of them prior
to 1770 when a new ring of six bells was cast for the church
by Thomas Bilbie of Cullompton. The fourth bell of this ring
of six was recast by Thomas Mears of Whitechapel in 1843. This
bell carries the somewhat poignant inscription "O Sea Spare
Me", perhaps a reference to the severe erosion of the foreshore
and cliffs near the church. In 1911 the bells where completely
rehung in a new oak frame and augmented to eight by Warner &
Co. of London. In 1953 the whole ring of eight were recast by
John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough and rehung in the old 1911
frame, the bells being dedicated by the Bishop of Sherborne on
16th September 1953.
In 1988 the ring was augmented to ten with the addition of
two smaller bells cast at The Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Most
unusually the frame for these two bells was designed and constructed
and the bells hung by members of the local band of ringers. The
services of a Sea King helicopter from RNAS Culdrose were gratefully
accepted for the job of lifting the two bells onto the tower
roof ready for lowering into their new frame. The ten bells are
widely known for their quality and ringers come from all over
the country and beyond to ring them. In 1995 the longest peal
of Surprise Royal ever attempted on Church bells anywhere in
the world was rung at Lyme, consisting of 20,000 changes and
taking almost twelve hours to ring. The same band rang throughout
without any outside assistance or breaks of any kind, thus making
the peal a real feat of endurance. |
