The following article was originally published in the Winchester History Journal, digital copies of which can be found here.
Bell-ringing has had a unique and distinguished history at Winchester College. The College has had bells since the fourteenth century, when it was founded by William of Wykeham, and in the modern day, many pupils are involved in ringing. This article explores the history of the bells and their towers, their purpose across time, and the stories of the people that have rung them.
Ecclesiastical law required Wykeham to obtain permission from Rome to build a belfry. Pope Boniface IX gave him a license to do so on 18 September 1391. The original tower was completed with a lead spire most probably in 1396. It is unknown where it was, but Wykeham’s bells appear to have continued to ring whilst it was being replaced by Warden Baker between 1473 and 1481. Baker’s tower was rebuilt by William Butterfield from 1862 to 1865 because of structural weakness. This tower still stands.
The College accounts of the late 1390s contain the first mentions of bells: three in the tower and one above the roof. At least one of these bells would have been hung before the first scholars arrived in March 1394. They would have had names, perhaps of a saint, the bell’s founder or even a playful nickname, but these are lost to time. Each bell would have been consecrated by a bishop, with holy water, oil, and incense, either where they were founded or in the College. The bells would only have been hung on a limited arc, unlike in the modern day, where in England they are invariably hung on a full-circle wheel that allows for ringing in sequences. There were also three tintinnabula bought for use during masses in the College: these were possibly “crotal bells” – small handheld bells with an internal rattle – much like “sleigh bells”.
The original bells in the tower would have been used to warn people of upcoming services, those of the “Divine Office” – including matins, mass and evensong. The bells would have been rung alone, in pairs or all together, depending on the importance of the service and the availability of ringers. The ringing for matins would have woken people up for the day’s work. The treble – the lightest bell – would have been rung at the end of the day, at which point people were supposed to say three Hail Marys. In 1281, the Council of Lambeth stated that a bell should be sounded at the moment of consecration in a mass, when the bread was held up, so that people not in church at the time could also bow or genuflect – bend their knee. Evidence of a Christian reacting to a bell whilst working in a vineyard survives from an inquisitorial trial in thirteenth-century Languedoc. In the fifteenth century, a custom developed for a bell to be rung during the singing of the Sanctus as well. The bell above the roof would have had a rope hanging to the chancel floor such that it could be rung during services. Ordinary parish churches used their hand bells to bring the sacrament to the sick, but the clergy of the College would have rarely done such a visitation. Another function of bells was to provide spiritual protection against demonic spirits and storms. After the Black Death, and the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, Wykeham wanted the College to have all the protection it could get, and therefore bells. They symbolised that the foundation was strictly a Christian one.
Each of the current bells has its own story. The treble – the lightest bell – was donated by the mathematician John Desborough Walford in 1866. The second-lightest bell was donated in the 1450s by “William Poorte”, although at the time it was the treble. It was recast in 1659, and like all the other bells, was restored in 1952. During this restoration, the lightest of Wykeham’s original bells had a large crack so was replaced by a new bell. It can now be seen on the floor of Thurbern’s Chantry and is inscribed “AVEGRACIA”, because it was the bell rung in the evening, signalling prayer. The fourth bell is inscribed, “R: PHELPS FECIT 1737”: Richard Phelps was the founder in Whitechapel at the time. The treble and the third bell were also cast in the Whitechapel foundry. The fifth bell is inscribed: “I.W. 1593”: a founder, named John Wallis, worked in Salisbury at the time. The second bell was also founded in Salisbury. The tenor – the heaviest bell – has the most interesting history. The will of Warden Cleve, dated 30 September 1501, provided funds to buy it. It was then recast in 1523, 1566, 1572, 1578, and 1637. The recasting in 1578 was due to a catastrophe: the bell had fallen from its frame through the clock chamber, the bell-ringers’ chamber, and the vaulting of Thurbern’s Chantry, and had landed on Chapel floor. No one was recorded as being hurt. In 1998, a strong cast-iron frame was installed, rather than a timber one to ensure structural integrity.
Bells have always required bell-ringers. However, there is little evidence about them, except in recent years. Some of the ringing has been done mechanically by the clock: it appears that William of Wykeham gave a clock to the College in 1404 that would have rung the bells at certain times. Like with the current clock, there would have been no face. In 1883, the ringers (at this time, adult and paid) went on strike. Around the same time, the first boys learnt how to ring, although this as an activity did not perpetuate. It was only when the adult ringers became permanently unavailable in the Second World War that pupils began to regularly ring the bells, an activity that still takes place to this day.
Bells have been rung for special occasions throughout history. In the medieval period, they would have been rung for major religious festivals. The first mention we have of the College bells being rung for a monarch was in 1661 for Charles II. They were similarly rung for James II in 1687 and Queen Anne in 1705. Because the bell-ringers were paid, the special occasions for which they rang were often recorded: for example, for the victory at Blenheim in 1704. Bells historically have been rung to incite a rebellion: however, there is no evidence that the ringleaders did this during the school rebellions of 1793 and 1818. In 1695, they had been tolled for Queen Mary’s funeral. In 1965, the bells were rung half-muffled in memory of Winston Churchill. In 2018, for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, staff and pupils rang likewise, and in September 2022, they were chimed 96 times and then rung half-muffled, in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Bells were rung in 1686 for the Coronation of James II, and in 1690 for the Coronation of William and Mary. Students will be ringing for the upcoming Coronation.
In summary, bells were an integral part of William of Wykeham’s Christian foundation. They originally had a symbolic as well as practical use – their practical use was mostly for religious reasons. Currently, the bells – which each have a unique history – are rung regularly by pupils and staff, including for special occasions. Without the bells and the bell tower at Winchester College, the soundscape and landscape of the College would be markedly different.
Further reading:
Arnold, John H. and Caroline Goodson, ‘Resounding Community: The History and Meaning of Medieval Church Bells’, Viator, 43 (2012), pp. 99–130.
Chitty, Herbert, ‘The Winchester College Bells and Belfries’, Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society, 9, pt 1 (1920), pp. 37–80.
‘The Church Building: Upper Spaces’, in Nicholas Orme, Going to Church in Medieval England, 2022, pp. 105–9.
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