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The Bells
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Baptisms
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The Church Bells
Winterbourne, Bristol
Tel: 01454 776518,
lesfreeman@talk21.com  
WebMaster: Les Freeman
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Along with some 5,500 other churches in the British Isles, Winterbourne has a set of bells which can be heard ringing for Sunday services, weddings and occasionally for other special events. There are six bells ranging in weight from about 7 cwt for the lightest (the ‘Treble’) to just over a ton for the heaviest (the ‘Tenor’). They were all cast in Chepstow by a bell founder William Evans, whose name appears on the bells together with the date of casting, 1757. He and his father before him cast over 500 bells for churches in the south west and further afield. Surprisingly, their bell foundry was at the top of the hill behind Chepstow castle, rather than close to the river where the bells could more easily be loaded onto boats. It is very unusual for a church to have a complete set of bells all of the same venerable age, over 250 years old. In many cases one or more of the bells would have cracked at some stage and had to be recast.












All the Winterbourne bells are inscribed in a fairly typical manner:

Treble  Glory To God In The Highest      7 ¾ cwt
2  And On Earth Peace       8 ¾ cwt
3  Goodwill Towards Men      10 ¼ cwt
4  Prosperity To This Parish      12 cwt
5  We Were All Cast At Chepstow By Wm Evans (1757)  15 cwt
Tenor  God Preserve Our King & Kingdom & Send Us Peace  21 cwt
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