Bell Ringing at Dover, Kent

This is an excerpt of a quarter peal of Holy Trinity Bob Triples, rung on Wednesday the 19th of June 2024. Details here: https://bellboard.uk/view.php?id=1747698

As most will know, Dover is a large port town on the south eastern cost of England, at the English Channel's narrowest part. There has been a settlement here for thousands of years and it was once an important Roman town. The town still has a Roman lighthouse up at the castle, which acted as the free standing bell tower for St Mary in Casto which once had a 37cwt ring of six bells!

St Mary's Church sits in the valley between the Western and Eastern Heights of Dover, and is a very interesting structure. It stands on the site of the Roman baths, with a Saxon structure being mentioned in the Domesday Book. The current building is mostly Victorian, but still incorporates an 11th century Norman tower. The medieval church was massively rebuilt between 1843 and 1844 by architects JC and C Buckler in the Early English style, with new aisles and a new clerestory added. The Norman piers and arches in the nave were taken down, marked and reassembled during this process. Only the tower remained mostly untouched.

The intricately designed tower contains a 15-2-9cwt ring of eight bells in Eb. They are an almost complete Samuel Knight eight, with the treble having been recast by John Warner and Sons. The medieval bells of the tower were recast in 1724 by Samuel Knight of Whitechapel, London. The bells survived as an intact octave until 1898 when the tower was under restoration. At the same time, the bells were rehung by Warner's and had their cannons removed. During that time the treble was damaged and needed recasting. The bells were once again rehung in 1947 by Mears and Stainbank, and then again in 2002 by Whites of Appleton upon which they were retuned as well, turning them into quite a fantastic old style eight. The ringing chamber was lowered to a gallery overlooking the nave of the church, with the original being preserved above. Overall they are a very fine eight, and definitely one I would recommend for an outing or quarter peal attempt.