About the ringing
Sunday ringing at the Cathedral ranges from rounds and
call-changes on 12 up to Stedman Cinques and Cambridge Surprise
Maximus. Despite the early start, Sunday mornings at the Cathedral
provide an ideal opportunity for ringers to take their early steps
in 12-bell ringing and develop their skills on the higher numbers.
Visitors are always welcome.
On most Monday evenings a 12-bell peal is attempted, either of
Stedman Cinques or Maximus in methods ranging from the simple
Surprise through to complex multi-spliced. Mainly comprised of
ringers from Birmingham, these peals are important for the
improvement of individual skills and enhancement of ringing in
general: many cutting-edge developments in ringing have been
premiered at the Cathedral since the start of the evening peals in
1949, and literally hundreds of up-and-coming ringers have
benefitted from the experiences they have gained here. At the
beginning of 2009 the number of peals rung here stood at 1752.
About the bells
St Philip's was built on the hill above the ancient parish
church of St Martin in response to the rapidly expanding population
of early 18th-century Birmingham. In 1708 an act of Parliament was
passed to carve out the separate parish and build the new church;
the design was by Thomas Archer and the Italian Baroque style
building was erected by Joseph Pedley,a stonemason from Warwick,
from 1711 to 1715. The church was consecrated on October 4th 1715,
though it was not until 1725 that the building was completed with
the distinctive tower and cupola. It became the Cathedral of the
new Birmingham Diocese in 1905, and is widely regarded as one of
the finest churches of its period in the country.
From the construction accounts of 1711-15 it is known that a
small bell - possibly weighing about 2cwt - was cast for the church
by Joseph Smith of Edgbaston, and was probably hung in a temporary
belfry until the completion of the tower in 1725; a second larger
bell "of Twenty hundred weight" was purchased in
1725/6.
In 1727, the vestry gave various orders regarding bells for the
church. On 3 April "it was agreed that Joseph Smith shall
receive the mettle from Mr. Bradburne in order to Cast a Bell for
the parish church of St.Phillips in Birmingham to be done with all
expedition". On 13 June it was "ordered that a Frame of
good Timber be erected & fixed in the Steeple of the New Church
for Hanging of Eight Bells, & that the Two Bells already made
be hung there with all convenient speed".
In the absence of further information, it is unclear exactly
what was done and when each stage of the work was completed. What
is clear is that there were rings of bells at the two churches by
March 1737/8 when the vestry ruled that public ringing should take
place at St.Martin's and St.Philip's alternately "as great ill
Conveniences have attended the Ringing of State days & Holydays
at Both Churches" and that by 1750 there were ten bells at
St.Philip's. Joseph Smith was evidently the founder but the dates
of the bells are not known. The sizes of the original ring is also
uncertain, but if 12 cwt of metal was added when the bells were
later recast then this suggests a total weight of 114 cwt and a
tenor of about 26 cwt.
Evidently the first ring of 10 was not satisfactory, for a
vestry resolution of 1750/51 reads:
"Order'd and agreed That the ten Bells now being in the said
Church of St.Philip all of which are untuneable and some unfit for
use, shall be taken down and sold, and ten other new bells shall be
purchased by ye Church wardens and hung up in the said
Church."
This work was entrusted to Thomas Lester of the Whitechapel
foundry in London at a cost £360. The bells were hung on one level
in a wooden frame, the base of which was situated approximately
half way up the large belfry louvre windows. The installation of
the new ring of ten in 1751 was reported in Aris's Birmingham
Gazette of 12 August 1751:
"We hear from Birmingham, that a new Peal of Ten Bells,
(cast by. Mr. Thomas Lester, Bell-Founder in London) have lately
been put up at St.Philip's Church in that Town, by Mr. William
Lawrance, Bell-Hanger at Thame in Oxfordshire; which by all Judges
is thought to be as compleat a Piece of Work as any in
England"
Several bells were subsequently recast, and details of the bells
were described by Tilley & Walters (1937) as follows:
Bell |
Inscription |
Treble |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDINI FECIT 1750 |
2nd |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON FECIT 1751 (border) |
3rd |
AT PROPER TIMES MY VOICE ILL RAISE AND SOUND TO MY SUBSCRIBERS
PRAISE (border) / T :
LESTER FECIT 1750 |
4th |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON FECIT 1751 |
5th |
Pack& Chapman of London Fecit
1772 (border) |
6th |
Messrs Claud Johnson &
George Stubbs Church Wardens 1796. Thomas Mears of London
Fecit (border) |
7th |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDINI FECIT 1750 |
8th |
T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1823 (border) |
9th |
THOMAS LESTER FECIT 1750 |
Tenor |
In Wedlock Bands all Ye Who
Join With Hands your Hearts Unite so shall our tunefull Tongues
Combine to Laud the Nuptial Rite (border) / Pack& Chapman of London Fecit
1772 (border) |
Bell |
Founder & Date
|
Dia. |
Weight
|
Treble |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
29" |
5-3-22 |
2nd |
Thomas Lester, 1751 |
30¼" |
6 cwt |
3rd |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
31¾" |
7-0-10 |
4th |
Thomas Lester, 1751 |
32¾" |
7-2-13 |
5th |
Pack & Chapman, 1772 |
36¼" |
9 cwt |
6th |
Thomas Mears, 1796 |
39" |
11 cwt |
7th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
41¼" |
13-2-18 |
8th |
Thomas Mears II, 1823 |
43½" |
16½ cwt |
9th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
48½" |
20½ cwt |
Tenor |
Pack & Chapman, 1772 |
55¾" |
29 cwt in D-flat |
The canons had been removed from the 2nd and 9th, and others
recast at various dates. Unfortunately, when recast in 1937 Gillett
& Johnson did not record the scrapping weights for these bells.
The 2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and Tenor bells were originally
supplied thus:
2nd |
Thomas Lester, 1751 |
30" |
6-1-14 |
5th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
35½" |
9-0-13 |
6th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
38¼" |
11-0-11 |
8th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
44.5" |
16-2-9 |
9th |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
48¾" |
21-0-13 |
Tenor |
Thomas Lester, 1750 |
54¾" |
29-0-18 |
The frame was described as "oak, but of very slight
construction". Taylors visited the belfry on August 7th 1936
and made the following sketch of the frame. It suggests that it was
originally built for eight bells but later adapted to take ten:

Drawing made by Taylors following a site visit, August 7th
1936.
In 1893 the bells were rehung "with entirely new
fittings" in the old frame by James Barwell of Great Hampton
Street, Birmingham. They had been in a poor condition for some
time, and the restoration was followed by a revival of ringing at
St.Philips until the tower was declared unsafe by the City Surveyor
in 1906. A letter dated March 1907 refers to the use of "the
old ringing chamber" as a choir practice room. Writing in 1908
H.B. Walters noted "the tower is said to be in an unsafe
condition and the bells are no longer used for ringing". He
also described the bells as "very grimy and encrusted with
accumulated deposits which largely obscure the lettering".
In April 1921 the bells were open for ringing "after many
years' silence" - though they had been rung twice by special
permission in 1914 - and new ropes were provided. But there was
little enthusiasm for ringing at St.Philip's as the bells were
thought to be of inferior quality. "It was no pleasure to ring
there", commented one writer in 1937 when the bells were again
described as having been unringable for several years. Notes made
during Taylors' visit in 1936 suggest that the bells were not well
in tune. The Coronation in 1937 provided the impetus for a complete
restoration.
As indicated in the inscription of the present tenor, the
recasting of the bells in 1937 was made possible largely through
the generosity of Sir Charles Hyde, Bart, a newspaper proprietor.
The original bell chamber floor was removed and a new single-tier
cast iron bell frame was situated some ten feet lower in the tower;
the base of which is now level with the bottom of the belfry louvre
windows. Augmentation to twelve in 1949 necessitated the provision
of additional lowside framework above the main frame - at a similar
level to the 1750 ring, and this now contains bells 7, 8 and 9 in
lowside pits. There is an empty pit in the lower frame. The bells
are all fitted with standard ringing fittings including cast iron
stocks and ball bearings. The four trebles have button heads or
flange tops.

Birmingham Cathedral bells at Gillett & Johnson's works,
1937
The report of the augmentation in the Ringing World of 4 March
1949 described the work to the frame and fittings as follows:
"For the sake of audibility, and to allow the ropes to fall
in a good circle, it was decided to hang the seventh, eight and
ninth (of the twelve) in a separate frame, above the existing one,
and to move the smaller bells round so that the new trebles occupy
the pits previously filled by the trebles of the ten. This involved
considerable work - new headstocks and fittings were required for
the bells moved into larger pits"
Taylors rehung bells 7 and 8 and carried out work to stabilise
the upper frame in 1985. In 2004 Whitechapel carried out rehanging
and refurbishment of the frame and fittings, including further
strengthening work to the upper frame and the installation of a
viewing gallery, accessed from the original belfry doorway.
Details of the present bells are as follows:
Bell |
Inscription |
Treble |
(Floral border all
round) / 6672
Waist: THIS RING OF
BELLS / WAS INCREASED TO 12 BY / THE ADDITION OF TWO TREBLES / THE
GIFT OF / FRANK B. YATES, 1949 / 1
Opposite: (Gillett &
Johnston shield) / GILLETT & JOHNSTON / FOUNDERS /
LONDON |
2nd |
(blank) / 6673
Waist: THE GIFT OF /
FRANK B. YATES, 1949 / GEORGE E. FEARN / RINGING MASTER / 2
Opposite: (Gillett &
Johnston shield) / GILLETT & JOHNSTON / FOUNDERS /
LONDON |
3rd |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDINI FECIT 1750 / 5750
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 1 |
4th |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON FECIT 1750 / 5751
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 2 |
5th |
T. LESTER FECIT 1750 / 5752
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / AT PROPER TIMES MY VOICE ILE RAISE : / AND SOUND
TO MY SUBSCRIBERS PRAISE. / 3 |
6th |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON MADE ME 1750 / 5753
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 4 |
7th |
PACK & CHAPMAN OF LONDON FECIT 1772 / 5754
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 5 |
8th |
THOMAS MEARS OF LONDON FECIT / 5755
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / MESSRS CLAUD JOHNSON & GEORGE STUBBS /
CHURCH WARDENS 1796 / 6 |
9th |
THOMAS LESTER OF LONDINI FECIT 1750 / 5756
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 7 |
10th |
T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1823 / 5757
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 8 |
11th |
THOMAS LESTER FECIT 1750 / 5758
Waist: RECAST BY
GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937.
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / 9 |
Tenor |
(Ornamental border all
round) / RECAST BY GILLETT & JOHNSTON, CROYDON, 1937. /
5759
Waist: PACK &
CHAPMAN OF LONDON FECIT 1772 / IN WEDLOCK BANDS ALL YE WHO JOIN
WITH HANDS YOUR HEARTS UNITE / SO SHALL OUR TUNEFUL TONGUES COMBINE
TO LAUD THE NUPTIAL RITE
Opposite: (CFJ
monogram) / THESE BELLS WERE RECAST FOR THE CORONATION / OF
KING GEORGE VI CHIEFLY THROUGH THE / GENEROSITY OF SIR CHARLES HYDE
BART. / 10 |
Bell |
Founder & Date
|
Dia. |
Weight
|
Treble |
Gillett & Johnston, 1949 |
26¾" |
5-3-20 |
2nd |
Gillett & Johnston, 1949 |
27½" |
5-3-16 |
3rd |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
28¼" |
5-3-1½ |
4th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
29½" |
6-0-25 |
5th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
31" |
6-2-9 |
6th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
32" |
6-3-18½ |
7th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
34½" |
8-0-20 |
8th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
37¾" |
10-1-10 |
9th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
41½" |
13-2-26 |
10th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
43½" |
15-3-24 |
11th |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
48½" |
21-3-20 |
Tenor |
Gillett & Johnston, 1937 |
54¾" |
31-0-21 in D |
The bells are widely recognised to be a fine instrument, and are
notable for the clarity of sound in the ringing chamber; fewer
ringers will be aware of the richness of sound which fills the
churchyard. Generations of Birmingham ringers have been justifiably
proud of this magnificent ring of bells.
Besides their liturgical use, the bells of St Philip's play an
important role in the history of change-ringing, and the training
and development of ringers. Since 1949 the Cathedral has been a
regular peal tower - the "long practices" on Thursdays, and more
recently Mondays, have proved a training ground for in excess of
500 accomplished 12-bell ringers in the last 50 years. Thus the
midweek activity is considered to be a finishing-school for 12-bell
ringing, and as such the tradition of teaching excellence in
ringing continues to this day. At the end of 2008 the total number
of peals rung stood at just over 1750.
Acknowledgements
All the historical information and details of the bells in this
document was generously provided by Christopher J Pickford, and is
subject to his copyright.
The image of the Cathedral is taken from the St Martin's Guild
website.
The drawing of the pre-1937 bell frame is reproduced with
permission from Taylors, Eayre & Smith Ltd.
The photograph of the bells at Gillett & Johnson's works in
1937 is reproduced from the St Martin's Guild library.
All other images and sounds, and details about the Cathedral
Ringing are by Michael Wilby.