Denton, Norfolk - St. Mary
The tower contains three bells weighing approximately 6.5 cwt, 8 cwt and 11.5 cwt tuned to the notes B, G# and F#.
According to L'Estranges 'Church Bells of Norfolk', there was a tradition in the parish that these were three of a ring of six which existed before the fall and subsequent reconstruction of the tower.
Tonally the bells are good, and the two larger bells are artistically very fine indeed. The bell frame is of 18th. or 19th. century design, and was originally intended for bells rung in full circle. In 1935 the bells were rehung in new bearings and fittings by Bowell of Ipswich, Suffolk for swing-chiming through a small arc, which means they are swung by levers rather than by the full wheels.
There were three bells in the tower in 1552 and two of these remain. The treble was probably recast from an earlier bell and is inscribed 'Anno Domini 1616'. She is a product of the Norwich Bell Foundry, which at that time was in the hands of William Brand. The lettering includes capitals from an alphabet in use some two hundred years earlier, and 'blackletter' lower-case characters on a quite neat design.
The two larger bells are from a group cast by an unknown East Anglian founder of the 15th. or early 16th. century, his work is of good quality and his bells bear very beautiful capitals and inscriptions of uncommon variety and scholarship. The Denton bells are excellent examples of his work and are inscribed as follows,
O : MATHEE : ME : ADIUVA : MENTE : ABIMIS : SULLEVA
(Oh Matthew help me lift my mind from the depths)
EDMUNDE : REX : SCANTISSIME: FAC : TECV : SEMPER: VIVERE
(Edmund King most holy, make us to live with you in eternity)
Denton, Norfolk - St. Mary
The tower contains three bells weighing approximately 6.5 cwt, 8 cwt and 11.5 cwt tuned to the notes B, G# and F#.
According to L'Estranges 'Church Bells of Norfolk', there was a tradition in the parish that these were three of a ring of six which existed before the fall and subsequent reconstruction of the tower.
Tonally the bells are good, and the two larger bells are artistically very fine indeed. The bell frame is of 18th. or 19th. century design, and was originally intended for bells rung in full circle. In 1935 the bells were rehung in new bearings and fittings by Bowell of Ipswich, Suffolk for swing-chiming through a small arc, which means they are swung by levers rather than by the full wheels.
There were three bells in the tower in 1552 and two of these remain. The treble was probably recast from an earlier bell and is inscribed 'Anno Domini 1616'. She is a product of the Norwich Bell Foundry, which at that time was in the hands of William Brand. The lettering includes capitals from an alphabet in use some two hundred years earlier, and 'blackletter' lower-case characters on a quite neat design.
The two larger bells are from a group cast by an unknown East Anglian founder of the 15th. or early 16th. century, his work is of good quality and his bells bear very beautiful capitals and inscriptions of uncommon variety and scholarship. The Denton bells are excellent examples of his work and are inscribed as follows,
O : MATHEE : ME : ADIUVA : MENTE : ABIMIS : SULLEVA
(Oh Matthew help me lift my mind from the depths)
EDMUNDE : REX : SCANTISSIME: FAC : TECV : SEMPER: VIVERE
(Edmund King most holy, make us to live with you in eternity)