Christian Significance

The bells are one of the most distinctive features of St.Helen’s, but they cannot be seen from inside the church, although we now have a camera showing them in operation on a Sunday morning. You can see the ropes fastened up near the ceiling of the crossing. They are lowered by a pulley when the bells are about to be rung. Our current ring of eight bells were dedicated in 1974, but there have been bells calling people to worship God here since at least 1548, when there were four. Before many people had clocks, this was a useful way of telling people that the church service was about to begin, and that prayers were being said for them.

If you live in the village, can you hear the bells being rung from your house?

The Wheathampstead bells are particularly difficult (and dangerous) to ring because of the enormous drop of the ropes. Visiting groups of ringers sometimes come to ring here as a challenge. As well as before each Sunday service, the bells are sometimes rung at weddings and other celebrations, such as when Rev. Tom Purchas was installed as rector, as mentioned on the nearby board. Occasionally, a single muffled bell, called a ‘passing bell’ will also be rung at a funeral, with one stoke for each year of the person’s age. The tradition of ringing the passing bell has been carried out for centuries, but it is not commonly practised today. It is referred to in this famous quote from John Donne’s sermon known as ‘No man is an island’.

Can you complete the quote ?

‘ Send not to know for whom the bell tolls. It … 

Architectural / Historical

The Bells are hung high up in the tower but, unusually, they are rung from ground level in this church and so have very long ropes which can be seen looped over the central crossing. Notice the semi rigid splice where the prestretched Terylene rope meets the ringer-friendly hemp. There are eight, sounding an octave, and these are hung so that they can be turned to be just beyond upside-down.  A slight pull on the rope and the bell swings all the way round until it is just beyond upside-down again, the clapper overtaking the bell and making it sound just before it completes the turn.

Bell ringers delight in seeing if they can ring the bells in all the different orders possible, ringing each order only once, and changing positions only with the next bell on each turn. The 5,040 changes on seven bells (the eighth tolling away at the back of each  change) takes about three hours to complete and is called a full peal of Triples. Ringing all the changes on eight bells is called a Major peal and takes over 24 hours to complete! This has been done a few times, though not here; but we were the first to ring one particular method – see the plaque on the NW pillar in the crossing.

And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells…’Holy to the Lord’.

Zechariah 14.20