St. John, Deptford

Details of the Bells

Treble	4-2-4	F	1874	Mears & Stainbank
2	4-3-17	E	1874	Mears & Stainbank
3	5-1-21	D	1874	Mears & Stainbank
4	6-1-10	C	1874	Mears & Stainbank
5	6-3-21	Bb	1874	Mears & Stainbank
6	8-1-7	A	1874	Mears & Stainbank
7	10-0-21	G	1874	Mears & Stainbank
Tenor	14-0-18	F	1874	Mears & Stainbank

Ringing Times

Practice:  None at present.

History

1855	A new tower was designed and built.  The architect was P.C. Harwick Esq.
1874	A new ring of eight bells was cast and hung by Mears and Stainbank.  The first peal on the bells was rung by the 'crack' band of 19th century College Youths.
1888	The Society of Trinity Youths which had originally been established in 1782, and had fallen into abeyance was re-established at a meeting held in the tower of St Alphege, Greenwich on Tuesday April 17th 1888.  Messr's Smith, Dyer and Pead who were the sole surviving members of the original company residing in the neighbourhood elected several new members and officers afterwards elected.  See History.  Several peals were rung and practices held in the name of this Society at St John's.
1890's	When the Kent County Association formed itself into districts, an offer was made to the Trinity Youths to merge their Company into a District which would be called the Trinity Youths District.  The offer was declined, and the Trinity Youths gradually faded away.
1880 - 1939	It seems likely that, from the comprehensive library contained in the tower of the Bell News, and later the Ringing World, there was a regular band between these dates.  An Ellacombe chime mechanism was also installed in the late 1880's by John Warner & Son.
1945 - 1980	It seems as though a local band continued to ring  at Deptford for most of this period too.  For some while in the 1970's the bells were seriously overused for peals; usually of Surprise Major.
1985	The bells having been silent for some time, an attempt was made to teach a local band.  In the event this was very successful, and this band continued for a few years.  After this the Kensington ringers added the tower to their route for a while.
1990's	Very little ringing on the bells
2000	Mr C.J. Cooper inspected the tower and bells.  There was about £15 in the bell fund which was used to buy two new panes of glass for the handbell cabinets.  The handbells, now locked away in a safe away from the tower, the space left was used for storing the many volumes of the Bell News and Ringing World.  The bearings of the bells (which like all Bowells bearings have lasted incredibly well in spite of the lack of maintenance) were 'flushed out'.  The real trouble however is that the lack of maintenance means that the clappers drift from one side of the bell to the other in some cases.
2001	On August 3rd a Quarter Peal of Grandsire Triples was rung on the bells (the first for some time) to mark the 101st birthday of H.M. The Queen Mother.  Mr Cooper rang the 7-8 'double-handed', and the method was Grandsire Triples.
2003	The clappers of 3, 5 & 7 were drifting from one side of the bells to the other, sometimes hitting the wheels during ringing.  This unacceptable state of affairs was rectified by C.J. Cooper, and just in time, as the leathers on these clapper hoops had worn right through.  These leather 'baldricks' were replaced by Mr Cooper, thus saving some very expensive damage which would have occured in time to both the wheels, clapper hoops, and possibly the bells if the clappers had torn out during a ringing session. Pictured is one of the clappers with it's hoop and worn leathers from its clapper and that of another bell.  Note the shiny area inside the hoop which was well worn.  The work carried out by Mr Cooper will clearly last for many years, and is common sense - but this still did not stop individuals of the Kent County Association of Changeringers (wearing the usual 'personal vendetta' hat) from rubbishing the work carried out - then promptly holding a district Meeting there.  We leave it to you, dear reader to work the logic in that!