Hurstpierpoint looking North East
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Hurstpierpoint looking North East |
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The Bells and their history
The VillageThe village name derives from 'Hurst', the Saxon name for a wood, and 'Pierpoint' from the de Pierpoint family who arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066. The settlement was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Throughout the centuries there have been several variants on the name e.g. Herst (11th century); Herstperpunt (14th century) and Perpondesherst (15th century). The original part of the village is chiefly a long street running east-west. Most of the buildings there are 18th century or later but there are more recent additions to the north (on the road to Cuckfield) and to the west. The Bells and their inscriptions
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The Doves Guide entry to Holy Trinity, Hurstpierpoint can be found here | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chiming apparatus
In 1959 the ‘Ellacombe’ chiming apparatus by John Warner, which had been out of action for some years, was overhauled by Taylor’s of Loughborough, the work being done by their bell hanger, Arthur Fidler. Separate hammers, located beneath each of the eight bells, are operated by ropes (a smaller version of the normal ringing ropes) routed so as to terminate in the Ellacombe Frame in the ringing chamber. The wooden frame is situated on the east wall, and the sallies at the end of the ropes, which are used used for chiming, are arranged so as to provide a descending scale from right to left. Sound is generated by pulling sharply on the appropriate sally. Tunes for chiming must fall within a one octave diatonic scale and a library of suitable tunes, written on cards, is maintained in the chamber. Rhythm is important and after some practice any conforming tune can be chimed.
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The clock | ||
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The clock, perhaps unusual in that it has no south-facing dial, was constructed in 1847 by B.L. Vulliamy, a famous London clockmaker who, unfortunately, appears to have provided a less than excellent timepiece. It has a dead beat escapement in a cast iron ‘plate and spacer’ frame. The pendulum gives a 2-second beat. Initially there were no quarter chimes, but these were added in 1874, using a separate frame, when the mechanism was overhauled by Edward Funnell of Brighton. It now consists of 3 trains: going, striking and quarters. The manual winding mechanism was converted to an automatic electric system in 1980; in 1987 the clock hammers, cranks and wires were overhauled. Timekeeping is good, though intervention with coins placed on or removed from the pendulum is sometimes needed! For more details of the clock and its history, see below. |
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History | ||
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The history of the bells has been traced and documented by one of the ringers, John Norris. He has put together a small publication on the subject and this can be downloaded as an Adobe PDF file called The Church Bells of Hurstpierpoint. Its download size is 7.4Mb. You will need the free Adobe Reader or similar to view it; if you don't have either you can download Adobe Reader free here.
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