Tower and Town, August 2018

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What Happened To The Bell?

Alan is a one-time resident of Aldbourne and now lives in Harrogate.

Recently as part of my ongoing research into bells, both sacred and secular, in the Marlborough area, I chanced across an item in the PCC Minutes of St Michael’s, Aldbourne for 1948. This related to an appeal for a second bell by the (then) new Secondary Modern School on Marlborough Common.

It happened that at Aldbourne there was a small bell lying on the floor of the belfry which had once hung in the former School/Chapel building in the nearby hamlet of Snap/Woodsend. The Aldbourne PCC offered to sell this bell to the new school, and appropriate steps were taken for its transfer. However, the Salisbury Diocese was not happy that the bell should be sold but rather that it should be gifted to the new school. This was accepted and the bell was duly transferred. An acknowledgement from the school is on record.

I have one or two friends who were at the school in the early 50s who can remember the bell being in use. However, it seems that the bell disappeared sometime well before the school moved to Chopping Knife Lane in 1965. I have made several enquiries as to the fate of the bell, but as yet to no avail. I am wondering if any readers of Tower and Town have knowledge of what happened to it.

I was a pupil at Marlborough Grammar School from 1957-64 and know the school bell was cast at Aldbourne by James Wells in 1816. I believe this bell is in safe storage.

On another matter, it is now exactly 50 years since the eight bells of St Peter’s Church were sold as part of a scheme to augment St Mary’s bells to eight. I have memories of ringing at St Peter’s when ringing resumed briefly in the 60s; the bells were not very tuneful and the church was to be made redundant. The team was under the leadership of a College pupil, Richard Inglis. At that time St Mary’s had a distinguished Curate ringer in the person of the late Roger Keeley, and of course, the band at St Mary’s was under the inspirational leadership of Alf (recently retired Town Crier) Johnson. When St Peter’s bells were installed in 1831, the two smallest bells were the gift of the vicar, Rev. E. Williams. In celebration of the occasion he gave a lavish Christmas Dinner for the parishioners at nearby Bridewell Street.

If you know what happened to the Secondary Modern School’s bell please contact Alan: ( Mobile – 07552442566. : popplechurch@gmail.com)

Alan Keen