Clopton Bells Ring Again
My voluntary work in helping to advise parishes about financing work on their church bells puts me in touch with many interesting people and with many fascinating parishes, many of them small villages, but almost always with an interesting past and present. None could be more fascinating than Clopton, situated about eight miles north of Ipswich in glorious Suffolk countryside. The well-butressed church tower, about eighty feet in height, is a south porch tower just like those in some nearby villages; one wonders whether the same architect might have been involved. There are twenty-two such towers in Suffolk and this is one of the largest.
An extremely large, scattered village with a population of about 350 souls, the church of St Mary stands near what was once the centre of the community, with two or three houses and Clopton Manor close by and, when seen from the air, the site of the former village can be spotted in the fields behind the church. The River Lark (not to be confused with the river of the same name in the north of the county) was once navigable between Clopton and the River Deben and there is still a field named Clopton Dock. In spite of there being no real village centre, no pub and no school, there certainly is community spirit; in the 1990s money was raised to provide a new Village Hall and recently £90,000 was raised to repair the massive church tower. All that remained was to restore the ring of six bells.
In the mid sixteenth century four bells were recorded at St Mary’s, but by 1788 there were five bells. That year they were re-cast at Whitechapel Bell Foundry, then run by the Mears family, and a tenor bell was added. It weighed twelve cwt. In 1880 the third bell had (presumably) become cracked and it was re-cast by Messrs Moore, Holmes & Mackenzie at their bell foundry at Redenhall, near Harleston, Norfolk. By the 1980s the bells were becoming difficult to ring, but Suffolk ringers managed to ring a peal on them in 1989. A big problem was that the joints of the old timber bell frame had worn badly, allowing it to move. In doing so, it was acting as a battering ram to the tower walls and they had cracked.
About 2011 thoughts turned to putting the bells in order and reports and estimates were obtained. The work was put out to Nicholson Engineering of Bridport, Dorset. On removing the bells, three of them were found to be cracked by rusting and subsequent expansion of the cast-in clapper staples; they had to be welded by Soundweld, near Newmarket. All six bells were re-tuned by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and Andrew Nicholson hung them in a new metal frame. This has been placed lower down in the tower so as to reduce stress on the structure. There being no windows in the new ringing chamber, a metal grating, open to the ground floor below, provides ventilation. The new position of the installation, somewhat below the level of the louvres, has reduced the noise level in the vicinity of the church. It does mean, though, that the bells may be more difficult to hear further away from the church. But then the opposite boundary of the parish is about three miles to the north! They would need to be really heavy bells for their sound to carry that far! High in the tower the old bell frame has had to be preserved so that its huge pieces of timber can be admired for generations to come.
The dedication of the restored bells was carried out by the Right Reverend John Waine, a retired former Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich who now lives in nearby Grundisburgh. The service was taken by the Rev Clare Sanders, parish priest. There was a large congregation that almost filled the ancient church to hear Bishop John, who had no notes, speak of thanksgiving and dedication and how it applied to all of us. He thanked those who had worked so hard to raise the money for the bells – some £109,000. In total, both tower and bells had cost £199,000, a huge amount for Doris Main and her team to have to raise, and we are grateful to them. Now there is the task of trying to recruit and train ringers to ring at Clopton. Some photographs of the dedication day are on the Clopton Church website <
Whilst the church is in a very rural situation, it is beautifully decorated and is clearly well cared for and loved. The bats like it too - on our first visit the pews were covered with plastic sheets. In a corner are two Stars and Stripes flags; the wartime Clopton & Debach Airfield, built in 1942 – 43, was home to the 493rd Bomb Group; the first mission of its B24 Liberator bombers was on Tuesday 6th June, 1944, D-Day. The control tower still stands. Whilst I suspect that some of the three runways still remain, most of the land has now been returned to farming.
Lastly a point of interest. Whilst Clopton’s bells were being restored, a bride had asked if the bells might be rung for her wedding. The answer, unfortunately, had to be “Sorry, but no.” However, Burgh parish church, with its six bells, is only a quarter of a mile down the road and the bells can be heard from Clopton Church. Thus, at the appropriate time,and with the help of a mobile phone call, Burgh bells rang out for the Clopton wedding!
John Barnes