The Spurriergate bells

When the first ring of twelve were removed from York Minster in 1765 (see the history section of this website), the five smallest were sold to St Michael's Church, Spurriergate (now The Spurriergate Centre). A treble was added to make six at that time, and as such they remain. Their details and history is given below. The information is adapted from David Bryant's forthcoming book on the bells of York.

The Spurriergate Centre

Details and history of the bells

The church

A church existed on the site of St Michael’s before the Conquest, and the earliest documentary reference dates from 1088-93. The oldest parts of the present structure are the nave arcades, which are of circa 1180. The aisles of this period would have been narrower than the present aisles, but the specific areal extent of the church at this time is not clear. The north aisle was widened in the fourteenth century, possibly in connection with the foundation of a chantry in 1336-7. The church was remodelled in the fifteenth century, when the arcades were heightened, a clerestory was added, the south aisle was widened and an embraced western tower was constructed. A bequest of 1464-5 was made for the provision of new bells, which suggests that the tower was completed at about this time.

In 1821 the east and south walls were rebuilt and set back by seven feet and two feet four inches respectively to allow for the widening of Spurriergate and Low Ousegate. The west wall of the south aisle was rebuilt as part of the same campaign, and it was possibly also at this time that the nave clerestory was removed. In 1868 the north wall was partially rebuilt and two new windows were inserted: the architects for this work were J.B. and W. Atkinson. In 1931, an Archbishop's Commission recommended that the church should be demolished, the site sold, and all features of historical or architectural interest preserved, wherever possible, in other churches. Fortunately, this recommendation was not acted upon. In 1936 the parish was united with that of St Mary, Castlegate, which was declared redundant in 1960.

As the twentieth century progressed the tower of St Michael’s leaned further and further to the west, and eventually became unsafe. In consequence, the top twenty-five feet were removed in 1966-7. What was left was covered with a concrete cap, surmounted by battlements and a shingled pyramidal rood. The clock face from the tower was moved on to the south aisle wall, and the associated movement (which was reconstructed by G.J.F. Newey of York in 1896 and subsequently received attention from R. Newey) was set up within the western end of the aisle. The shortening of the tower was undertaken as part of a major restoration of the church carried out in 1965-9 under the direction of George Pace.

In 1986 the church was declared redundant, with the parish being incorporated into that of All Saints, Pavement. Subsequently, in 1989, St Michael’s was converted into a café, fair trade shop and Christian centre run under the auspices of another York church, St Michael-le-Belfrey. The conversion was carried out to the designs of local architect Ron Sims, and involved the construction of a mezzanine floor (from which the bells are now rung) in the north aisle and tower. It is an excellent example of a sympathetic conversion of an historic church.

Details of the Bells

The tower contains a ring of six bells and a curfew bell, as follows:

Bell	Founder	Date	Diameter	Weight
Treble	George Dalton, York	1765	23 3/16"	2-1-20
2nd	Samuel Smith I, York	1681	24 3/16"	2-2-22
3rd	Samuel Smith I, York	1681	26 5/16"	3-2-10
4th	Samuel Smith I, York	1681	28 2/8"	4-0-21
5th	Samuel Smith I, York	1681	31 5/16"	5-2-4
Tenor	Thomas Innocent, York and Leicester	1466	35 1/16"	8-2-14 in A
Curfew Bell	Taylor, Lougborough	1986	25 7/8"	3-3-14 in E

Inscriptions

Treble

inscription band: LEWIS (floral border) ETTII (floral border) RECTOR (floral border) (cartouche inscribed ‘DALTON / YORK’) (floral border)
upper waist: R:DAVIES (floral border) T:HESSEY (floral border) C:H (floral border) WARDENS (floral border) 1765 (floral border)

2nd

inscription band: DEO (floral border) ET (floral border) REGI (floral border) SACRVM (floral border) 1681 (floral border)
upper waist: (floral border) (bell) (cartouche bearing 'SS / Ebor') (bell) (floral border) (cartouche bearing 'SS / Ebor')

3rd

inscription band: IVBILATE (floral border) DOMINO (floral border) PSAL (floral border) LXVI (floral border) 1681 (floral border)
upper waist: (floral border) (bell) (cartouche bearing 'SS / Ebor') (bell)

4th

inscription band: EXVLTATE (floral border) DEO (floral border) PSAL (floral border) LXXXI (floral border) 1681 (floral border)
upper waist: (border of bells and cartouches bearing 'SS / Ebor', amongst foliage)

5th

inscription band: GLORIA (floral border) IN (floral border) EXCELSIS (floral border) DEO (floral border) 1681 (floral border)
upper waist: (border of bells and cartouches bearing 'SS / Ebor', amongst foliage)

Tenor

inscription band: SUM (3 lions stamp) ROSA PULSATA (3 lions stamp) MUNDI MARIA (3 lions stamp) VOCATA
(Each of the initial capitals is crowned. The stamp is three lions passant guard - two crowned and one)

Curfew Bell

crown: (a) 433 MADE IN ENGLAND / (b) 161 MADE IN ENGLAND
waist: (a) (Taylor mark in wreath) / 1986

The five smaller bells of the ring are all from the post-Reformation York foundry: the treble is by George Dalton, and numbers two to five by Samuel Smith I. The tenor is by Thomas Innocent of York and Leicester, and was cast in 1466.

The curfew bell is a canonless casting and the ringing bells all retain their canons, which are scalloped and of traditional layout. The treble has a block argent, and has lost one of its single canons. Prior to 1986 the only bell which had received any sort of tuning was the 4th which has been roughly skirted at some time, probably in 1681. In 1986 Taylor's quarter-turned and machine-tuned all of the bells. The tuning on the treble is on the inside of the lip only, which suggests that prior to tuning it was sharp with respect to the other bells. The curfew bell, new in 1986, is machine tuned with true harmonics.

All of the fittings are by Taylor's and of 1986. Those to the ring comprise cast iron hoop-type canon retaining headstocks, ball bearings, traditional wheels, stays and sliders and SG clappers on independent staples. The bells are hung ‘out’ as far as is possible with canon retaining headstocks and have oversized wheels in order to make them as manageable as possible: this has certainly worked, and their ‘go’ is excellent.

The curfew bell is fitted with an arched slow-swinging cast iron headstock, a fabricated steel wheel and an SG clapper with bun ball and cheese-section counterweight, suspended from an independent staple and pivoted well down inside the bell. The bell is swung by an electric motor, from which a chain passes around the wheel.

The cast iron lowside frame is also by Taylor's and of 1986, and is arranged so that all seven bells swing north-south as the tower is very weak in the east-west direction. The bells are in two rows, with the northern row containing (from the west) the curfew bell, 3rd, 4th and 5th and the southern row (from the west) the 2nd, treble and tenor.

History of the Bells

The earliest mention of bells dates from 1464-5 when William Langton, Rector, left a bequest for the making of new bells for the church provided that they were procured within a year of his death. In the following year John Peton, Mariner, gave a gold noble towards the making of a bell.

Benson (in ''The Bells of the Ancient Churches of York') provides a number of sixteenth and seventeenth century extracts relating to the bells from the Churchwardens’ Accounts, as follows:

1520.	Item paid for a Baldrege to the second bells . . . . vj Item paid for a belstryng for the lyttyll belle . . . . j
1540.	Item paid ffore helpyng of ij bawtrys off the bells . . . . vij
1610.	Item paid for a Gallon of Aile for the ringers on the 5th of November . . . .viij Item paid for a pound of Candylls for the ringers . . . . v
1641.	Item for ringing for joy of the Triennial Parliament . . . . 3-4 Item for ringing at the King and Prince's coming to York, the 18th March 1641 . . . . 3-8 Item for ringing at the King's return from Scotland November 1641 . . . . 2-6
1642.	Item for ringing when the Duke of York come to this Citty . . . . 3-8 Item for ringing when the day the Queen came to York 7 March 1642 . . . . 1-0
1688.	Paid for ringing the day King William and Queen Mary was proclaimed Feb. 17th . . . 5-0

By 1765 the church possessed three bells, which weighed 8-3-15, 11-3-8 and 14-3-24, but in that year the Minster authorities were in the process of replacing their old ring of twelve (tenor 55-1-0 in Bb) with a new ring of ten. The Churchwardens and Feoffees of St Michael’s asked if they could exchange the five smallest of the ring of twelve for their three bells. This was agreed, and the document of exchange still exists in the Minster Library. It runs as follows:

That whereas we the churchwardens and feoffees of the parish of St Michael at Ouse Bridge end in the City of York have agreed and do now agree with the venerable the Dean and Chapter of York to give eleven pence per pound for five of the smallest bells/part of the ring of Twelve bells belonging to the Cathedral Church of York/as they now remain in the same church - The Dean and Chapter allowing ten pence per pound for three of the old bells belonging to St Michael aforesaid upon the said three bells being delivered safe at such wharf in London as the said Dean and Chapter shall name, and ordered to be delivered or sent to Messers Lester & Pack Bellfounders in Whitechapel, London.

Eventually the three bells from St Michael's were sent to London with those of the Minster's ring being scrapped; the costs of transport and insurance were shared between St Michael’s and the Minster. St Michael's eventually received a cash settlement from the Dean and Chapter, as they had received just over 26 cwt of bell metal in exchange for 35 cwt (the front five from the Minster then weighed 2-3-0, 3-2-20, 4-1-0, 5-2-16 and 8-2-27 respectively). The tenor at St Michael's is the only one of the Minster's medieval bells to survive; only one other, the 9th, remained until 1765 when it was sent to Whitechapel as scrap.

The five bells acquired from the Minster were hung in the tower of St Michael's and augmented to six by the addition of a new treble, cast by local founder George Dalton.

The six bells were rehung in 1751, with the work being carried out by James Harrison I of Barrow-upon-Humber.

The York Courant of 26th January 1768 records an accident occurring to the Sexton at Spurriergate, as follows:

Last Friday Evening as the Sexton of Spurriergate Church was ringing the Eight O’Clock Bell, it went over, and he having the Rope wrapped about his Hand, it drew him to the Top, from whence he fell, whereby he had one of his Thighs and an Arm Broke, one of his Eyes almost beat out, and was bruised in many Parts in a most Terrible Manner. This may Serve as a Caution to Ringers and particularly that Boys ought not to be suffered to meddle with Bells.

The bells were rung until just after the turn of the twentieth century. Exactly when ringing ceased has not been determined, but it was at some point between March 1904 and 1923 and presumably occurred either because the bells were no longer in a fit state to be rung or because the westward lean of the tower was causing concern. The writings of the late Harold Walker tell us that prior to the First World War the bells were rung by the Minster ringers after they had rung at the Minster on Sunday mornings. After the bells had become unringable an Ellacombe apparatus was installed to allow them to be chimed.

In 1966-7, as already mentioned, the top twenty-five feet of the tower was demolished: this of course involved the removal of the bell chamber. The frame and fittings were disposed of, and no details of them appear to survive. In 1968 Taylor’s rehung the tenor in the present bell chamber at the top of the shortened tower. The bell was fitted with an electrically-operated external hammer, and was hung ‘dead’ in a fabricated steel frame. The five smaller bells were simply placed on the floor of the church. Over the years there were several projected schemes to reuse them at St Martin-le-Grand. One of these schemes involved using the 4th and 5th as the 2nd and 3rd of a ring of six with the three smallest bells to be used as scrap in casting the treble, 4th and 5th of the ring. Another scheme involved using the front five as the front five of a ring of six, with the largest bell from St Martin-cum-Gregory (q.v.) becoming the tenor. A third scheme involved using the front five as scrap towards casting five bells to complete a ring of six. Quotes were obtained for all of these schemes, but all came to nought; fortunately as it transpired as both churches now have rings.

On 7th June 1983 Taylor’s of Loughborough provided a quotation for tuning and rehanging the bells in the tower at Spurriergate. The quotation included the provision of new fittings, including canon retaining headstocks, and a new frame. In 1985 it was decided to apply for redundancy, there having been no regular services at St Michael’s for several years. This galvanised the Minster ringers into action. A further quote (dated 7th October 1985) was obtained from Taylor’s, and a scheme for rehanging the bells was put forward by David Potter shortly before redundancy was approved. A faculty was granted and the bells were tuned, provided with new fittings and hung in a new frame before the church became officially redundant. They were initially rung from a platform of scaffolding put up by the Minster Works Department, the old ringing platform having been removed during the 1965-9 restoration of the church, but more permanent provision for ringing was made during the conversion of the building in 1989 as described above.

The dedication of the bells took place on 10th October 1986 and the first peal was rung on 15th September 1986, this being the first in the tower. It is believed that one peal had been rung on the back four previously, this being Grandsire Triples rung on bells 2-9 (of twelve) at the Minster on 6th January 1758.

The restoration scheme also included the provision of a new automatic curfew bell. This being one of the most central churches in the city, the curfew had rung from its tower every day at 8 p.m. from shortly after the Norman conquest until the custom was discontinued when all ringing of bells was banned in 1943 (although the Curfew Law was abolished by Henry I in 1100). In addition to the curfew, a custom of ringing the curfew bell at 6 a.m. every day except Sunday, followed by a number of strokes corresponding to the day of the month on another bell, had prevailed at St Michael’s for many centuries. The story attached to this is that a traveller who had been lost in the Forest of Galtres had heard the clock strike 6 a.m. and had made a bequest so that the bells could be sounded at that hour every day.
It was initially intended to sound the curfew on the tenor by means of an electro-magnetic hammer, but Taylor’s subsequently quoted for fitting out and providing framework for a separate bell to be provided by the ringers. In the event, however, Taylor’s supplied a new ‘stock’ bell.
The curfew bell is swung automatically at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day, 6 a.m. being a little too early! When first installed the bell was fitted with a timber wheel. However, a malfunction of the swinging mechanism caused this to be reduced to pieces soon afterwards and a stronger fabricated steel wheel was supplied in its stead.

Despite hanging in a redundant church, the Spurriergate bells are very well used and are generally rung once or twice each week by various groups of ringers. One of the main intentions in restoring them was that they would be used in the teaching of learners, and this ideal has been and continues to be fully realised with many learning the first stages of ringing here. The tower is now also the home of the York Colleges Guild of Bellringers, which uses the bells on most Sunday afternoons during university term time.

The Spurriergate bells can usually be made available to groups of visiting ringers after 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday or any time on Sunday provided there are no other events booked at the Centre. Any ringers wishing to book the bells should contact Christine Potter () giving as much notice as possible. Please do not contact the Centre directly.

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