St. Helen's | Ringing

The Sad Story of St. Helen's, Worcester

During the Second World War, rings of bells in cities all over Britain were destroyed by German bombing raids. London, Bristol, Exeter and Coventry were all places that suffered. But not all of these losses can be blamed on the Luftwaffe. One such was the ring of eight at St. Helen's church, Worcester, where the bells were sold for scrap in 1951, though the story of decline began many years earlier.

This artice is based only on 'armchair research,' using material collected from the Bell News and Ringing World CD Roms, a few books that I own or have seen, and conversations with relevant people. I don't know anything about the more technical aspects, such as the bellframe details (the bellframe is still in situ), and these will have to be left to the real experts. The late David G Franklin had done a great deal of research into the history of St. Helen's bells and ringing, and he told me in September 2010 that he planned to collate this into a little book. Sadly, he died two months later, but the records he made are fortunately still in existence.

History of the Church and Bells

St. Helen's stands on the site of the oldest church in Worcester, which is why it used to be sometimes referred to as the 'Mother Church.' It wouldn't be easy to date the exact origin of the church, but it was certainly an important parish by the time of 680 A.D, a turbulent year for the Worcester churches. However, it is believed by some to stand on the site of a former Roman Temple, the dedication of St. Helen probably coming from Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. The present church building is mainly 15th century but it experienced major alterations in 1879. Dud Dudley (1600 - 1684), a famous metallurgist of the industrial revolution was married at St. Helen's. He is also buried in the church, and there is a prominent tomb for both husband and wife.

The east front of the church stands on Worcester's high street, not far from the Cathedral, the rest of the church building tucked away in Fish Street. The tower has a very graceful appearance and, though not tall, can be spotted from a number of unexpected locations around the city. Originally it contained a heavy ring of five (possibly Rudhall bells) of which the tenor was said to be 25cwt (total weight of ring, 85cwt.) These bells were recast into a ring of eight, tenor weighing 18-2-27 in E, in 1706 by Richard Sanders of Bromsgrove, and arrived at the church on March 31st 1707 (I may be wrong, but seem to remember that the 7th had to be recast in 1707.)

The bells' elegant inscriptions, commemorating the naval victories of the Duke of Marlborough, were unique:

Treble - First is my note, and Blenheim is my name.

For Blenheim's story will be first in fame.

Second - Let me relate how Louis did bemoan

His grandson's Philip's flight from Barcelone.

Third - Deluged in blood I, Ramilies, advance

Britannia's glory in the fall of France

Fourth - St. Menin on my side engraved be.

And Flanders freed from Gallie slavery.

Fifth - When in harmonious peal I roundly go,

Think of Turin and Triumphs of the Po.

Sixth - With joy I hear the illustrious Eugene's name,

Fav'rite of Fortune and the boast of Fame.

Seventh - But I with pride the greater Marlborough hear,

Terror of Tyrants and the soul of war.

Tenor - T'immortal praises of Queen Anne I sound,

With union blessed and all these glories crownded.

When the bells were cast, St. Helen's was still a very large and important parish in Worcester. A number of local churches were under the auspices of St. Helen's parish and this might explain how the church could afford quite a heavy ring. The ringing took place on a gallery visible from the main body of the church, possibly because there wasn't enough room for a separate ringing chamber. When one looks at the tower from outside, it is easier to imagine a ring of bells about half the weight of the 18cwt eight that was somehow shoehorned in to such a small space. This is probably why there were problems with the bells later on.

A letter to the Ringing World in 1921 states that the louvres were packed up with match boarding (which is still visible from the high street) to deaden the sound outside - "...the noise is so toned down that the bells can scarcely be heard a street away." This seems a pity. Before this the sound would no doubt have echoed round the city streets and drifted over to the nearby river. This sound proofing had been installed in 1903.

Peal Ringing

St. Helen's is one of the principal towers in the history of peal ringing in West Worcestershire, particularly concerning peals of Surprise Major. At one time, St. Helen's bells were very popular for peals. At the moment, we know of 63 peals that were rung there, though four of these were only discovered recently. The first known peal on the bells was Grandsire Triples in 1821. Two years later a peal of Oxford Treble Bob Major was rung. Peals on the bells in the 1860s appear to have been rung by entirely Worcester based bands, though the peal of Stedman Triples on 19th January 1864 included four Painswick ringers, one of which conducted the peal. But a peal of Kent was rung by a fully Worcester band a fortnight later. In September 1867 a peal of Grandsire Triples was made up by ringers from Bromsgrove and Birmingham, the only Worcester ringer being F. B. Smith who composed and conducted the peal. It is very interesting that a Worcester ringer had composed a peal of Grandsire Triples, and a pity that the figures are unlikely ever to be found. Whether this was a composition on the three-lead course plan or not, we will probably never know.

Harking back to 1833, a peal of 8448 Kent Treble Bob Major was rung at St. Helen's. At the time, this length was widely regarded to be the maximum length possible in the method with the tenors together, but it has since been shown that a few more leads can be had. In 1933 the centenary of this peal was celebrated by a peal at Great Malvern, about which the following write-up appeared in the Ringing World (giving details of the 1833 band):

By the 1890s the bells were getting harder to ring, and a few peals were rung with two ringers on the tenor. One attempt of Holt's Original peal of Grandsire Triples was aborted after 2 and a half hours owing to the tenor going so badly, even with two people ringing the bell. The bells were rehung in 1903.

Harvey Reeves, founder and sole editor of the Bell News, rang his first peal at St. Helen's and donated a set of handbells to the church, and to other Worcester towers, many years later. After the First World War the Worcester ringers made rapid and considerable progress under the leadership of William Page, and St. Helen's was an important tower in this development. The first peal of Surprise Major (Cambridge) in the city of Worcester was rung at St. Helen's in 1921. This was followed by peals of Superlative (1921), London (1922), and Bristol (1923), all of which were rung at St. Helen's. A peal of Stedman Triples in 1922 was rung as a "an expression of thankfulness for the official declaration of the end of the war." The peal of London Major in 1922 was a particularly fine achievement, especially considering that, of that peal band, only the conductor had rung a peal in the method before. The Ringing World commented on the performance, mentioning that several interested listeners had congratulated the band on their success and on the quality of their striking.

The first ever peal of Spliced Kent & Oxford Treble Bob Major in the Worcester Variation was rung at St. Helen's in 1920. The variation had already been named at St. John's, Worcester in a touch of Minor rung in 1919, and this had also been used in a peal of Minor at St. Nicholas, Worcester that September. The first silent and non-conducted peal in the county was rung at St. Helen's in 1904 - Holt's ten-part peal of Grandsire Triples.

Of course, peals were not always successful. In 1911 William Page attempted his 100th peal, but this came to grief after forty minutes when the tenor rope got caught under the box, forcing itself out of the ringer's hands before coiling around a crossbeam in the ceiling. A subsequent attempt was successful. In 1917 it appears that two separate attempts of Stedman Triples to honour the fallen soldiers of Worcester were lost. The first was lost in the 59th course (with only one more course to go) after 2 hours 57 minutes, blamed on "Mr Slowman" for going wrong on the front, and the second attempt was lost in the 49th course after 2 hours 20 minutes.

Today there are two peal boards in the church, which are near the entrance.

When the problems began

A tradition dating back hundreds of years was to toll a nightly curfew on the tenor bell of St. Helen's at 8pm. This was discontinued in 1930. In the 1870s the tolling was usually undertaken by an elderly man called Sanders, but he was sometimes deputised by none other than Edward Elgar (aged about 14) when rheumatism prevented Sanders from climbing the stairs. A specific number of strokes would be tolled to indicate the date, but young Elgar would sometimes mischievously add a few extra strokes! The Elgar family's music shop was opposite the church, and they were probably very familiar with the sound of St. Helen's bells. At some point the tenor bell cracked, it is said as a result of being tolled too forcefully. It seems very likely that the crack was discovered in 1930, as this was the year that the curfew tolling ceased, as well as all full-circle ringing. However, in his ringing memories written in the 1970s, Sidney T Holt - who rang many peals at St. Helen's in the 1920s - said that the crack was discovered in 1926. This does not explain why ringing there continued until 1930. Perhaps Sid simply mis-remembered.

The problem is mentioned in the Ringing World report of the Worcestershire & Districts AGM in Worcester in 1931:

The various rings in the city were set going to the tune of methods ranging from Grandsire Doubles, to London Surprise Major, Cambridge Royal and Stedman Cinques, but the opportunity of ringing at St. Helen's Church was much missed, the bells there being unringable with a badly cracked tenor.

The word 'unringable' seems to suggest general wear and tear, and that the cracked tenor was not the only problem. In another similar reference in 1930 it was suggested that the wealthy Worcester businessman E. P "Pumpy" Thomas (who was either a ringer, or certainly took a great interest in ringing) could perhaps donate towards a refurbishment of the bells. Unfortunately this hint didn't seem to have been acknowledged.

The future of the church

By 1936, still nothing had been done to get the bells ringing again. The problem was probably not helped by the uncertain future of the church itself, as shown in this Ringing World passage from that year:

The Rev J. F. Hastings and Mr S. T. Holt spoke of the bells of St. Helen's Church, Worcester. These bells were of historic interest, as they all bore inscriptions commemorative of Marlborough and his victories. They were not rung at the moment owing to the tenor being cracked, but there is a possibility of the church being closed or even pulled down at some time in the future. In such an event every effort should be made to preserve the peal in tact.

The following Ringing World extract, from 1937, makes for painful reading:

After the war

It should not be thought that the Worcester ringers were idle in their efforts to save the bells of St. Helen's. In the Ringing World of 1951, page 236, it is said that since 1948 the Worcestershire & Districts Association had made every effort to find a new home for the bells in the diocese. The Rev L. J. Birch had written to the diocesan registrar, which caused the faculty to be put on hold, pending wider publicity and advertisement.

A letter from Ernest J Rowe in the Ringing World (1951, p. 139) enquired about the adverts in the Church Times for the sale of "All Saints" bells for £550, on condition that they would not be melted down, except for the cracked tenor. Clearly this refers to St. Helen's bells, and it is true that the scrap value of the bells contributed towards the rehanging of All Saints bells.

St. Helen's church closed in 1950 and became a YMCA base and a soldiers' club.

Unfortunately, the Worcester ringers lost the battle to save the bells of St. Helen's. In the Ringing World of 1951, the last peal was mentioned in an editorial (p. 401) and in an article on page 409. I do have these articles, but technical difficulties prevent me from uploading them here. The editorial says that a scheme to retain the bells in the redundant church and have them ring for civic occasions was rejected by the city council due to the cost. The article on page 409 by George Large, who conducted the final peal, confirms that ringing had ceased at St. Helen's in 1930, but that they were rung again in 1950 when Winston Churchill visited Worcester to be conferred the freedom of the city. St. Helen's is particularly close to the Guildhall where the ceremonies probably would have taken place. In the article, Large writes that Churchill's visit was a missed opportunity, as a committee could have been formed to approaching him with a view to saving St. Helen's bells, considering their association with his illustrious ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough.

Large writes that when the Worcester ringers heard in 1951 that the bells were very soon going to be removed for scrap, a team of enthusiasts spent a couple of evenings replacing ropes, oiling the fittings, tightening bolts, etc, in readiness for a final peal. Apparently it was easy to tell that the tenor was cracked when listening from inside the church, but was hardly noticeable outside, especially when rung to Major. Some older Worcestershire ringers came to listen to that final peal in 1951. The details are here:

Worcestershire & Districts Association

Worcester, the redundant church of St Helen

Wed Jun 13 1951 3h0 (18)

5056 Plain Bob Major

Comp. J R Pritchard

1 R George Morris

2 William H A Compton

3 George E Large

4 Geoffrey J Lewis

5 Allen Morgan

6 Albert E Humphries

7 Cyril Tansell

8 Thomas W Lewis

Conducted by G. E. Large.

The 'Swan Song' of these bells which commemorative of Marlborough's victories during the reign of Queen Anne, are now destined for scrap.

Tom Lewis used to remark that he had "twice rung in the last peal at St. Helen's," as he had rung the treble to the peal in 1930 before ringing there ceased. It is very likely that soon before his death in 2005 he would have been the last surviving person to have rung there in the 1920s and 1930, before the tenor was found to be cracked.

All these years later, it is easy for us to blame the Worcester ringers for what happened. But it would be hasty of us to do so. There is plenty evidence to show that they did all they could to save the bells, but that forces were working against them. It is difficult for most of us to imagine what life was like in the initial post war austerity. There was probably very little money to be had all round, and in such conditions it would seen nonsensical to the local authorities that a redundant church should continue to house a heavy ring of bells. It wasn't just the bells of St. Helen's that were lost, but some of the stained glass was sold as well (I believe to St Edmund's, Stoulton.) Other terrible losses in Worcester were felt in the following years, such as the demolition of many of the ancient black and white buildings in the city centre. The worse loss was the lichgate in 1960, a group of grand old black and white buildings across the road from the cathedral (not far from St. Helen's.)

Anecdotal evidence

After 1930, the only two times that St. Helen's bells were rung was in 1950 for Churchill's visit, and the last peal in 1951.

It is almost certain that R. George Morris of Malvern is the last surviving person to have rung at St. Helen's, Worcester. In this day and age it is amazing to think that there is someone still alive who can point at the tower and claim to have rung there. I knew George for some years before I found out that he had rung at St. Helen's. On having the pleasure of seeing George in April 2012 I chatted with him about his memories of the last peal there. The 1951 peal was the only time that George had rung at St. Helen's. Apparently the peal was rung the day before the bells were taken out of the tower. Before ringing, the band had to move a lot of junk from the ringing gallery. George said: "you couldn't tell the tenor was cracked." Perhaps the bell's tone wasn't too badly affected.

It is difficult to judge how tuneful the bells were from the fairly limited evidence left behind. A note in Bell News rates the bells very highly:

Among the elder population of this city, the bells of St. Helen's church were often termed "the silver bells," the beauty of their tone, no doubt, creating the belief that an admixture of this precious metal was employed in their casting. Whoever has the pleasure of hearing these bells, especially if the listener should be perambulating the west bank of the noble Severn, will become entranced by their harmony.

It is possible that the editor, Harvey Reeves, was rather biased towards his native city and the church in which he rang his first peal. It is also worth remembering that the older ringing reports seemed to prioritise pleasantries and politeness over truth. Another example appears in the Ringing World of 1918, where it is stated that the bells of St. Helen's are "a very nice eight."

Tom Lewis apparently remarked that the bells had been slightly overrated, but it's not clear whether he was referring to their tone or their "go." When I asked George Morris in 2012, he enthusiastically and cheerfully replied: "they sounded good!"

I had thought that no recording of the bells had ever been made. However, I was very surprised and excited in 2015 when Nick Cronin told me that he had listened to a recording of the bells whilst a pupil at the Kings School, Worcester. He said the bells sounded beautiful. I got in touch with the school archives, and other local audio archive groups, but was unsuccessful in tracing any recording. If such a recording existed, perhaps it has now been lost. It is possible that Nick mis-remembered.

The back six bells of Eckington, Worcestershire, were also cast by Sanders, albeit fifteen yeers after St. Helen's, and rather lighter, at 14 cwt. However, they are in the same key and may bear a resemblance to what St. Helen's would have sounded like. Eckington are well known in the county for being a fine sounding old-fashioned eight.

It is strange to think that there are surely people still alive today who would have heard St. Helen's bells ringing in that final peal of 1951. In 2011 I bought copies of two photos of the bells lying outside the church after their removal. I would have liked to have uploaded them here, but cannot meet the required fee at the moment.

Conclusion

It is a great tragedy that the historic ring of eight at St. Helen's, Worcester was scrapped, not least that it was only a few years before their 250th anniversary. For hundreds of years they had been a useful instrument for Worcester ringers, particularly with the development of Surprise Major ringing in the city. It gives some comfort to know that someone who actually rang there is still with us, giving a direct link between now and the generations of ringers back to 1706. However, that link will not last forever. At various points in the past, there was a local band at St. Helen's, and the practice night appears as Thursday in some annual reports. In the 1880s there was an active St. Helen's Society of ringers. The bells were of historical importance and nationally well-known and respected. It seems that there are no other complete rings of eight by Richard Sanders.

How is the church being used at the moment? From 1957 - 2002 it was the County Record Office, and has belonged to All Saints church since 2003. All Saints uses it regularly for functions and some services, and it is nice to see the building used for worship again. However, there don't seem to be any plans to install a new ring of bells.

The church has been used for other activities as well, such as an exam venue for the University and the former College of Technology. I did several exams in the church, and could hear the cathedral clock chimes clearly - a reminder that time was running out! I used to look at the peal boards when leaving the building.

It was very lucky for the Worcester ringers that the six at St. John's was augmented to eight in 1930, and the five at Claines augmented to eight in 1927, as these towers became the new centres of eight-bell development in the city. But these augmentations still never really compensated for the loss of such a noble and noteworthy ring of bells.

Sources

Bell's Life in London
Bell News and The Ringers Record
The Ringing World
Bradford, Anne, Worcestershire Ghosts and Hauntings, (Redditch: Hunt End Books), 2001
Bridges, Tim, Churches of Worcestershire, (Logaston Press), 2005
Gwilliam, H. W., Old Worcester: People and Places, Volume One, 1977
David Beacham
Nicholas C. R. Cronin
R. George Morris
Anthony Poulton-Smith
Ann R. Smith