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Arreton Brading Brighstone Carisbrooke Chale Freshwater Godshill Newchurch Newport Niton Ryde Shanklin Shorwell Whitwell |
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6 bells,
8-1-12 |
Practice alternate Mondays
(alternates with Godshill), Sunday
10.30 (1st & 2nd) 9.00 (3rd & 4th).
Limited to practice nights & Sunday ringing due to condition
of tower |
Ground floor |
 SZ483776 |
| Street parking if you are
lucky. Pub car park just along road leading north from church or larger one
(big enough for coaches) just along the coast road leading west from the
church. The treble was added in 1946 and is the only bell on ball bearings, so
it tends to catch people out. The bells start to hum nicely if pushed along.
The pub (The Wight Mouse) used to have an excellent reputation as a family pub
for good beer/food/whisky but has recently had a few problems. |
Chale church looks out over the
English Channel and within recent memory the church used to be in the centre of
the parish, but the English Channel is getting closer. The tower is 15th
century with the upper stage rebuilt in 1768, although the pinnacles from this
time have since had to be removed. Of the six bells, four were cast and
rehung in a metal frame, along with the present 3rd, by Taylors of Loughborough
in 1897.
The treble was added in 1946 and was the gift of William
Saunders of Chale and dedicated on Christmas Day that year. The oldest bell is
the third, bearing the founders mark "R" and was cast in the 14th century; it
has been in the church since the 15th century. This is the oldest bell in a
ring of bells on the Island, although others (Thorley c.1250) are older. The
tenor was originally cast by Anthony Bond in 1628. The 4th and 5th were the
gift of an American family in memory of their Chale forbears. |
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