Freshwater, All Saints

www.noyes.org.uk



Arreton
Brading
Brighstone
Carisbrooke

Chale
Freshwater
Godshill
Newchurch
Newport
Niton
Ryde
Shanklin
Shorwell
Whitwell


Tower Contacts
The District
Ringing Times
 6 bells, 16-2-7 Wednesdays 6.00-7.00,
Sunday 9.00
Ground floor, a couple of wooden steps into ringing room  OS map link
SZ347873
Church about half way between Freshwater Bay and Yarmouth, and is set back from the road. Street parking next to church. Nice bells, the heaviest six on the Island, but the bells are on ball bearings so are quite manageable. Tall tenor ringers may need to watch their hands on the stonework above them. Reasonable pub (no children's room) next to church. Freshwater is famous for is poet (Lord Tennyson) and physicist (Thomas Hooke of "Hooke's Law" for springs).

All Saints church Freshwater is one of the oldest on the Island and is listed in the Domesday survey of 1086, and could date back as much as 300 years before that. Extensive alterations were made to the church in the 12th and 13th centuries and the tower dates from the 15th century.

In common with the rest of Freshwater the church has links with the Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson; the present treble is dedicated to him and the clock chimes composed by Sir John Stainer are called "The Tennyson Chimes".

The tower originally housed four bells cast by Clement Tosier of Salisbury in 1726. By 1784 two had been useless for over ten years and the other two for two years, and they were recast as two bells by Charles & John Rudhall of Gloucester. One Rudhall bell was recast in 1895 when the remaining bell was retuned (the present 5th) and joined by five new Taylor bells. New bearings and a new "H" frame on two levels was provided by Gillett & Johnstone in 1953. The weights below come from Taylor's records, since the bells remained in the tower during the rehanging and the G&J list in the tower is only approximate.


Treble TENNYSON 5-0-12 D
2 MR. TANKARD

JOHN TAYLOR AND CO LOUGHBOROUGH
1895
6-0-18 C
3 COLL. CROZIER

JOHN TAYLOR AND CO LOUGHBOROUGH
1895
7-0-26 Bb
4 MR & MRS HEALEY

JOHN TAYLOR AND CO LOUGHBOROUGH
1895
8-1-14 A
5 I TO THE CHURCH THE LIVING CALL
AND TO THE GRAVE DO SUMMON ALL.
1785
9-2-25 G
Tenor HON B.L.E GROSVNER HOOD & MRS. MARTIN

RECAST BY JOHN TAYLOR AND CO
LOUGHBOROUGH 1895
16-2-7 F