Niton, St John the Baptist

www.noyes.org.uk



Arreton
Brading
Brighstone
Carisbrooke

Chale
Freshwater
Godshill
Newchurch
Newport
Niton
Ryde
Shanklin
Shorwell
Whitwell


Tower Contacts
The District
District Archive
Ringing Times
 6 bells, 9-0-0 Monday 7.00-8.30,
1st Sunday 5.30-6.00, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Sunday 9.30-10.00
5th Sunday - please check
Ground floor  OS map link
SZ505768
Park by the church wall (go around the one-way system to the western end of the village). Hung on three tiers (in twos, lightest on top) meant the ropes have had to be 'forced' into a circle a bit; make sure you pull all the way through to keep the rope tight and formerly you had to make sure you dragged some sallies down through the ceiling. Otherwise they sound good & go well. The local (White Lion) is a reasonable pub and the old Post Office is now a bar, but Chale and The Buddle (just south of the village) are probably better, and The Chequers (Rookley, on the Niton road) is large inside and does good food.

Niton has a short 16th century tower, with a 17th century recessed spire. It contains six bells, which have had to be hung on three tiers of two because of the small tower size, in a metal frame. Spiral stairs (behind tenor ringer) goes up to the trebles on the top tier then you climb down through the frame to the tenors which are just the other side of the ringing room ceiling.

The oldest bell is the tenor, cast by "R B", and the present 4th replaces a 1898 bell recast in 1931 when the Revd Hedley-Vicars of Niton made them up to a ring of five to commemorate the jubilee of his ordination. The treble was added by Whitechapel in 1984, inscribed "Hope Fulfilled" to compliment the tenor inscription.


Treble HOPE FULFILLED
WHITECHAPEL
1984
3-3-0 F
2 GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO
MEARS & STAINBANK 1932
4-2-8 D#
3 MEARS AND STAINBANK LONDON 1931
IN TERRA PAX
5-1-11 C#
4 PRAISE GOD R.T.D.L 1898
MEARS & STAINBANK LONDON 1931
5-3-4 C
5 HOLY HOLY LORD GOD OF HOSTS
1926
6-3-5 A#
Tenor LIVE IN HOPE
R.B. 1605
9-0-0 G#