The Priory Bells

In the tower there are ten historic bells,

a ring of eight with a flat 4th and a Sanctus bell.

The oldest bell (4b) was cast somewhere between 1350 and 1380 possibly by John of Gloucester who was known to be casting bells at that time. Inscribed on the bell in Latin is "I am called the Virgin Mary's bell" This bell almost certainly was first hung in the church of St Thomas which stood in the Priory grounds in the area were the Post Office is now. It is not known when the bell was hung in the Priory. There is also a bell at Little Malvern Priory by John of Gloucester.

The next oldest bells in the Priory are numbers 6 and 7 dated 1611. They were given by Anne Savage and her son John, of Elmley Castle. The founder of these bells is unknown, but they are inscribed with the initials EH and IH, with the date. IH was once thought to refer to John Higden of Reading, but the dates of these two bells at Malvern Priory do not tally with the known dates of John Higden. Due to the reformation, there are few bells dating from the 1600s.

The three bells in the Priory numbers 2, 3, and 4, were cast one in 1706 and two in 1707 by Abraham Rudhall I and are known as the Queen Anne bells. Rudhalls of Gloucester was the first real business company of bell founders, producing bells on a large scale. They exported a ring of eight bells to the Church of the Advent, Boston, Mass, at about the same date as the Priory bells. The company was bought out in the early 1800s and became the Whitechapel Foundry in London.

Three more bells were added for Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887; one treble and a excellent large tenor bell weighing just over a ton. This meant that a new number 5 bell was needed, to give a true octave. Mary Dixey's family donated two of these bells and the other was given by the Archer family.

The frame was designed and made by the same firm who cast the 19th century bells - John Taylor & Co of Loughborough. It is a high-side frame - the bells swing entirely within the height of the frame. The horizontal beams are wooden and the vertical components cast iron "A" shaped frames. This was not a particularly successful design. Around 80 examples were made during the 10 years of production and a large proportion of these have since been replaced. 

If you are interested in joining the Priory Bellringers please contact the Parish Office or read more about the bellringers on the music page.