About the bells and installation
The Tenor is a much older bell than 1601 as an entry in an early Parish Register says that the Tenor was broken by ringing in 1573 and was re-cast several times before 1601.
The stair turret was probably added in 1814, but the ringing chamber floor wasn’t installed until 1832, so the turret could have been built for the clock winder when the clock was installed. Later the ringers moved out of the choir crossing up to the clock room.
The oak bell frame dates from 1903, when the bells were quarter turned and re-hung by John Sully of Stogamber in Somerset.
The floor of the ringing chamber was repaired in 1905.
The bells were last re-hung in 1948 with new fittings.
The Ellacombe chiming frame was installed by the vicar at that time, the Father of famous ringer Stephen Wood. There is a plaque to this effect in the ringing chamber. It reads, “To the Glory of God The Chiming Apparatus was given by George Robert Wood, Vicar, & Kathleen, his wife, as a small Thanks-offering for many mercies. September 1903.”
Vicar William Moseley, whose name was inscribed on the 6th before it was recast in 1881, was the incumbent between 1708 & 1755.
In 1881 the 6th was recast by L & J of Bristol having been cracked some years previously by the clapper of the 7th which broke while ringing was in progress. Before it was recast it bore the inscription “Wm Moseley Vicar John Bartlett & Those Cox Churchwardens AR
Timeline
1573: Tenor broken during ringing
1573-1601: Tenor recast several times
1601: Tenor recast
1652: 4, 5, 6 and 7 cast and installed
1676: 4 recast
1743: 3 created during recasting of 4, 5, 6 and 7
1751: Treble and 2 cast and installed
1814: Stair turret installed
1832: Ringing chamber floor installed
1881: 6 recast, having been damaged by the clapper of the 7th
1903: Bells quarter turned and re-hung in new wood frame
1903: Chiming apparatus installed
1905: Ringing chamber floor repaired
1948: Bells re-hung with new fittings
Bell facts
| Bell | Weight | Note | Diameter | Inscription | First cast | Recast |
| Treble | 6½ cwt | D | 30″ | “Peace and good neighbourhood” | 1751 AR | |
| 2 | 7 cwt | C# | 32.5″ | “Prosperity to our benefactors” | 1751 AR | |
| 3 | 7½ cwt | B | 35″ | “Floreat Almondsbury” | 1743 AR | |
| 4 | 9 cwt | A | 36″ | “Thos Bilby Vicar 1676 Ins Seager Churchwardens Roger Pardue & Wm Covant first cast me 1652 AR” | 1652 | 1676 RP & WC 1743 |
| 5 | 11 cwt | G | 39″ | “Wm Hollister, Thos Crosman, Charles Prowes, Churchwardens” | 1652 RP & WC | 1743 |
| 6 | 12½ cwt | F# | 42.5″ | “Recast AD 1901 by Llewellyn & James Bristol, David Cooper Vicar” Previous inscription read “Wm Moseley Vicar John Bartlett & Thos Cox Churchwardens AR” |
Est. 1652 RP & WC | 1881 LJ 1743 1901 LJ |
| 7 | 16 cwt | E | 46″ | “These bells were recast into six by Abel Rudhall AD 1743 out of the rents of church land in the hands on Thomas Chester Esq Treasurer thereof” | Est. 1652 RP & WC | 1743 AR |
| Tenor | 22½ cwt | D | 51″ | “Come at my call to serve the Lord all WC, RP 1601” | Earlier than 1573, when it was broken | “Several times” up to final recast in 1601 |
Key: AR – Abel Rudhall; RP & WC – Roger Pardue & Wm Covant; LJ – Llewellyn & James Bristol
Formation of peal
| By 1573 | 8 | 1 bell |
| By 1652 | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 5 bells |
| By 1743 | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 6 bells |
| By 1751 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 8 bells |