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Early History

1819 saw the massacre at Peterloo, the sale of Florida by the Spanish to the US and the birth of the future Queen Victoria. Three bells were cast in the east-end of London by Thomas Mears & Sons which were  installed into St Mary's tower by the time of the churches dedication in the early 1820's.  These are the current 5, 7 and tenor and they were hung high up in the tower in an oak frame designed to hold eight bells.  It is not known if they were hung for ringing at this time, and it may have been that they were only used as a clock chime.

Ring of 6

In 1880 the bells were made into a ring of six with the addition of the present day 6, 8 and 9.  The latter was cast in 1818 from the metal of three bells which had previously been hung in the old parish church.  Prior to being hung in St Mary's, it served as a funeral bell in the Bathwick cemetery chapel.

The Bath & Wells Diocesan Association of Change Ringers was founded in 1890.  Its first master was Rev CWH Griffith who was then rector at Bathwick.  He rang in the first peal for the association at Twerton on 19/08/1890 and served as master until 1895 when he was moved to Zennor in Cornwall.¹

Ring of 8

1897 saw the ring augmented to 8 with the addition of two trebles.

Recent research has uncovered details of the first quarter to be rung on the bells, and a small board was put up in the tower to record what  turned out to be the start of a long tradition. 

First Peal On The Bells

The first peal on the bells was rung on New Years Eve 1899 and is recorded by a large peal board hung in the tower.  Six of the peal band appear in the picture below of the local ringers taken in 1902, as does the curate of the time Claude C Parker who became a vicar at Corston, and served as Master of the BWDACR from 1906 to 1925.

The undated picture below shows the band in a more relaxed mood at the Swanage Globe & Light House

The St Marys Guild of Change Ringers

As was the custom at this time, the local ringers formed themselves into a guild or society - The St Marys Guild of Change Ringers - and there are two peal boards in the tower recording their peal ringing exploits.  By the out break of WW1 things gone quiet and there is not much evidence of any ringing taking place until after the end of WW2.
One peal of interest though was rung during WW1:

1948 Re-hang

By the late 1940's the bells were in need of professional attention.  Unfortunately what they received was a typical post-war bodge job - some fittings were replaced and others refurbished.  What was a success however, was the re-tuning of the bells, and Bathwick now had the best sounding ring of bells in Bath - if not the easiest going. 
Following the re-tuning the bells weights were given as follows

1970's

The mid 70's saw the foundations laid of the current band.  The tradition of the Sunday morning quarter was begun (it was started to ensure that there were enough ringers present to ring for Sunday Morning service), and that tradition still endures today.

1980's - The Ring of 10

The early eighties saw the start of a series of mechanical failures failures amongst the bells.  Gudgeons went on several of the bells, and the overall go became gradually worse.  More worryingly, many of the frame bolts had reached a point were it was impossible to tighten them any further without them shearing off.  The ax was having to be used more and more to cut away bits of the ever moving frame to allow certain bells to swing.  But despite all of this, the local band flourished and still managed to attempt a quarter every Sunday morning (even if they were on the front six and Plain Bob Triples being thrashed to death).
Serious thought was now given to re-hanging the bells and quotes were obtained from the major bell hangers.  Included in the quotes was a price for a ten bell frame as well as the cost of two new trebles.
At Easter 1984 the church took the decision to start fund raising to get the bells re-hung.  Whitechapel were chosen to do the work, and the ringers agreed to meet the cost of the two new trebles themselves.

Fund raising efforts were many and various - the tower was open during the Bath Festival, concerts were staged by visiting choirs, sponsored walks were sponsored - and by February 1986 enough had been raised to place a firm order with Whitechapel. A team of local volunteers agreed to help the bell-hanger, Phil Jakeman, in the lowering of the bells and the dismantling of the old frame.  The bells left for London in August 1986.
By December 1986 they were ready to come back, and the chain gang assembled once again - but this time for some constructive work - putting in the new steel frame and hauling the bells back into position.

The bells were re-dedicated on 7th February 1987.  Such a fine job had been done with the 1948 re-tuning that apart from being turned, no further work was needed on the back eight.

First Peal On The New Bells

The first peal on the new bells was one of Grandsire Caters rung by a band comprised of local ringers and those who had put in a lot of work during the re-hang, and this was quickly followed by a peal of Stedman Caters by a Sunday Service band to mark the 200th anniversary of the first peal of Stedman Caters rung.

On 31/05/1990 a local band rang a peal to mark the 100th anniversary (to the day) of the founding of the BWDACR

100th Anniversary Peal

For many years the shadow of the 1899 peal had literally loomed over the Bathwick band.  Some were keen to go for an anniversary peal, others more reluctant.  Once we had decided to go for it, the next question was should we go for the same method and composition or try something different.  In the end we went for a peal on 10, and much to the relief of all a decent peal of Grandsire Caters was scored.

To Date

In 2001 we didn't win the local branch striking competition, but more than made up for this by taking 1^st place in the Association Final at Marston Magna.  This was the first time that a Bathwick band has achieved this, and only the second time that a Bath Branch band has won the competition.

We practice on Wednesday evenings from 1930 to 2100 and everyone will receive a warm welcome.  On a good night we can manage a few leads of London Royal, but all levels are catered for.  On Sunday mornings we ring a quarter peal starting at 0915 for the 1030 service.  Visitors are most welcome to join us for this and should contact the Tower Master Mike Stubbs on 01225 484628 for details.

¹    Michael Horseman - The First Hundred Years

Bath Branch Striking Contest Results