The new bells at Great St Mary’s, the University church, which were cast to mark the University’s 800th anniversary, will be dedicated by the Right Reverend Dr Anthony Russell, Bishop of Ely, this Sunday (4 October).

Also in attendance at Sunday’s service will be Alison Richard, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, and Dr Dill Faulkes, a bell-ringer and member of the University 800th Campaign Board, who made the new peal possible through a generous donation.

The University set up the Martin C Faulkes Bell Fund following Dr Faulkes’ donation. The fund has not only paid for the new bells and associated works, but will also provide a support for the bells in the future, to ensure that they continue to be enjoyed for many hundreds of years to come.

Along with the newly-cast bells, the five clock bells of the original set are also housed in the bell chamber. In 1793, the Reverend Dr Joseph Jowett used those five bells to compose the “Cambridge Chimes” which were later copied for Big Ben and renamed the Westminster Chimes. The historic bells will continue to ring out the famous tune for years to come.

The full set of bells is in almost constant service. They are used up to three times on Sundays for services and University Sermons, on Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights for practice and teaching sessions, on Saturdays for weddings, on New Year’s eve and for funerals and memorial services. As a result, during the last 300 years, the old bells have needed to be re-tuned, replaced and even welded back together. Structural problems, including the sway of the church tower, also made ringing them difficult.

The bells were cast in Loughborough in April, and were installed at Great St Mary’s in July.
 

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