The five bells of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin Wood Ditton ring out for Tuesday evening practice, at weddings and other special services, kept alive by a small but dedicated team of bell-ringers.

Wood Ditton Church originally had only four bells but in 1823 it acquired a fifth. The tower at Weston Colville Church had collapsed, and the only bell to survive intact was the treble, which was brought to Wood Ditton. A new bell-frame was constructed from locally felled oak by W. Hart of Brinkley to accommodate the fifth bell.
The largest bell (the fifth or tenor) cast by Stephen Tonni in 1588, weighs 12.5 cwt., the fourth also by Tonni weighs 10.25 cwt. The third (founder unknown) weighs 7.5 cwt., the second, cast in 1825 by W. Dobson weighs 6.5 cwt. and the treble originally cast by J.Draper in 1608 and recast in 1899 by J Taylor weighs 5.5 cwt.
By the mid-nineteen fifties the main beams supporting the bell-frame had deteriorated to the point where it was considered unsafe to continue ringing and the bells fell silent for nearly thirty years.
In 1984, after a major fund-raising campaign, the main supporting beams were replaced with steel girders, the bells were re-hung and other improvements carried out. The bell-frame constructed in 1823 was still in sound condition. Once more the sound of Wood Ditton bells rang out over the countryside.

Number 4 and 3 bells at rest in the up position,
with their pulley wheels to which are attached the bell-ropes.

Wood Ditton has a long tradition of bell-ringing and the initials of former ringers with dates going back a hundred years or more can be seen carved in the stone pillars in the ringers' chamber.
At rest the bells are left 'up' at just over top centre, where a wooden stay attached to the bell headstock comes up against a slider stop which prevents complete rotation. The call "Look to, trebel going - she's gone", starts the ringing sequence as the lightest of the five bells is pulled off its resting position, followed by the other four in order of size. When all five are in action the tower can be felt to sway slightly in reaction to the vigorous swinging of more than two tons of bells.
Basic bell-ringing is not too difficult to learn, although care must be taken not to become entangled with the bell-rope, as it leaps upward to the swing of half a ton or more of bell. More of a challenge is keeping time with the other ringers and effecting the changes, as when the tower captain calls out a new sequence, such as "3 to treble, 2 to 3, 4 to 2." One hundred and twenty different changes are possible with five bells and considerable co-ordination of mind and body is needed to bring in the new order of ringing and quickly recover the timing. This is evident by the concentration on the faces of the ringers.
The team are always looking for new recruits so if you would like to try your hand give Roy or Jill Steggles a call on 01638 730899

The Wood Ditton Bell-ringers August 28th 2002. L to R standing: James and Nigel Hotchkiss,
Roy Steggles (Tower Captain), Maurice Potter, Keith Lucas. Seated: Jill Steggles, Veronica Aspland.
The coloured pulls on the bell ropes are known as sallies.

The details of the history of the bells have been taken from the booklet 'St. Mary the Virgin Woodditton - The Bells' compiled by Dr. Tony White in 1984. The booklet contains much more about the history of the Church and the bells. Anyone interested in obtaining a copy should contact one of the Churchwardens.

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