The bells at St. Stephen’s Sparsholt were augmented from 5 to 6 with a new treble in December 1995. The 5 original bells were retuned. The six were hung in an all new steel frame. This work and all previous casting work was carried out by Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd., London.

The following piece is an attempt to reconstruct a plausible history of the bells from Whitechapel records and the inscriptions. It was included in a local history album.

A History of the St. Stephen’s Church Bells

In 1742 a subscription was raised for a three bell ring. The treble bearing inscription ref. A (Tho’ I am but small..), the second bell inscription ref. B (By adding two,...) and the tenor with inscription ref. C having the 1742 churchwardens’ names. The frame would just be for these three bells with the axles in line.

These three may have been replacing an earlier single chime-struck bell hinted at in inscription ref. B (adding two==to our notes). The second bell’s inscription goes on to say ‘our notes we’ele raise’ which may be an allusion to the use of a wheel to raise the bell higher to obtain a more powerful and clearer note.

In 1829 a fourth bell bearing inscription ref. D (Fecit 1829) was added as the new second bell. At this time the frame would have been extended sideways with metal joining plates to add this additional bell with space for a small fifth bell as two bells in line.

In 1905 the fifth bell with inscription ref. E (Laudate Pueri Dominum) was added as a new treble and the original bells with inscriptions refs. A and B recast.

There has been some mention of a recasting in 1914 of the fourth bell but this is an error as the records at the Whitechapel foundry which refer simply to Sparsholt are now known to refer to Holy Cross church at Sparsholt in Oxfordshire which had its 15th. century bell recast in 1914. It now bears the inscription ‘Sancta Katerina ora pro nobis’ and ‘recast 1914 F.Webb’. Its current weight is 5cwt. 3qrs. and 26lbs. and it is number 2 in a ring of four with a 10 cwt. tenor.

In 1951 the last 1742 bell with inscription ref. C was recast in modern style without the mounting cannon. It was tuned to the modern Simpson method.

In 1995 a new treble was added which bears inscription ref. F. The 1829, three 1905 and 1951 bells were removed, had their cannons removed (the 1951 tenor already being in modern form) and were all retuned to form a chord with the new treble. A modern all steel frame was used to replace the now badly decaying 1742 wooden frame. The resulting ring of six possesses a much more precise and clear musicality than the previous ring of five.

Contributed by G.E.Beesley, 1996

NB the sixth bell was added after the mp3 recording you can hear on this site"