In June, 1910, Mr. Henry Oakley Chisman, chairman of the Church Governors, offered to pay for two new bells to be cast and fitted; a cost of £127. This offer was made on condition that enough money would be raised to overhaul and rehang the old peal.
Such was the interest and enthusiasm that large and small donations poured in. General Sir John Fryer K.C.B., an old Wimburnian, contributed £60, the cost of recasting the tenor, in memory of his parents. (In recasting the metal of the tenor was kept distinct).
Wimborne ringers with the tenor bell before re-casting. (Photo by kind permission of The Museum of East Dorset)
By March, 1911, the bells were at the foundry of Gillett and Johnston of Croydon. The first edition of The Ringing World, published in that month, carried on its front cover an advertisement placed by the foundry. It showed the Minster’s old ring of eight in the foundry yard. The foundry had nine contracts in hand at that time including work for nearby Sturminster Marshall.
The Bells of Wimborne Minster in the Foundry Yard (Photo by kind permission of The Ringing World)
Casts of the old bells’ inscriptions were taken and incorporated and further information added.
For example, the tenor bell’s inscription which read:
(Photo by kind permission of The Museum of East Dorset)
[Mr. William Loringe first made me in honour of St. Cuthberga; I was re-cast at the cost of the parish by Anthony Bond in the year 1629, H.B.R.L., C.W., C.P.S.W.R., W.B.] gained the addition
“This Bell was recast A.D. 1911 by General Sir John Fryer, K.C.B., in memory of his father and mother. John Fryer, Esquire, born at Wimborne Minster 1797, died 1854. Mary R. Fryer, 1808-1886.”
The inscriptions on the other bells were also retained as far as possible.
In the north window of the tower is the ‘Quarter Jack’, a carving of a figure which appears to strike the quarter-hours in connection with the clock. The two small bells of the ‘Quarter Jack’ were also found to be cracked so were recast “in correct musical harmony with the peal” at the expense of the churchwardens. The little figure of the Quarter Jack was re-painted in the uniform of a Grenadier Guard of the early 19th century.
The Quarter Jack and his bells awaiting renovation. (Photo by kind permission of the Hanham family)
When the work was complete Wimborne had become the first church in the Diocese of Salisbury to possess a peal of 10.
Wimborne Minster Bell Ringers 