The Story of Warden Hill Bells

The idea for installing a ring of full circle bells in St Christopher’s Church, Warden Hill Cheltenham, was developed from a discussion at a Bring and Share Pudding Party in 2000.  At the time the building was in the process of being made, ‘to look more like a Church’ as a millennium project.  It had been intended to put a small fleche on the roof and install speakers to have a bell sound!  During the early stages of the project a mobile telephone company, looking for a new Cheltenham site suggested that a larger fleche could include an aerial.  The aerial project was adopted, and the design included a mass of steel in the roof space which it was agreed could be a platform for a ring of ‘small bells’  be rung full circle.

Discussions were soon underway with Matthew Higby and Co, bell hanger who was a specialist in hanging small bells. Additionally, he had in stock a set of 6 bells, cast by Taylors of Loughborough in 1998.  Full details of the balls can be found at: https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/15204. An additional bell was cast to form a Clock bell.

The bells were installed in July 2001 and first rung on 14th July. They were dedicated the following day when Bishop David Bentley, Gloucester, blessed the Church alterations.  The congregation that day included Rev Graham Minors who had been a curate here and was then Vicar of Lanhydrock and President of the Truro Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringer he commented that ‘he could now die happy and contented. It was just what St Christophers needed’.

The initial band at St Christopher’s was taken from the congregation, and still today about 50% are regular church goers here. The first quarter peal was on 21st April 2002 (https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1397202)  and the first peal was on 16th April 2011 (https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=121406). The peal gained International acclaim with so many firsts. All ringers were members of the local band.

Covid:  St Christophers came to notice again immediately after the first covid lock down, when due to a little ingenuity with pulleys on the underside of the ceiling 2m spacing was achieved allowing all bells to be rung.  A full article about ringing after Covid was published in the Bell ringer’s magazine (The Ringing World) on 30thOctober 2020 and can be found here with photographs. (https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/issueno/5714#page=10).  There is a youtube video of the first ringing on 27th September (https://studio.youtube.com/video/Dc16GsVIls0/edit).

To date (Oct 2025) there have been 345 Quarter Peals and 10 Peals. Sunday service ringing is at 9.15am before the 10am service and Practice night is Wednesday 7pm until 8.30pm.