My interest in St Margarets Clenchwarton was stimulated when during our March 19th visit I learned that their treble bell was cast by Joseph Mallows in 1758, augmenting the number of bells from four to five. John L’Lestrange, writing in his 1874 book, “The Church Bells of Norfolk” tells us there were five bells in the tower and these comprised;
| No 1 | Joseph Mallows Fecit | 1758 | |
| No 2 | Thomas Newman Made Me | 1745 | Mr John Warden C.W. |
| No 3 | John Draper Made Me | 1620 | recast by Taylor 1909 |
| No 4 | Francis Foster. Tho. Wardale C.W | 1720 | Founder; T. Newman |
| No 5 | John Draper Made Me | 1620 | recast by Taylor 1924 |
According to L’Estrange there were only three bells in “6 Edward V1” though who cast them or any information about them is not recorded. Readers may recall that Edward V1 was the only son of Henry V111 by Jane Seymour, dying at the young age of 15 years. This dates these bells to 1553 and I’m guessing ( hopefully correctly ) that the two Draper bells of 1620 were recasts of the treble and tenor of this early three ( see Nos 3 and 5 above ) which remained unaltered in the tower for the next hundred years until in 1720 No 2 ( the present No 4 ) was recast by Thomas Newman whose foundry was at Cambridge, followed only 25 years later ( in 1745) by the addition of a fourth smaller bell, ( No 2 above ) again by Thomas Newman. As mentioned, in 1758 the bells were augmented to five by the addition of a treble bell cast by Joseph Mallows whose short lived foundry was at East Dereham. There are apparently only 26 of his bells still existing, not surprising as his foundry was operative for only five years , 1756 to 1760 ( although there is evidence that he was casting bells before these years) Both Draper bells of 1620 have been recast, No 3 which was cracked in 1909, followed by No 5 which was recast on Christmas Eve, 1924. This old Draper casting was thin and of poor tone, weighing only 5 ¾ cwts whereas the weight of the new Taylor bell was increased to 6 ¾ cwts.
Taylors work in 1909 included rehanging all five bells in a cast iron/steel frame still in use though the plain bearings of 1909 were replaced by enclosed ball bearings in 2003 by Eayre and Smith. As Andrew Davey writes, local labour contributed to this , helping to fit the bearings, cleaning and painting the bell frame at a total cost of around £4000. A creditable effort ensuring that Clenchwarton bells remain ringable some 469 years since this story began. In those days St Margarets Church and the village were apparently surrounded by water and life for ordinary people must have been tough, poor hygiene, insanitary conditions etc., yet I imagine their thoughts and aspirations were little different from those of today . The water has long gone, the church being surrounded by housing developments, but it and its church yard, shaded by trees retain an aura of peace and tranquillity which hopefully will remain for many years to come. John Bennett