THE BELLS

The Church’s original six bells were cast by John Taylor & Sons, Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1852. They arrived in Sydney in January 1853 but were not installed at Christ Church until after the completion of the spire at the end of 1855.

The bells were silent from the late 1950s until 1966 owing to concerns about the structural stability of the frames.

The original six bells were recast in England and were then blessed and named by Bishop David Hand of New Guinea on Trinity Sunday, 29 May 1983. The six original bells were named:

Mary, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God.

Laurence, to honour the Deacon of Rome and our patron saint, 258AD.

Barbara, in honour of the patron saint of bellringers, 300AD.

Basil, in honour of the great doctor of Caesarea, 378AD and founder of Christian monasticism in the East. (Basil Potts, Captain of the Christ Church St Laurence bell tower from 1974.)

Patrick, in honour of the Celtic saint, 461AD. (Patrick Austin Day, Rector of Christ Church St Laurence, 1964-1996.)

Esther, in honour of Mother Esther CHN, foundress of the religious life in Australia, Melbourne, 1888.

Four new bells were commissioned and cast at the Whitechapel Foundry in London in 1984.

The four new bells were named:

John, in honour of John Hope, seventh rector of Christ Church (1926-1964).

Warwick, in honour of Warwick Bastian (1914-1979), Bishop of the Church of God and Assistant in the Diocese of Bunbury (1968-1979). (Given by Laith and Jan Reynolds of Perth. Laith Reynolds was President of the Bell-ringing Association of Australia and New Zealand.)

Neil, in honour of Neil Goldsworthy, faithful parishioner and benefactor of Christ Church, musician and churchwarden (died 1960).

Robert, in honour of Robert Ferris, bell ringer and captain of the bell tower of All Saints’, North Parramatta. He assisted in getting the Christ Church bells ringing again in the mid 1960s (Robert died in 1982).

Return to Bells and bell-ringing...