Surrey Association Northern District


The destruction of St, Stephen’s, Clapham Park.

Since the formation of the Surrey Association in 1880, ten ringing towers in the Northern District have been lost to the Exercise (the Southern District has lost none). The main reasons have been war-time bombing and subsequent church redundancies, chiefly among 19^th century suburban churches, some of which had unsuitable rings owing to the fashion for tall thin towers at the time (the same applied at Walworth and Bermondsey where lighter rings have been installed). Interestingly, the overall number of towers in the District is much the same now as it was in 1880; at least six of the current rings were installed (or augmented from 2, 3 or 4) in the last twenty years of the 19^th century and five more during the 20^th.

1920	Dulwich, College Chapel	5, 5½ cwt
Little is known about the original ring of 5 which were recast into a chime of 8.

1940	Southwark, St John, Horsleydown	10, 17 cwt
St John’s, a Hawksmoor church in Tower Bridge Road, was destroyed by enemy action during World War II.

1941	Kennington, St John the Divine	8, 20 cwt
This Victorian Gothic church by GE Street has the tallest spire in South London. It was severely damaged during World War II and, although the tower was rebuilt, several schemes to instal a new ring of bells have failed to come to fruition.

1941	Southwark, Christ Church, Blackfriars Road	8, 18 cwt
The church was destroyed by enemy action during World War II. A replacement church was constructed in 1957-59 but the tower has remained empty.

1970	Clapham Park, St Stephen	8, 17¼ cwt
A perfectly good Victorian church (1867) was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the surrounding estate and replaced by a modern, yellow brick building, without a tower, on approximately the same site. Fortunately the fine Gillett 8 were saved before the tower was literally torn apart, and transferred to Christ Church, Spitalfields, which had been without bells since the war.

1970	Southwark, Holy Trinity	8, 19¾ cwt
The church, built in 1826, was typical of the period in having a slender tower housing a substantial ring of 8. The bells appear to have been unringable for some time before their removal, the last peal having been in 1887. Some of the metal was used to cast a light ring of 8 for St Andrew, Lambeth, (now at Walworth - see below). The building, now called the Henry Wood Hall, is used as a rehearsal and recording venue for classical orchestras.

1971	Camberwell, St George	8, 13½ cwt
This was another 1820s church with a slim tower and comparatively large ring, although it appears to have been quite a “peal factory” in its day. The bells were scrapped and the church declared redundant in 1972. The building is now used by the Celestial Church of Christ.

1975	Lambeth, St Mary-at-Lambeth	8, 16¾ cwt
The church, which stands outside the gate of Lambeth Palace, was declared redundant in 1972 and now houses the Museum of Garden History. The bells were transferred to St John the Evangelist, Caterham Valley.

1976	Streatham Common, Immanuel	8, 16 cwt
One of the oldest of Streatham’s daughter churches, Immanuel had a ring of 8 in the 1860s when there were only 6 at St Leonard’s and the band were among the founder members of the Surrey Association. The bells became virtually unringable by the late 1960s and were subsequently removed, the metal being used to cast a new ring for Chelsea Old Church. The tower still stands although the rest of the church has been rebuilt.

2000	Lambeth, Ss Andrew and Thomas	8, 3¾ cwt
St Andrew’s, Short Street, was built in the 1960s and the light eight were installed in 1971. When the church became redundant, the bells wre transferred to St Peter, Walworth, to relace an unringable, heavier 8 (which are now at Limehouse).

Acknowledgements: Keltec Trust - Lost Rings database; Diocese of Southwark - Lost Churches pages; Photos of St, Stephen’s, Clapham Park by John Pladdys.
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Lost Towers of the Northern District