| Place | Penshurst S John Bapt |
| Lieutenancy area | Kent |
| Country | England |
| Historic county | Kent |
| Dove tower ID | 14017 |
| Rings | 8 (full-circle ring), tenor 16–0–3 in E♭See below |
| Frames | 1See below |
| Grid reference | TQ527438 |
| Latitude & longitude | 51.17347, 0.18326View on map, or get directions from Google MapsList nearest towers |
| Satnav lat & long | No optimised destination for satellite navigation has been submittedAdd details |
| Postcode | TN11 8BN |
| Diocese | Rochester |
| Church group | Church of England |
| Listed grade | I by Historic England |
| Church heritage record | 11117 |
| Also | Toilet |
| URLs | http://kent.lovesguide.com/tower.php?id=148 http://kcacr.org.uk/tonbridge-district/towers/towers-details/#Penshurst |
| Affiliation | Kent County Association |
| Performances | Search for performances on BellBoardCustomise |
| Peal boards | No peal boards have been uploaded to BellBoard yet The Central Council is collecting photographs of all peal boards, and curating and uploading them to BellBoard. This includes material from earlier systems found here. |
| Bells | 8 (full-circle ring)Edit details |
| Tenor | 16–0–3 (1795 lb or 814 kg) in E♭ (630.0 Hz) |
| Practices | Thu |
| Projects & overhauls | Matthew Higby & Co (in progress) Bells out for retuning (around listed 5th bell which will remain untuned) and rehung with all new fittings. Bells 3 and 8 to have hairline cracks in their crowns welded and existing bell bolts filled in |
| Tuned | 2025 |
| Peals | View 73 peals in the Felstead Database |
| Also | Ground floor ringing chamber |
| Bell | Weight | Frequency | Note | Diameter | Dated | Founder | Canons | Turning | Hanging | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5–0–5 | 1268.0 | E♭ | 27.91″ | 1896 | Mears & Stainbank | R | Y | FC | ||
| 2 | 5–1–7 | 1187.2 | D | 28.82″ | 1896 | Mears & Stainbank | R | Y | FC | ||
| 3 | 6–1–14 | 1054.6 | C | 31.38″ | 1701 | Richard Phelps | R | Y | FC | ||
| 4 | 5–3–26 | 943.6 | B♭ | 31.93″ | 1802 | Thomas I Mears | R | Y | FC | ||
| 5 [1] | 8–1–7 | 841.5 | A♭ | 36.85″ | [1460–1485]† | ? John Kebyll | R | Y | FC | ||
| 6 | 9–3–13 | 790.0 | G | 38.74″ | 1896 | Mears & Stainbank | R | Y | FC | ||
| 7 | 12–3–6 | 705.6 | F | 42.36″ | 1896 | Mears & Stainbank | R | Y | FC | ||
| 8 | 16–0–3 | 630.0 | E♭ | 46.93″ | 1619 | Joseph Hatch | R | Y | FC |
| Frame | Bells | Year | Material | Maker | Truss | Layout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 [2] | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 1896 | Cast iron | Thomas Blackbourn | 8.3.A.g | ~ 8.3 |
[1]Bell 5/8 founder
This is one of 2 bells which eventually formed 3 and 4 of 6 (later 5 and 6 of 8). The larger of these two bells was recast in 1896. In 1887, J C L Stahlschmidt suggested they were by the same founder. He judged that the second cross in the inscription to be one formerly used by Stephen Norton, so this founder has also been associated with the bells (Church Bells of Kent
, JCLS p370), but elsewhere in his writings, Stahlschmidt has provisionally
assigned these bells to a founder called John Kebyll (Church Bells of Kent
, JCLS p39-40). This conclusion was based on the fact that the arms on the shield were those of Kebyll or Keble, as borne by the Lord Mayor of London, Henry Kebyll in 1510. John Kebyll was noted as a bellhanger in the parish accounts of St Stephen, Walbrook (1480) which Stahlschmidt judged was strong enough to provisionally assign these bells to him. As with many bells from this epoch, further investigation may yield more certainty or an alternative candidate. John Kebyll is thought to have been casting between 1460–1485 (according to JCLS).
Published: 28/04/2024; updated: 29/07/2025
[2]Frame Fr1 layout variation
Frame Fr1 Pit E is foreshortened in the corner where access is given through the spiral staircase.
Published: 28/04/2024; updated: 17/07/2025
| 05/04/2026 | 3,8: welded [Matthew Higby] |
| 29/07/2025 | Updated note on the history of the 5th. Founder marked as uncertain. |
| 17/07/2025 | 1-8: weight, nominal, diameter, turning amended; 1,2,4,6,7 canon amended [Benjamin Kipling, Updated details post-tuning via #008898] |
| 05/06/2025 | Project description amended [Matthew Higby #008724] |
| 03/06/2025 | Bulk edit on Kebyll bells to remove the date (as none of these bells are dated) and subsitute with blank to default to 1460-1480 |
| 28/04/2025 | Ringing discontinued while restoration work under way [Logan Rich, local ringer via #008539] |
| 28/04/2024 | 1-8: nominals, canons, tuning added; 5: founder amended; frame Fr1: truss, layout added [Whitechapel Bell Foundry report 2013 via Dickon Love] |
| 29/05/2022 | Toilet added [Lynda Lazzerini] |