We are aware that there are other bells in the Bolton area that are mainly forgotten. These include, but are not limited to St Paul's (Astley Bridge), St Peter's (Belmont Village) and St Matthew's (Little Lever).
Address: Holland Street, Bolton, BL1 8QF
Access is from behind the organ. They are a Gillet and Johnson clock chime of 5 hung dead and they are chimed with elacombe chimes. A 4 bell peal was performed by Scott Jarrett on 11th November 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice.
Address: 20 Rivington Rd, Belmont, Bolton BL7 8AD
These are steel bells which received some maintenance in the late 1990s as an article in the Bolton Evening News dated 13 September 1995 revealed. Donna Jones was part of a band who has rung Plain Hunt there.
There is mention in the Bolton Evening News dated 8 February 1871 (page 3) of a wedding where the "bells of the church (were) ringing merrily".
Extracted from their website is the following:
A peal of six bells was purchased from Sheffield steel foundry Naylor Vickers & Co. and installed in December 1860. Engineer John Hick organised the purchase and installation of the bells, along with a church clock, both of which were paid for by subscriptions, church collections and a substantial gift from John Hick himself. More than 100 people from the village and further afield contributed to the subscription list donating amounts from six pence to twenty pounds.
They vary in diameter from 30 inches to 45 inches and are tuned to the notes A, B, C, D, E and G. They were described by William Wall, the vicar at the time of their installation, as "a chime; hung dead and operated from a barrel. Bells hung on beams at 45 degrees". In practice this means the bells are a "chime" and are rung by striking them rather than change ringing. This is not only much easier to do for inexperienced campanologists but also allows for the playing of simple tunes. The equipment for striking the bells is described as "Wright Jones' patent bell ringing apparatus" and cost thirty-five pounds fifteen shillings, though nothing more is known about Jones. The ringing orders for a number of popular hymn tunes can be found written on the walls of the ringing room in the church tower and are still used by the team of bell-ringers today (hear them here).
The bells appear in a Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1g3qjF2xO8&list=UU8G-nKbrIStYkisdv_42TIg
There is more information about the bells in the booklet on pages 41 to 43.
Address: St Matthews Church, Church Street, Little Lever, Bolton BL3 1BD
There was a trip organised to visit these bells on 25th July 1998 by Geoff Smith. Pictures taken on the day seem to show there were eight bells but Dove's Guide of the day states there are only six. The online version does not mention St Matthews's. They were cast by Gillet and Johnson. At some time, the two trebles were stolen but later replaced by two new ones.
Among the visiting ringers that day were Jane Dey, Geoff Dey, Alex Hajok and Geoff Smith who regaled the locals with Christmas Carols, in the middle of July, as it was the only music in the tower!
The Tower is classed by the Imperial War Museum as a Memorial (see: https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/71891 ). The inscription on a stone tablet in the external tower wall reads "THE CHURCH TOWER WAS/ COMPLETED A.D. 1924 TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY/ OF THE LITTLE LEVER MEN WHO/ DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918"
Time for another visit?
Address: Victoria Square, Bolton BL1 1RU
The bells were cast by Warner & Sons of London who also provided the quarter hour bells for the Palace of Westminster (but not 'Big Ben', the hour bell). Bolton's hour bell (cast 1872) weighs in at just over 4 tons (82 0 13) while the four quarter hour bells are 1.5 tons each. The chimes are also similar to the world-famous Westminster Palace chimes.
See http://www.towerbells.org/data/IXfoundryWarner.html
The following are churches with simple tolling bells.
Address: Church Street, Ainsworth, Bolton BL2 5RU
1 bell, 3.25 cwt in Eb. Steel bell. Unringable. 1867 Vickers.
Address: Kenwood Avenue, Bedford, Leigh WN7 2LN
1 bell, 15-0-22 in F. Ringable, rung July 2011, YouTube=niche2000. Church closed 2017 for good. 1911 Taylor.
Address: Garside Street, Bolton BL1 4AQ
1 bell, 6 cwt in B. Church now residential, bell in store. 1865 Hick.
Address: Bolton Road, Bradshaw, Bolton BL2 3EU
One tolling bell on church. The separated tower was left when the church was rebuilt.
Address: Lower Leigh Rd, Westhoughton, Bolton BL5 2EH
St James's has three bells as can be seen in the picture.
Address: Halliwell Road, Bolton BL1 8BR
1 bell, 3.25 cwt in Eb. Steel bell. Unringable. 1867 Vickers.
Address: Eskrick Street, Halliwell, Bolton BL1 3JB
1 bell, 5-2-8 in C#. 1912 Taylor.
Stitch-Mi-Lane, Harwood, Bolton BL2 4HZ
1 bell, 6-2-17 in C#. Unringable. 1840 Mears.
Address: 269-271 Tyldesley Rd, Atherton, Manchester M46 9AL
St Anne, 1 bell, 2-1-26. Church closed, bell removed.
Address: Manchester Road, Kearsley, Bolton BL4 8QP
1 bell, 6 cwt in B. Unringable. 1871 Bailey.
Address: Mather Lane, Leigh WN7 2PR
1 bell, 20 cwt in Eb. Roman Catholic. Unringable. 1891 O'Byrne.
Address: Mosley Common Road, Mosley Common, Manchester M28 1AN
1 bell, 11-3-24, Unringable. (JG). The bells were the gift of John Higham of Swinton
Address: 54 Chorley Rd, Westhoughton, Bolton BL5 3PR
St John's has only one bell as can be seen at https://www.stjohnswingates.org.uk/photos/gallery.php?gallery_id=28&pg=1
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