Church Micro #758 Layer De La Haye Multi-Cache

It is thought the oldest bell in the tower, cast about 1459, and the mediaeval wooden frame were given to the church by the monks of St Botolph's in the fifteenth century. Two bells were added in the 17th century and a further two in the 18th century. An extract from the Essex Chronicle dated 14th October 1791 reports that "A peal of five bells, newly repaired and fresh hung, will be opened on Monday next the 17th of October, at Layer-de-la-Hay". As far as we can tell this peal of five bells remained in ringing order up to around the time of the famous Colchester earthquake of 1884. It subsequently became unsafe to ring the bells properly and in 1936 Ellacombe Hammers were fitted by Alfred Bowell, Bellfounder, Ipswich, so that they could be chimed. (In chiming a hammer, operated by a rope, is used to strike the bell, rather than the whole bell being swung through 360 degrees.)

In 1969, when Canon James Allen was the incumbent, an inspection of the bells was carried out by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and an estimate supplied for rehanging the bells. No further action was taken at the time. When writing a history of the church Canon Allen noted "...the bells have been chimed only by means of ropes which reach to the floor of the tower. Is it a pious hope that one may once again hear these bells properly rung..Another bell added in 2001.?"

During the Revd John Sibson's time as Vicar in the 1980s Brian Keeble, a member of the Essex Association of Change Ringers (EACR),
moved into the parish and became a member of the Parochial Church Council. Further enquiries were made about the bells and an inspection was undertaken by the EACR's Technical Adviser. A bell fund was started, helped by a generous bequest from the late Donald Oxton who was for many years a faithful member of the church, a member of the PCC, and a Churchwarden. Again, it was not possible to take any further action on the bells at the time.

The desire of many people to get the bells back into ringing order gathered momentum during the 1990s. The bell fund continued to grow slowly and the restoration of the bells started to feature regularly on the PCC's agenda. In 1997 there was an opportunity to apply for a Millennium Grant which made the project look achievable. Although a Millennium Grant was not forthcoming, the support from the village and elsewhere encouraged the PCC to proceed with the restoration as a very fitting project to mark the new millennium. An initial survey revealed the mediaeval wooden bell frame was no longer usable. Removal of the frame was not an option because of its great historic interest. These factors made the project much more involved and expensive than it might otherwise have been. The only solution was to construct a new frame under the original. This in turn necessitated the construction of a new ringing floor so that the ground floor of the tower could continue to be used as a clergy vestry. All this was additional to work required on the bells themselves, one of which was cracked (the Tenor - now successfully repaired using a specialist welding technique), and the provision of new fittings.