Pictures

In 1853 three of the old bells of St Mary's Church, Pilton, were taken away to Loughborough by sea to be re-cast by John Taylor & Sons and for two new ones to be made. They were brought back to Pilton Quay via Bristol by the sailing smack ‘John & Ann’ (shown in this lithograph reproduced with the permission of the North Devon Atheneum in Barnstaple). The five bells were then hauled up Pilton Street on sledges and manhandled into the tower.

This event was reported in the North Devon Journal in April 1854. The two new bells were added at the personal expense of Robert Chichester of Hall. The total cost of the rest of the work, presumably raised by the Parish, was £158, equivalent to about £40,000 at today’s prices.

The story of the Bells of St Mary's is told in another archive item - follow this link:
http://vimp.thepiltonstory.org/document/The-Bells-of-St-Mary%2526%252303...