Beccles bell tower

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The Bell Tower dominates the town of Beccles and the surrounding countryside and the splendid views from the top make climbing the 100 steps worthwhile.

Building work on the tower started on January 1st 1500 under the direction of the monks of the Abbey of St Edmundsbury.

The significance of this church and bell tower is that it was the place in which Catherine Suckling and Revrend Edmund Nelson, the parents of one of England's most famous sea-faring heroes, Horatio Nelson, got married in 1749.

Although bell towers were usually built to the west side of a church, the slope of the cliff alongside Beccles church and the enormous weight of the proposed tower, 3000 tons, meant it had to be built to the east. It is thought that originally the tower was intended to have a steeple and spire but after 40 years of building the tower, the Reformation and the confusion surrounding that period brought work to a halt.

The tower is 97ft high and 30ft square at the base and only slightly less at belfry height. The tower was built in four stages, supported by deep foundations, very thick walls faced with Roche Abbey stone and huge buttresses; and there is a newel staircase at each corner of the tower.

Great skill and care was used in the tower's construction as seen in the tracery and the ornamental niches and panels of the stonework. The entrance is similar to the south porch of the church featuring the arms of local families who contributed substantially to the project. These include the Garneys, Redes and Bowes.

Originally the tower had only two clock faces installed early in the eighteenth century on the north and south sides, but a century later one was added on the east side and all these were raised to a higher level. Nowadays the clock is run by electricity and is computerised, allowing the twice-yearly change between Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time to be made quickly.

The clocks chimes on each quarter hour and rings out the time on the hour, stopping at 8pm to allow residents some peace and quiet during the night.

Originally there was a peal of eight bell but this was replaced in 1762 with a peal of ten cast by Lester & Packe of London. In 1909 all ten bells were completely restored by Messrs Taylor & Co, Loughborough and re-hung on a new steel frame. The ringing chamber is on the second level and the belfry on the third.