| Where: | Sandwich, Kent at St Peters Church on Market Street |
| When: | Daily (usually, except Sundays, Christmas Day & Boxing Day) |
| Time: | 8pm |
In the past it was common practice for a curfew bell to be rung, to let people know it was time to cover their fires and get to bed. Sandwich is one of the select few places where this still happens! In the past it used to be rung twice daily, once as now at 8pm called the Pigbell which was the signal to put the animals outside for the night and cover the fire and once at 5am called the Goosebell ( I haven’t found an explanation for the naming of this one, but I expect the nearby residents were relieved when it stopped being rung every day!).
Helpful Hints
Don’t go on a Sunday as that’s the only day the curfew isn’t usually rung (apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day when the ringers get a holiday). However, be aware that though we have it on good authority that the bell is regularly rung today, it doesn’t always get rung daily as we went on a Friday in August at the right time and nothing happened!
The ringing lasts for about 10 minutes.
The church of St Peter in the middle of town is redundant and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. There are eight bells in the tower, all cast in 1799 by Mears of Whitechapel. They are hung in a wooden frame that dates from the early eighteenth century but they can no longer be rung full circle.
The curfew is sounded on the tenor bell (15cwt), which is the only bell that still has a wheel, and it is rung about a third of the way up sending its mysterious and sonorous sound all over this ancient medieval town.
There is a team of about thirty locals who take it in turn to perform this ancient duty. I think that this is unusual as I suspect that most, if not all, of the other daily curfew bells around the country are rung automatically.
The church is open every day and, if you pay £3.50, you can ascend the tower where you can see the bells in their frame. It is very obvious why they cannot be rung and it is equally obvious that they have frequent visits from pigeons. You also get a splendid view of the town and its streets from the top.
st peters church, at sandwich town, how many steps are there from the church floor to the viewing balcony?
Hi Alfred,
Your inquiry has come through to calendar customs and we have no connection to the church – and as we live in Northumberland we can’t easily go and check! You’ll need to contact St Peters direct – best of luck!
Averil