| Where: | Chertsey, Surrey at St Peters Church |
| When: | Every weekday from 29th September to 25th March |
| 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. Chertsey is one of the select few places where this still happens! It is believed that the custom may have begun in 1235 when a serious fire damaged the Abbey at Chertsey, and the practice was already an old one when documented in Georgian times.
Helpful Hints
It takes around five minutes for 50 blows to ring on the bell, followed by one ring for each day the month so far. It happens only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays so don’t go at the weekend! And remember it’s only rung from Michaelmas (September 29th) to Lady Day (March 25th).
The romantic legend featuring Blanche Heriot hanging on to the bell to silence it (her lover was due to be executed when it rang) during the Wars of the Roses was made up by local author Albert Smith so sadly has no basis in fact – but there’s a commemorative statue of her and the bell on the south side of Chertsey Bridge.
Click here for the church website: http://stpeterschertsey.org.uk
The story of Blanche Heriot doesn’t seem to have any truth in it, but It’s one of the best tales Chertsey has got. We not only have a statue of her, but the maternity department at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, is called the Blanch Heriot Wing, and one of the new roads in the centre of Chertsey, curving around Sainsburys, is called Heriot Road. I have also sat through a school assembly based on her self sacrifice. It amuses me. But then when people want to believe something, they will!
Hi Paula!
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating fictional characters!! At Tong in Shropshire there’s even a grave in the chuchyard to Little Nell, the character from Dickens – we saw it on our travels last year.And when we visited Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor, we saw a brass plaque set in the bar floor saying that was where Jos Merlyn was murdered.If it’s a good story, it deserves to be remembered on its own merits – and Blanche Heriot is obviously the local heroine, so why not?
Best wishes,
Averil
I would love to come to the church with my magic lantern and show the slide set “curfew must not ring tonight” or possibly make a fund raising evening for you and give a full magic lantern show ? the slide set curfew is my favourite regards John.
Hi John,
That sounds like a marvellous idea – but you’re through to calendarcustoms ( a website about traditional annual events throughout the UK, run from a long way Up North) rather than St Peters Church at Chertsey so you need to visit http://stpeterschertsey.org where there is a contact link at the bottom of the page. Hope you get it organised!
Best Wishes,
Averil
Contact me if you are still interested
Thanks Peter- will email!
Averil
I was born in Chertsey and moved away at the age of 23. I actually went up to the belfry and saw the Curfew Bell. Legend was that there was still blood on it.! The Reader’s Digest book of Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain tell the story of Blanche Heriot as a fact and I had always believed it. Now reading above in this article about the Curfew bell all my illusions over the past 72 years have now been shattered !! I have told numerous people it was a true story. Never mind. I have seen the statue at Chertsey Bridge but why it was put there I don’t understand as the Bridge must be about three quarter of a mile away from St.Peter’s Church… I believe it was put there after the Museum opened in 1966 – (the year I moved to Shropshire) I last visited Chertsey in 2009 and still have quite a few friends there. Glad to see that the bell is still rung at the appropriate time.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your message.It’s such a good story that it ought to be true (even if it isn’t!) – and the bell will soon start its ringing season at Michaelmas,
Best wishes,
Averil
Just a note that the church website is stpeterschertsey.org.uk. I am one of the ringers and we still ring the curfew.
Peter
Dear Peter,
Many thanks – I’ve added that link to the page. Good to hear that you’re all still keeping the tradition alive 🙂
Best wishes
Averil
Is Malcolm still a bell ringer?
Ian Taylor
Sorry Ian-we don’t cone from Chertsey so don’t know who the bell ringers are!
Best wishes
Averil
There is no evidence that Blanche Herriot existed. By the same token, there is no evidence to say that she didn’t exist. I strongly believe that the story was handed down through the centuries. Local folklore from people that couldn’t write or even converse in anything but local dialect. The names were made up of course. But (romantically) I believe the story was true. I have written a song called ‘ The brave maiden of Chertsey’ it will be available soon.
Ian Taylor.