YACR Central Branch

Darton

All Saints

The tower at Darton was built around 1486, and little or nothing is known of the bells that were installed in it at that time. The present six bells were cast by Lester and Pack in London in 1769. The cost of the bells was £165, of which £90 was paid by the church and £75 by voluntary subscription. Their details were:

Bell	Key	Weight
Treble	E	4-1-1
2	D	5-0-21
3	C	5-3-22
4	B	6-3-22
5	A	8-2-20
Tenor	G	10-2-16

In 1826 the ringers of Wath challenged All England, and the resulting ringing contest was held at Wragby Church. The winning team were the Darton ringers.

The Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers was established in 1875. Available records provide little information of ringing at Darton within the Association, except in 1897, when the first peal rung at Darton for the Yorkshire Association took place.

Meetings of the Barnsley and District Society were regularly held at Darton from its formation in 1909 until the late 1930's, by which time the bells and fittings were in poor condition, and were becoming increasingly difficult to ring. They were finally declared unringable after one last ring on 9th July 1960, which was only made possible via improvised DIY being done by ringers from Cawthorne.

In February 1964 the bells were rung for the induction of Rev John Scholfield as Vicar of Darton. Unfortunately they again fell into disrepair after a number of years, and no more ringing took place after 1986.

In 1996 the news filtered through to Darton that the Millenium Commission had made funds available under the 'Ring in 2000' project. This was all the encouragement that was needed. The fundraising commenced, and a new band of Darton ringers began training on the bells at Wragby in preparation. The Millenium Commission approved a grant in 1997, and the services of Fred Pembleton were secured to perform the necessary work. A new metal frame was installed to replace the old oak frame, and the bells were re-tuned and refurbished with new fittings. The re-dedication service was held on 29th November 1998, led by the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Wakefield. The bells were finally heard ringing again on 3rd March 1999 when Fred Pembleton and helpers tried the rehung bells for the first time.

The first peal on the Darton bells since 1897 was rung on 3rd June 2002 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

The details of the bells are now as follows;

Bell	Diameter	Weight	Note	Year Cast	Inscription	Position of Inscription
1	26¾"	3-2-18	E	1769	Lester & Pack of London	Shoulder
					Fecit 1769	Waist
2	28¾"	4-2-6	D	1769	Lester Pack & Chapman of London Fecit 1769	Shoulder
3	31"	5-1-20	C	1769	Lester Pack & Chapman of London Fecit 1769	Shoulder
4	33"	5-3-27	B	1769	Lester Pack & Chapman of London Fecit 1769	Shoulder
5	35⅞"	7-3-21	A	1769	The Revd Joseph Leech Minister Jn o Taylor, Jon a Roebuck, Jo s Hobson Ch Wardens	Shoulder
					Lester Pack & Chapman of London Fecit 1769	Waist
6	39¾"	9-1-20	G	1769	Cast by Lester & Pack 1769	Shoulder