Petham, Kent

[Bill Hibbert]

I was analysing the tuning of All Saints, Petham, Kent this evening, 
as you do. This 1923 six is said to be the first 'Simpson'-tuned peal 
from the Whitechapel foundry. However, although the bells have a 
lovely warm hummy sound, they are best described, as regards true-
harmonic tuning, as a valiant but failed try.

Both hums and primes vary uniformly from slightly sharp in the tenors 
to somewhat flat in the trebles. Clearly an experimental ring: M&S 
had got the hums down, but overshot in the trebles (treble hum is 25 
cents flat), and the primes are moderately old-style (treble prime is 
55 cents flat). The nominals are stretched, by 17 cents in the treble 
of six. In my recording of all six in changes, the twanginess of the 
trebles can be heard.

The actual tuning figures in Hz for those who care are:
treble: 392, 770.5, 938, 1256.5, 1590.5, 2369.5, 3236.5
2nd: 349.5, 689, 834, 1119, 1413, 2110, 2891.5
3rd: 315, 618.5, 743.5, 972.5, 1248.5, 1860.5, 2553.5
4th: 290, 588, 695.5, 895, 1171, 1750, 2407
5th: 264.5, 530.5, 629.5, 820.5, 1055.5, 1578, 2173.5
tenor: 235, 471, 558.5, 723.5, 936.5, 1399.5, 1922.5

Cheers,

Bill H