Our History

Christ Church, Epsom Common, has a long association with bellringing.

The original church was established in 1843 as a chapel of ease to St Martin’s, Epsom. It was a modest building, too small to house a full peal of bells, and its tower would have contained only a single bell, used to summon parishioners to worship and to mark the Sanctus.

Christ Church became a separate ecclesiastical district in 1874, and the present church was consecrated two years later, in 1876. The tower followed in 1887, and with it began the story of bellringing on Epsom Common.

The peal boards in the ringing chamber provide a fascinating record of that history. They preserve the names of generations of local ringers and mark important occasions in the life of the church and community.

The boards record many memorable occasions, including the first peal by the Christ Church Guild in 1902, a peal for the vicar’s silver wedding in 1906, an Armistice peal in December 1918, a peal rung by four married couples in 1920, and an extraordinary 10,400 changes of Double Norwich in 1926.

Don Baptiste, CBE was a significant figure in the modern history of Christ Church tower. His name appears on the Respect Board, where he is remembered as a Tower Captain, and he was closely involved in the major bell project of 1992  to replace the old bells and was among the Epsom Common band who rang the new bells for the first time after their dedication on 29 March that year. On that occasion he rang the sixth. 

Today, the bells continue to be rung for Sunday services, special occasions and celebrations, maintaining a tradition that has been part of life on Epsom Common for well over a century.