To new cast the great bell belonging to the parish church of Brighthelmston, to agree with Joshua Kipling, bellfounder, to charge on the parish taxes. In March, 1790, another order was made:— That the treble bell be repaired by Mr. Palmer. Two additional bells were hung in 1818, making a peal of ten bells; but when the clock, at St. Peter’s church, was put up, the two new bells, which did not accord with the original eight, were removed to the tower of that church, for chiming the quarters. Doomsday Book, 1086, mentions:— Ibide’ ten’ Wills. de Watevile Bristelmestune de Willo. Uluuard tenuit de Rege E. T’c et modo se defd’ p. 5 hid’ et dim’. T’ra e 4 car. In d’nio e’ 1 car’, et 13 vill’i, et ii Bord’ cu’ una car’. Ibi Æccl’a. TRANSLATION. In the same place William de Wateville holds Bristelmestune of William. Ulward held it of King Edward. Then and now it defends itself for five hides and a half. The land is 4 carucates. In demesne is 1 carucate and 13 villeins, and 2 bordars, with one plough. There is a church. The manor was that of Atlingworth, {85} and there is no doubt the church referred to was the present parish-church of St. Nicholas, which, in its original state, was of Norman construction. It consists of a nave, with side aisles, and a chancel, which is separated from the main body by a richly painted and gilded Tudor screen, over which, at no remote period, was a rood-loft. To the south, also, of the chancel is a small chantry. The five arches which separate on each side the nave from the aisles, and are supported on diagonal pillars, are of the fifteenth century. To accommodate the great increase in the population of the town, from time to time, galleries were constructed wherever it was possible to place them. In 1852, however, in consequence of the dilapidated state of the sacred edifice, the restoration of the church was determined upon. The leader in the desirable movement was the Rev. H. M. Wagner, Vicar, who having invited some of the residents and townspeople to meet at the Town Hall, on the 20th of September, in that year, and having taken the chair, stated the fact,—that many years ago, his Grace the late Duke of Wellington was a pupil of his (the Vicar’s) grandfather, the then Vicar of the parish; and that the Duke was wont to worship in the Vicarage pew of their parish church. He proposed to them the restoration of the church as an appropriate and enduring monument of their gratitude and veneration for his memory. The proposition was unanimously adopted, and a committee was appointed to collect subscriptions, which in less than a month amounted to £5,000, a sum nearly equal to the outlay.