Why did the bell crack?
The bell was originally the fourth heaviest from a ring of five bells cast for Hampreston in 1738 by William Knight, who had a bell foundry in the village of Closworth near Sherborne. The current second and third bells were from this same founder who also cast a ring of five bells for Canford Magna church the following year. The bells were turned and rehung on new fittings in 2003 and it is likely that a flaw in the original casting was the cause of the crack due to the clapper now hitting the bell in a different place.
Hampreston Bellringers 