The first church in Benson was almost certainly a wooden building erected during the Saxon period and of which there are no traces. It is quite likely that this church was founded by St Birinus, Bishop of Wessex. The earliest recognisable feature in the present church is a late 12^th century window which has been re-set in the east wall of the south aisle. It probably belonged to a church with only a nave and chancel. Aisles were then added in the 13^th century.

The first indication of bells is in the 1553 inventory which includes 4 bells in the steeple. It seems clear from records however that by 1727 there were six bells in the tower although we have no information on this tower or of the bells. A decision was made in 1765 to replace the tower with the original intention of replacing the six bells. However it seems that funds were short and it was not until 1781 that the new tower was finally completed. At the same time it was agreed that timber on church land should be felled and sold in order to raise sufficient funds to purchase eight new bells to be installed in the tower.

Thomas Janaway of Chelsea was contracted to cast the bells and these were installed anti-clockwise in a timber frame constructed by Edward Simmons. The eight bells are in the key of F# with a tenor weight of 14cwt 1qr 22lbs. The cost of the bells was £163.15.0

Two of the bells were subsequently recast, the 2^nd in 1852 by C & G Mears and the third in 1922 by Mears & Stainbank.  

In 1971 a new floor was installed in the tower to create a choir vestry and the ringing chamber was moved onto the new floor. In 1993 the tower captain, Stan Day, died and in his memory the seventh and eight were rehung with all new fittings.

However over the subsequent years the bells were becoming increasingly difficult to ring and In 2009 a major overhaul of the bells was undertaken. The bells were rehung clockwise by Whites of Appleton in a new cast iron frame supported on steel beams. English Heritage gave permission to replace the oak frame on condition that we obtained a full archaeological survey. We now have a very detailed report on the original frame and the bells with much interesting information obtained from the County Records Office. We have also retained a section of the old frame.

The church clock is of interest as it has two X1s on its face. During the Second World War, the traitor Lord Haw Haw, broadcasting from Germany, announced that an RAF station near a church with two elevens on its clock would be bombed. RAF Benson was indeed bombed but the damage was only slight. The clock face was repainted in 2012 and it was agreed to keep the two elevens.

Bell	Date	Founder	Note	Weight (cwt-qtrs-lbs)
Treble	1781	Thomas Janaway	F#	5-1-2
2	1852	C & G Mears	E#	5-0-7
3	1922	Mears & Stainbank	D#	5-2-23
4	1781	Thomas Janaway	E#	6-2-12
5	1781	Thomas Janaway	B	7-2-2
6	1781	Thomas Janaway	A#	8-1-12
7	1781	Thomas Janaway	G#	10-0-16
Tenor	1781	Thomas Janaway	F#	14-1-22