The wooden ladder up to the bell chamber is very rare, and on account of its size and age is almost unique in England. Carbon dating suggested that the felling of the timber was between AD 1345 & AD 1380. The ladder is constructed from one long length of oak tree-trunk, split in two, with the 30 treads cut from smaller branches in a triangular section and kept in place with wooden pegs. All the original wood is believed to be from one tree and though much of this remains, many treads were damaged by deathwatch beetle and had to be replaced in 1936.