Grid Reference:-
140/311894
Postcode:
CV10 7QN
Bell Audio:-
None Available
Guild Affiliation:-
Coventry DG
Peals Rung Here:-
Felstead Database
Sunday Ringing:-
By arrangement for
the
3.30pm service
(especially 3rd)
Practice Night:-
None
History Of The Bells
These bells had been out of action for a while. Repairs were completed in 2006 and the bells are ringing again.
Much smaller than it once was, Astley church stands out at a crossroads. What is left now is one arm and the formally central tower of a cruciform church. The ruins of Astley Castle are nearby. Unusually the bells are in the minor key and the rope guides even have a space for the tenor should it ever arrive! However, the spell is broken once you realise the guides were bought second hand. The bells are hung in a massive old oak frame of slightly doubtful rigidity, but handle quite well. The bells were retuned and rehung with new fittings in the old frame of 1607 by Taylors in 1912. The canons have been removed from all the bells. The tenor has long been inaccurately quoted as being 8-2-19.
There is also a small clock bell hanging in a wrought iron frame on the floor of the bell chamber, cast by James Barwell in the late 19th century. It has a diameter of 14 inches, sounds a note flat of G natural, and weighs about ¾cwt. It is sounded by means of a clock hammer.
Entrance is from inside, using the main west door. Parking is limited near to the church, some space is available at the base of the tower.
Details Of The Bells
1 Newcombe, Leicester 1607 4-2-00 29.50" 1120.0Hz (C#+16) 2 Newcombe, Leicester 1607 5-1-06 31.25" 1000.0Hz (B+21c) 3 Newcombe, Leicester 1607 5-2-15 33.00" 892.0Hz (A+23c) 4 Newcombe, Leicester 1607 7-2-06 36.125" 841.5Hz (G#+23c) 5 Joseph Smith, Edgbaston 1722 8-2-19 38.25" 750.0Hz (F#+23c)
Photo Gallery
The castle was home to the Grey family. Three women who married kings or became queen lived at Astley Castle: Elizabeth Woodville, who became wife of Edward IV; Elizabeth of York, who married Henry VII; and Lady Jane Grey, the Nine-Days-Queen. The building was used as a hotel until 1978 when it was gutted by fire |