Coventry Cathedral

COVENTRY CATHEDRAL* St Michael 12, 33-3-6 in C# (+6b)

Grid Reference:-
140/335790

Postcode:
CV1 5RJ

Bell Audio:-
Hear the bells

Guild Affiliation:-
Coventry DG

Peals Rung Here:-
Felstead Database

Sunday Ringing:-
c.1130 - 1230
after main service

Practice Night:-
Thursday
1930 - 2100

History Of The Bells

This is one of the more famous cathedrals in England in that it was bombed in November 1940 and, apart from the tower, largely destroyed. The outside walls, except the clearstory, and the tower are all that remain. A new cathedral was built at right angles to the old one and therefore runs North-South instead of East-West. Of modern design it provokes either like or dislike amongst visitors, but rarely apathy!

Until 1675 there was a heavy ring of 6 bells, 30-1-5. These were recast into a ring of 8 by Henry Bagley I and his son Henry, the tenor weighing 25-0-12. These were only the second ring of 8 in a Warwickshire church. In May 1774 these bells were recast into a ring of 10. tenor 31-1-14, by Pack & Chapman of London and hung by Robert Turner of Whitechapel. The tower was giving cause for concern by 1794 and the bells were rehung in a two tier wooden frame that rose from the ground. The 6th cracked and was therefore recast in 1799 by Thomas Mears. In 1802 the tenor also cracked and was recast by John Briant of Hertford, 32-0-9, at the same time the frame being rearranged to have all the bells on one level. Before the end of the century the tower was again giving cause for concern and the bells were hung dead in 1885 in the octagon part of the tower.

The bells are now hung low down in the old cathedral tower. They were recast from the old Pack and Chapman 10 by Gillett & Johnston in 1927 following a donation to cover the whole cost of a chime of 12 bells plus 2 semitones. There was a huge argument about what to do, E.H. Lewis was a great opponent of "Simpson" tuning, the matter only being resolved by a Consistory Court hearing. The decision was that the bells would be recast to ringing weights just in case a new detached tower was ever built. (This had been actively considered in the 1880s but the main enthusiast died before anything was built).

An analysis, by Bill Hibbert, of the 12 can be found here. The frequency of the tenor equates to C#-18c

An educated guess as to how the bells might have sounded has been produced by Bill Hibbert from data taken from the old 10 prior to them being broken up. It is an interesting read, (and listen!) and can be found here.

After a number of false starts the bells were rehung for ringing in 1987, financed largely due to a donation by Lady Lyons, the widow of the founder of Jaguar Cars, William Lyons. They form a fine ring of 12 with a flat 6th and also a sharp 9th that is hung dead in the corner of the frame. A new ringing room was built above a shop and glass windows mean that the ringers can be seen from the ruins. Shortly after the bells were installed curtains were hung on three sides to reduce the amount of reverberation in the ringing room. These work well and this magnificent ring of bells are a joy to ring. The Sharp 9th was brought into use as a service bell in 2008. It can be chimed automatically via a telephone link from the Cathedral

Visiting ringers of all experience on are actively made welcome.

The entrance is via the gate to the left of the tower as you look at it from the west end of the old cathedral, (visible to the right of the tower on the photograph). If the tower gates are locked wait until the ringing has stopped and make yourself heard!

Details Of The Bells

1    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     4-1-00  25.50"  1638.0Hz
2    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     4-3-24  27.00"  1466.0Hz
3    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     5-1-05  28.00"  1379.5Hz
4    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     5-2-16  29.375" 1230.5Hz
5    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     6-0-05  31.00"  1097.0Hz
6    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     6-1-22  32.00"  1032.0Hz
7    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     7-3-23  35.00"   916.0Hz
8    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    10-2-21  38.50"   820.0Hz
9    Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    14-2-16  42.875"  732.0Hz
10   Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    18-0-14  46.00"   689.5Hz
11   Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    24-1-22  51.00"   614.0Hz
12   Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    33-3-06  57.00"   548.5Hz 

6b   Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927     7-0-24  33.50"   973.0Hz
9#   Gillett & Johnston, Croydon      1927    12-1-17  40.50"   773.0Hz