Grid Reference:-
139/028839
Postcode:
B17 0BB
Bell Audio:-
None Available
Guild Affiliation:-
St Martins Guild
Peals Rung Here:-
Felstead Database
Sunday Ringing:-
1745 - 1830
Practice Night:-
Monday
1930 - 2100
History Of The Bells
This church moved from Staffordshire to Warwickshire when Harborne was absorbed by Birmingham in 1891. It is a mediaeval church in foundation, but was almost completely rebuilt in the 1860s. The tower is the only old part of the church to remain.
There is a fine Taylor ring in the tower today, transferred from Deritend (q.v.) in 1962/3. A new metal frame was installed as the old wooden frame from Deritend was not suitable for this tower. The fittings date from the time of the casting of the bells, which were quarter turned when they were transferred. The Bagley tenor from the previous ring was installed in a separate frame above the ring for chiming as a service bell.
There were "iij belles" in the tower in 1553. A ring of 6 was cast for the church in 1691 by William Bagley of Chacombe. The second was recast in 1799 by Thomas Mears I of London. In 1877 Warners of Cripplegate rehung the bells and augmented them to 8. The bells were not highly regarded by some, William Saunders noted in 1891 that, "...the ring is in perfect tune but does not contain one good bell. All are too thin and low toned for their weight". Nevertheless there were some that wished the old ring to be retained, without success.
(Most of the above information is quoted directly (with permission) from the research notes of Chris Pickford)
Details Of The Bells
1 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 3-1-11 24.75" 1484.0Hz (F#+5c) 2 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 3-2-10 25.375" 1399.0Hz (Ex+3c) 3 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 4-0-07 27.125" 1246.0Hz (D#+2c) 4 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 4-1-04 28.375" 1112.0Hz (C#+5c) 5 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 5-2-17 31.125" 990.0Hz (B+4c) 6 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 6-2-18 32.875" 930.0Hz (A#-4c) 7 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 8-3-22 36.50" 832.5Hz (G#+4c) 8 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1923 12-3-24 40.875" 742.0Hz (F#+5c)
Details Of The Previous Bells
1 John Warner & Sons, Cripplegate 1877 3-3-07 25.50" 1578.0Hz (G+11c) 2 John Warner & Sons, Cripplegate 1877 3-3-17 26.125" 1492.0Hz (F#+14c) 3 William Bagley, Chacombe 1691 4-0-26 27.125" 1301.0Hz (E-23c) 4 Thomas Mears I, London 1799 4-1-24 28.50" 1170.0Hz (D-7c) 5 William Bagley, Chacombe 1691 4-3-20 30.25" 1035.0Hz (C-19c) 6 William Bagley, Chacombe 1691 5-2-01 32.25" 984.0Hz (B-7c) 7 William Bagley, Chacombe 1691 6-3-02 34.25" 873.0Hz (A-14c) 8 William Bagley, Chacombe 1691 9-1-00 38.25" 778.0Hz (G-13c) (Scrapping weights)
Photo Gallery
None Available