Grid Reference:-
151/236673
Postcode:
CV35 7LD
Bell Audio:-
Hear the bells
Guild Affiliation:-
Coventry DG
Peals Rung Here:-
Felstead Database
No Regular Ringing
History Of The Bells
Set by itself on the main road from Warwick this is an easy church to find. It is best to park carefully by the church and enter through the north door.
The church is a rarity in that there used to be more bells that there are at present hung in the tower, a ring of 8 once rang out from here. This ring was recast into 6 by Barwell of Birmingham. The frame and fittings are therefore by Barwell 1885, but Taylors rehung the bells on ball bearings - the tenor in 1934 and the rest in 1951. Pullies were also replaced. There is a candelabra type rope guide that is quite noisy. These are a ground floor ring.
The ring of eight replaced a lighter ring of five in two stages at the instigation of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Parr, a noted man of letters and teacher, who was vicar here from 1785 until his death in 1825. Parr had been a ringer in his youth and when teaching in Norwich (for Parr and Hatton see Chris Pickford's Coventry book p.90). These bells were all by John Rudhall - the back six dated 1809 and the trebles 1817, (tenor 13-0-4). One peal was rung on the eight - Grandsire Triples by the Coventry ringers on February 19th 1821. The tenor cracked in 1874 and the whole ring was stated to be unsafe by Taylors of Loughborough, leading to the subsequent recasting and reduction in the number of bells.
There is a sanctus bell, cast by John Rudhall in 1809, 16" in diameter, note A#.
These bells were not rung for about 5 years at the start of the century, but have had some minor work in late 2005 which means that they are now ringable. Chris Pickford comments that "... these poor toned bells can hardly be an improvement on their predecessors", which is a fair indication that these are not the best sounding ring of bells, but are at least roughly in tune with each other. The bells are a tight squeeze into the tower and one wonders how easy it was to fit in a ring of 8. The frame is of oak, but with a large number of ironwork items for strengthening purposes. All bells retain their Doncaster heads. The three trebles have been "scratch" tuned, though the treble has also been skirted. The three tenors are maiden bells.
Details Of The Bells
1 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 5-3-25 30.00" 2 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 6-1-17 31.50" 3 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 6-2-12 33.00" 4 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 6-3-22 34.50" 5 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 9-2-27 37.50" 6 James Barwell, Birmingham 1885 13-2-18 42.50"
Details Of The Previous Ring
1 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1817 5-2-17 2 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1817 5-3-05 3 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 5-2-06.5 4 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 5-3-15 5 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 6-2-19.5 6 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 6-3-18 7 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 9-1-20 8 John Rudhall, Gloucester 1809 13-0-04
Photo Gallery
The ground floor ringing room. |
The fifth, note the chip out of the lip caused by its clapper falling out soon after the bells were installed |
A bell - photograph taken in the pitch dark, so I don't know which one! |
Another bell, taken at the same time |