St Nicholas 6: 6-2-12 in B
Grid Reference | 151/152600 | |
Postcode | B95 5JY | |
Affiliation | Coventry DG | |
Peals | Felstead Database | |
Sunday | No regular ringing | |
Practice | By arrangement |
History
The church is only a few hundred yards or so from the ring of six at Henley in Arden. It is part of the same benefice. Follow the road down the side of Henley church in order to find the church, you can park by the church hall.
The church consists of a chancel, nave, and west tower. It is a fine example of the middle of the 12th century, but has suffered alterations of a peculiar nature for which only conjectural reasons can be offered. It preserves most of the original chancel walls, a fine chancel arch, and a doorway now in the south wall and much restored. The only obvious addition is the 15th-century west tower; it was built almost wholly south of the original axis of the nave, into which its north-east angle intruded. For some unknown reason the original north wall was subsequently removed and the present north wall erected, perhaps in the late 16th century, some 5 or 6 ft. within the position of the old wall, encroaching directly on the north respond of the chancel arch. Possibly this reduction of the width of the nave from 24 ft. to 18 ft. was to provide a smaller span for the roof. The chancel lost its original vaulting and the nave, which probably had a range of upper windows, was reduced in height. The lower part of the south wall does not appear to have been much disturbed but the fine doorway is set in a greater thickness (17 in.) than the wall and it is probable that it was originally in a thick west wall (perhaps carrying a bell-cote) and was re-set here by the builder of the west tower. The church was restored in 1865, when the chancel was again provided with vaulting, and the north respond of the arch was opened out again by recessing the nave-wall. Some recent repairs to the tower have been executed in artificial stone.
Until 2013 these bells were a hopelessly unringable ring of three. The bells hung in a medieval frame with thin replacement timbers, early C18 fittings and C19 wheels; they sounded the notes F, E and C#. The frame was considerably altered during its lifetime and the bells “swung” East to West in parallel pits. All bells had their canons retained, (the second had three canons remaining – and three false iron ones) and none were turned. Their inscriptions is given in Tilley and Walters’ book, “The Church Bells of Warwickshire”:
Chris Pickford wrote an excellent article about the bells in The Ringing World of September 23rd 2011:
The bells were removed from the tower by Taylors on 21st July 2012. A “new” ring has been hung in a fabricated frame lower in the tower for 6, retiring the treble and adding 4 “new” bells to the other two. The fourth and tenor have come from St Nicholas, Guildford where their six of their existing bells were replaced in 2013 with new bells to better match the other four Taylor bells of 1926. The treble came from Ashburnham Place in Sussex and the second from St Luke, Barrow in Furness, which has been closed and demolished. The former treble was retired from the ring and is hung dead in the old frame for chiming. The new frame is constructed from steel and is truss 8.1.B.a and layout 6.1. All the bells have been turned. The treble has had its canons removed, the third and fifth retain their canons and the others were cast with flat tops.
The bells were successfully rung for the first time on October 22nd 2013.
The inscriptions on the “new” ring are
Treble | 1817 |
2 | TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF SHEILA COCKLE THIS BELL WAS RECAST 1963. MEARS (M) LONDON |
3 | +IHESUS: NAZSARINUS:REX IVEDEORVM |
4 | J. TAYLOR & Co FOUNDERS LOUGHBOROUGH 1879 ORA PRO NOBIS BEATA KATHERINA RECAST 1926 |
5 | THE THENTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF QVEEN ANNE 1711 |
Tenor | JOHN TAYLOR & CO FOUNDERS LOUGHBOROUGH 1879 |
Service | +AVE: MARIA:GRACI:PELNA |
Details of the project were printed in The Ringing World of January 24th 2014:
The first peal on the bells was rung in 2014 – the details being
Coventry Diocesan Guild
Beaudesert, Warwickshire
St Nicholas
Saturday, 27 September 2014 in 2h 28 (6½cwt)
5040 Surprise Minor
(7m: 1 extent each of London, York, Bourne, Beverley, Surfleet, Cambridge, Norwich)
1 Simon E Adams
2 Raymon A Sheasby
3 Andrew F Alldrick
4 Mark W Sayers
5 Michael Chester
6 Simon P Rogers (C)
First peal on the bells.
Rung to celebrate 25 years service by Rev John F Ganjavi to the people of Henley-in-Arden as rector of this parish.
Details of the New Ring
1 Thomas Mears II, Whitechapel 1817 2-2-00 23.00″ 1696.0Hz (G#+36c)
2 Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel 1963 2-3-13 24.00″ 1511.0Hz (F#+36c)
3 Unknown c.1350 3-1-20 26.00″ 1364.0Hz (E+59c)
4 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1926 4-3-07 27.75″ 1270.7Hz (D#+36c)
5 Joseph Smith, Edgbaston 1711 4-2-08 29.00″ 1132.0Hz (C#+36c)
6 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1879 6-2-12 32.25″ 1008.5Hz (B+36c)
Former Treble
Unknown c.1350 2-1-08 23.00″ 1414.5Hz (F+22c)
Details of the Previous unringable Bells
1 Unknown c1350 2-1-08 23.00″ 1414.5Hz (F+22c)
2 Unknown c1350 3-1-20 26.00″ 1346.0Hz (E+36c)
3 Joseph Smith, Edgbaston 1711 4-2-12 29.00″ 1110.5Hz (C#+3c)