Knowle

SS John the Baptist, St Lawrence & St Anne 8: 9-3-7 in G

Grid Reference 139/182767 Knowle. Source: Mike Chester
Postcode B93 0JB
Affiliation St Martin’s Guild
Peals Felstead Database
Sunday 0845-0930 & 1745-1830 (often a QP)
Practice Monday 1930-2100

History

Knowle Parish Church first opened in 1403. The hamlet of Cnolle was within the manor and parish of Hampton-in-Arden. The church at Hampton was a three-mile walk away, not too easy for the parishioners in Knowle to reach when the un-bridged River Blythe was in flood. Knowle got its own church through the initiative and funding of a wealthy benefactor – but remained a daughter church of Hampton for over 400 years, until 1858, when it finally became a parish in its own right. The church was saved from the destruction common to many at the time of the Reformation because the villagers of Knowle pleaded that crossing the River Blythe to the parish church at Hampton was often impossible and that they needed their church in Knowle.

Until the end of the 19th century, the tower contained three old bells, tenor c.7cwt, cast by Matthew Bagley of Evesham in 1687 and transported up the River Avon to Warwick or Stratford before being brought to Knowle by road by John Simons. The bells cost £30.

Despite a quotation being obtained from Taylors in 1877 for augmentation to 6, it was not until Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee that these bells were replaced by a ring of six in 1897. The new bells (tenor 10-0-7) were cast by James Barwell of Birmingham. Originally two of the existing three bells were to be retained, but they did not fit in with the ring and were recast instead. They were hung in a composite frame; carst iron sections and wooden cills and fra,e heads.

The following appeared in “Bell News” on August 14th 1897:

Knowle 1987

The inscriptions of the Barwell ring of 6 are given in Tilley and Walter’s book, “The Church Bells of Warwickshire”:

Knowle Inscriptions
Knowle Inscriptions

By 1931 the fifth bell had cracked. Taylors recast the cracked fifth and added two trebles in 1931.  They added two more pits to the east of the existing frame, again being “composite”. The three new bells were tuned on the modern “true-harmonic” principle, and this emphasised the inferior to of the other bells of 1897.

The augmentation was reported in The Ringing World of October 2nd 1931:

Knowle RW 1931

The first peal on the ring of 8 was rung shortly afterwards:

Knowle Peal

An article about the bells was published in The Ringing World of June 6th 1952,  in which the old trebles’ inscriptions can be found:

Knowle RW 1952

The remaining Barwell bells were recast in 1979, again by Taylors, when the eight bells were rehung with new fittings in a new cast iron lowside frame and the three 1931 bells quarter turned. One section of the 1897 frame was preserved in situ on the north side of the tower. The 1931 headstocks of the two trebles were reused, as were all the wheel centres, but all other fittings were replaced.

The tower was featured in the edition  of November 18th 1977. In this article the inscriptions of the new ring of 8 are given:

Knowle RW 1977

The success of the later project to replace the “non-Taylor” bells was the subject of an article in The Ringing World of December 14th 1979:

Knowle 1979

The first peal on the new ring was not long in coming:

Knowle Peal

The then record peal of London Surprise Major, 14,336 changes, was rung here on 1/11/1980 and the current record of Stedman Triples, 20160 changes, was rung here on May 9th 1981.

The church is on the main street and there is a public car park nearby.

Details of the Bells

1 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1931   3-2-00  24.25″   1581.0Hz (G+14c)
2 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1931   3-3-08  25.00″   1490.0Hz (F#+12c)
3 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1979   3-2-00  25.375″  1329.0Hz (E+14c)
4 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1979   3-3-02  26.875″  1182.0Hz (D+11c)
5 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1979   4-2-09  29.00″   1056.0Hz (C+16c)
6 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1979   5-3-03  31.00″    995.0Hz (B+13c)
7 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1931   7-1-10  33.875″   886.0hz (A+12c)
8 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1979   9-3-07  38.00″    789.0Hz (G+11c)

Details of the Barwell Bells

1 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897   4-1-00  27.00″
2 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897   4-2-01  28.50″
3 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897   5-1-14  30.50″
4 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897   5-2-26  32.00″
5 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897   7-2-24  35.00″
6 James Barwell, Birmingham       1897  10-0-07  39.00″

Photo Gallery

Knowle East. Source: Mike Chester Knowle West. Source: Mike Chester
The Church – Looking East The Church – Looking West
Knowle Sanctuary. Source: Mike Chester Knowle Chapel. Source: Mike Chester
The Sanctuary The Memorial Chapel
Knowle Board 1931. Source: Mike Chester Knowle Board 1979. Source: Mike Chester
The Boards in Ringing Chamber for the 1931 & 1979 Restorations
Stedman Record. Source: Mike Chester London Record. Source: Mike Chester
The Stedman Record Peal The London Record Peal
Knowle Bells. Source: Mike Chester Knowle Bells. Source: Mike Chester
The Bells