Church Bells of Warwickshire

LEEK WOOTTON All Saints 5, 7-3-4 in A - Anticlockwise

Grid Reference	151/289687
Postcode	CV35 7RT
Recordings The Ring of 5      The Ring of 6
Affiliation	Coventry DG
Peals	Felstead Database
Sunday	0900-0930
Practice	Tuesday 1930-2030

History

A church has stood on or near the present site certainly since the year 1122 and probably longer, possibly preceded by a pagan temple. Little is known of the old Saxon/Norman church. All that now remains are some parts of the tower, a 12th Century tapered circular font, some mediaeval tiles and a 14th Century bell. The old church was pulled down in 1789 and the present church built on the site in the gothic style near the close of the 18th century. It has since been restored and added to; a new chancel was built in 1843, the roof raised in 1864, and in 1889 the nave was lengthened. It now consists of chancel (28 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft.), nave (57 ft. by 27 ft.), west tower (13 ft. by 13 ft.), vestry, and south porch.  Rooms, including a kitchen, toilet and first floor meeting room, were created at the west end of the church in c.2000.

Two trebles were added to the existing three bells by John Briant in 1793, the same year as he provided a ring of four for the nearby church at Ashow. These were hung in a wooden frame (anti-clockwise circle) that is contemporary with the tower and made by William Steel Senior in 1791-2. Fittings were provided by J.E. Groves of Birmingham, 1921, with ball bearings supplied by Taylors in 1966. Taylors also replaced the headstock on the third in 1983. The canons had been removed from all the bells and the weights given for the trebles prior to the recent augmentation scheme are those before their removal. Until the recent augmentation scheme, the bells had been quarter turned, the tenor, a listed bell, a further eighth turned.

The inscriptions of the ring of five are given in Tilley and Walters' book, "The Church Bells of Warwickshire":

The bells ring quite well, but are a little loud in the ringing room. The previous tenor is one of the oldest bells in the Diocese. Chris Pickford's records have the tenor at 7cwt, but Dove suggested it was 8cwt. The "As Received" weight shows that both were, in fact, an over-estimation.

In June 2015 the bells were rehung in the existing frame and augmented to 6, an extra frame for one bell being added. The treble was cast in October 2014. The rehanging of the bells took place in June 2015. The new treble was hung in the pit of the existing treble, that bell being moved into the pit that previously was used for the then second bell. This bell now became the 3rd of the 6 and was hung in a new fabricated framework, which raises the bell a little above the existing frame to allow access into the bell chamber.  All the "As Received Weights" show a difference from those that were previously published.

The bells were "lightly tuned" and each bell has had its nominal lowered. The slight difference in the old tenor note is due to increased accuracy of measurement.

The first peal on the bells was rung in 1967:

The rehanging and augmentation of the bells was reported in The Ringig World of October 16th 2015:

		(Click images to enlarge)

The first peal on the ring of 6 was rung in April 2016:

This church is easy to spot, especially from the North on the A46, just before the Warwick turn off as it is built on a slight hill. It is on the main road through the village. You get to the church via a small road just to the north of the church, (the junction is easy to miss). You will find a church car park at the east end of the church. Entry is via a door on the south side of the tower.

Details of the Bells

                                           Previously As        Tuned             Previous  Previous Tuned      Tuned
                                           Published  Received  Weight            Frequency Note     Frequency  Note
1     John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  2014  ------    ------    3-1-24   24.50"   -------   ------   1494.0Hz   (F#+16c)
2     John Briant, Hertford           1793  3-3-24    3-3-06    3-3-00   26.125"  1344.0Hz  (E+33c)  1331.7Hz   (E+17c) 
3     John Briant, Hertford           1793  4-0-18    3-3-23    3-3-10   27.625"  1231.0Hz  (D#-19c) 1189.6Hz   (D+22c)
4     Abraham Rudhall I, Gloucester   1703  4¾cwt     4-0-17    3-3-15   28.00"   1149.5Hz  (C#+63c) 1122.4Hz   (C#+21c)
5     Abraham Rudhall I, Gloucester   1703  5½cwt     5-1-00    5-0-07   30.75"   1009.5Hz  (B+38c)   997.6Hz   (B+17c)
6     John Taylor & Co, Loughbrough   1923  8-0-10    ------    7-3-04   34.875"  --------  ------    887.3Hz   (A+22c)
Clock John De Stafford, Leicester    c1360  7cwt      6-1-16    Untuned  33.875"   888.0Hz  (A+16c)   891.0Hz   (A+22c)

The Church, Looking East	The Church, Looking West
The Ringing Room	The bells, prior to the 2015 restoration	Tower Captain, Mark Sayers stirs the new treble; cast on 8th October 2014.
The "old" tenor, ready to go to Taylors: January 2015	The bells on the lorry going to Taylors: January 2015	The "new" tenor at Taylors
The bells return to the church for rehanging June 2015	The refurbished, (and one new) clappers ready to go up the tower June 2015	The new treble
Treble Bell	Second Bell	Third Bell
Fourth Bell	Fifth Bell	"New" Tenor Bell
The Treble's Inscription	The Frame	The Clock Bell (Previous Tenor)
The Headstock from  the third bell of 5, replaced in 1983	The Changes Board ("Shepherd's Hey", often rung by the ringers, is No 5!)