Marton

St Esprit 3: 9½cwt in F# – Unringable

Grid Reference 151/406689 Marton. Source: Mike Chester
Postcode CV23 9RL
Recording None Available
Affiliation Coventry DG
Peals None
Sunday None
Practice None
Other Information Unringable

History

This Grade II* listed church is the only church in the country dedicated to St Esprit (The Holy Spirit in French). The known history of the church goes back to 1155/60, though an earlier church probably existed on the site.  The church was built between about 1160 and 1291, with a vicarage being “ordained” in c.1277. The church was in a bad state of repair in the mid-nineteenth century and large parts of it were demolished in 1870. Small parts of the the church were incorporated in the new building, which was designed by George Punshion of Leamington Spa.

These bells are unringable due to tatty wheels and heavily-worn un-quarter-turned bells. Frame & fittings are by George Watson of Napton – 1831; truss 6.A and layout 3.1, having three parallel pits, with the treble on the south side of the tower, second in the middle and tenor on the north.  The bells have wooden headstocks, strap gudgeons, stock hoops, plain brass bearings and traditional wheels, stays and sliders. They have “busk boarded” clappers.

The bells are all “maiden” bells, retaining their canons and cast in crown staples. They only just survived a fire in 1879, the signs of which are still visible.

The inscriptions are given in Tilley and Walters’ book “The Church Bells of Warwickshire”:

Marton Inscriptions

There is a chiming manual in the first floor of the tower, made by the Vicar’s Warden, Thomas Walker, in 1919.

Details of the Bells

1 Hugh Watts, Leicester  1624  6cwt   32.50″   937.5Hz (A#+10c)
2 Hugh Watts, Leicester  1623  7½cwt  35.625″  861.5Hz (G#+63c)
3 Hugh Watts, Leicester  1616  9cwt   38.125″  748.0Hz (F#+19c)

Photo Gallery

 

Marton Bell Marton Bell2 Marton Bell3
Views of the Bells (from Church Website)
Marton East. Source: Welwyn Marton West. Source: Welwyn Layout 3.1
The Church – Looking East The Church – Looking West The frame layout