Church Bells of Warwickshire

PILLERTON HERSEY St Mary the Virgin 5: 7-0-10 in Bb Minor.

Grid Reference	151/489299
Postcode	CV35 0QJ
Recording
Affiliation	Coventry DG
Peals	Felstead Database
Sunday	None
Practice	None

History

The church stands on rising ground to the north of the small village. It consists of a chancel, with a north small modern vestry, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower. The chancel leans to the south of the axial line of the nave. The chancel is of mid-13th-century date and one of the best local examples of its period. The nave was probably of the same date, and the lower part of the tower was perhaps added a little later in the same century. The tower was altered and heightened in the 15th century. The south aisle, shorter than the nave, was added probably c. 1400, but the south arcade of the nave, as well as the north arcade and aisle, dates from 1875, when much alteration and restoration was done.

A three - ringable until the 1970s. Rehung with new fittings in a composite frame by Henry Bond of Burford in 1901 at a cost of £48/10/0. The tenor was Bb-48c and the second and treble Db-53c and C-46c respectively. This means that the treble and second were 93c apart, just short of a semitone. Therefore the bells were the front 3 of a ring of 4, approximately Bb, C and Db. They did sound quite good. They were hung in a composite frame, Henry Bond 1901 and had been quarter turned. 

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

A visit by the Guild BRF team a few years ago showed that ".. the tenor is loose on wheel and headstock and there is worm in the headstock where it needs to be tightened. There is also some worm in other stocks & stays too. It would be inadvisable to get tenor up even though it might last for a bit! The treble and second's wheels are need of minor repair. The clappers are at best "iffy"!"

The bells have been rehung in a new frame and augmentent to 5 by Taylors. The second bell from Adelstrop, which have to been remodelled as a lighter ring, was installed as the second here and a surplus bell that had turned out to be too flat for a chime in the United States were added. The bells remain in a minor key. The bells were removed from the tower in mid-January 2017.  The plan was modified to include an all new metal 5-bell frame.

An article about the restoration appeared in The Ringing World on March 2nd 2018:

(Click to enlarge)

The first peal on the bells was rung in November of 2019, the details being:

Coventry Diocesan Guild
Pillerton Hersey, Warwickshire, St Mary
Monday, 11 November 2019 in 2h 40 (7)
5040 Doubles
11m: 1-3) St Nicholas 4-6) Winchendon Place 7-9) St Remigius 10-12) Huntley Place 13-16) Reverse Canterbury
17-21) Grandsire 22-24) St Simons 25-27) St Martins 28-30) St Osmund 31-33) Eynesbury 34-37) Plain Bob 38-42) Grandsire
1 Nicola J Turner
2 Colin M Turner
3 Simon P Rogers (C)
4 Christopher J Pickford
5 Michael Chester
First peal on the bells. Rung to mark the 100th anniversary of the first Remembrance Day.

Details of the Bells

1  John Taylor & Co.       2016  3-2-25   26.00"  1360.7Hz (F-45c)
2  Abraham Rugdhall I      1711  3-3-17   27.00"  1212.7Hz (Eb-45c)  
3  Henry Bagley, Chacombe  1668  4-1-19   29.50"  1071.9Hz (Db-58c) 
4  Henry Bagley, Chacombe  1672  5-2-17   31.90"  1016.7Hz (C-50c) 
5  Newcombe, Leicester     1602  7-0-10   35.40"   905.5Hz (Bb-50c)

Photo Gallery
Looking East	Looking West	The Ringing Chamber
The Sanctuary	The Bells	Plan of the Church
The Bells at Taylors 2017 The 3 bells as they arrived.		The Bells at Taylors 2017 - three existing bells plus the Addlestrop Bell
The 5 bells The bells blacked for final polishing		Close-up of the Tenor
The 5 bells awaiting the fitting of their headstocks		Building the frame at Taylors It will be glavanised prior to installation