Grid Reference:-
139/214963
Postcode:
B78 2LJ
Bell Audio:-
The Old Ring of 5
Guild Affiliation:-
St Martins Guild
Peals Rung Here:-
Felstead Database
Sunday Ringing:-
1030 - 1100
1800 - 1830 (2nd only)
Practice Night:-
Not known
History Of The Bells
Being very well sound controlled, the locals are very accommodating in terms of obtaining permission for visitors to visit or ring a peal here. You will always receive a warm welcome at Kingsbury. The bells are kept in A1 condition by Gordon Lane, Tower Captain, to whom we are much indebted in terms of ringing at this church and others in the locality.
By 1552 the tower contained a heavy ring of four, (tenor 19-2-3). Two early bells, the treble and third survived until 1849. The churchwardens' accounts refer to the recasting of two bells, the third and the great bells by Thomas Newcombe of Leicester in 1567. Edward Newcombe recast the second bell in 1602 and the Newcombe brothers in partnership recast the tenor in 1612.
Local tradition has it that a treble was added when the tower was rebuilt in 1610, to make 5. However, there is no written evidence to support this and there were certainly only four bells in the tower when the bells were recast into a new ring of five by John Taylor and Sons of Loughborough in 1849 (as dated on the bells, but they were actually cast on January 8th 1850. The tenor weighed 16-0-16. The bells were rehung on ball bearings in 1921 and treble was added to make six in 1959, both by Taylors.
The 1959 treble was retained when the old bells were recast and augmented to eight in 1969. The wooden frame was replaced by one in iron, of lowside pattern. The decorated canons from the old tenor are preserved as a centre-piece for the ringing room table, which incorporates features from the canons of the other bells around the edge.
The lowside frame and fittings are by Taylors, 1969, except for the third which retains its 1959 fittings.
There is a church car-park by the churchyard gate
Details Of The Bells
1 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 5-0-09 28.25" 1298.0Hz (E-27c) 2 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 5-1-16 29.00" 1224.0Hz (D#-29c) 3 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1959 5-3-12 30.50" 1094.0Hz (C#-23c) 4 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 6-2-10 32.50" 972.0Hz (B-28c) 5 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 7-3-03 34.875" 866.0Hz (A-28c) 6 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 9-1-17 37.00" 817.0Hz (G#-29c) 7 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 12-1-15 41.125" 728.0Hz (F#-28c) 8 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough 1969 17-1-00 46.00" 649.0Hz (E-27c)
Photo Gallery
None Available