Bell Tower - St.Mary the Virgin, Broadwater Lane, Aston, Hertfordshire. SG2 7EN
Posted by: 
greysman
N 51° 53.253 W 000° 09.228
30U E 695863 N 5752360
A C13th well proportioned village church with later C19th restoration. The late C14th west tower contains a ring of six bells.
Waymark Code: WMWZRB
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/05/2017
Views: 0
This is a Grade II* listed parish church with the nave and chancel of c1230, the west tower late C14th or early C15th with low pitched timber roofs and new windows of the late C15th. There was a restoration in 1850 which also gave the north aisle followed in 1883 by a general restoration when the north vestry and south porch were rebuilt by W O Milne of London. The alabaster reredos with mosaic panels is also by Milne in 1896.
Built of flint rubble with a rough plastered finish and corbelled brick crenellated parapet to the tower with stone dressings and tiled buttress offsets. There is a knapped flint uncoursed facing to the rest of the church with stone dressings and flushwork chequer of stone and flint on the porch. A copper low pitched roof to the chancel - similar behind the nave's crenellated parapet, lead roof and 'Hertfordshire Spike' with vane on the tower, slate roof to the north-east vestry.
It is a picturesque irregular church with a two-bay low chancel, taller three-bay nave with three-bay arcade and a north aisle, a square two-stage tower with large diagonal buttresses each with five tiled offsets, a gabled south porch and gabled north-east vestry with chimney and organ chamber.
Tall four-centred arch into the tower with caps to the jamb shafts. Three-light west window has had its tracery renewed. The pointed west doorway has continuous deeply moulded jambs without caps intersected by plinth moulding on the exterior of the tower. Pointed louvred bell openings with clock face below on the south side.
The six bells were recast from the metal of the old bells destroyed after a fire in 1958 by Mears & Stainbank of London with a new frame and fittings and are rung from a balcony one floor up in the tower. The original bells included a second and third by Miles I Graye of Colchester, dated 1629. The fifth was also of 1629, but had been recast in 1840.
The following is a table extracted from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers showing the weights in kg, the sounding notes of the bells, the founder and the year of casting.
Bell Weight Note Dated Founder
1 210.47 E 1959 Mears & Stainbank
2 243.58 D 1959 Mears & Stainbank
3 282.13 C 1959 Mears & Stainbank
4 338.83 B 1959 Mears & Stainbank
5 439.98 A 1959 Mears & Stainbank
6 579.69 G 1959 Mears & Stainbank
The bells are rung on a regular basis for Divine Service which are held every week at 1100, the Eucharist on 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays, with Family Praise on 2nd and 4th.
Words from British Listed Buildings amended and added to with own on-site observations.
Co-ordinates are for the tower.