Bell Tower - St James - Snitterfield, Warwickshire - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

Bell tower of St James' church, Snitterfield, with a ring of 6 bells.

Snitterfield, Warks S James Gt
Bells
Bell	Weight	Nominal	Note	Diameter	Dated	Founder	Canons	Turning
1	5-0-23	1197.5	D	28.38"	1887	John Taylor & Co	Y	N
2	6-0-24	1064.0	C	30.75"	1887	John Taylor & Co	Y	N
3	5-0-21	944.0	Bb	31.13"	1758	Abel Rudhall	Y	N
4	8-3-11	901.0	A	35.50"	1887	John Taylor & Co	Y	N
5	10-2-25	793.0	G	39.38"	1874	John Taylor & Co	Y	N
6	16-1-13	707.5	F	44.50"	1887	John Taylor & Co	F	N

Frames
Frame	Bells	Year	Material	Maker	Truss	Layout
1	1,2,3,4,5,6	1887	Oak & cast iron	Loughborough Bellfoundry	7.A.a	6.1

SOURCE - (Visit Link)

"The village is (frequently!) signposted off the A46 Stratford upon Avon bypass. Another nice church in rural South Warwickshire. The bells used to be ground floor but were moved "upstairs" in the 1980s. Notice that the handrails on the stairs are from an old double-decker bus!

The church consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower. There are also modern vestries north of the chancel and south of the tower. The sequence of the earlier development of the building is a little uncertain owing to the proximity of the various periods, added to the marked differences in detail, and some confusion caused by later alterations. Probably the south arcade dates from the latter half of the 13th century and the north from the early 14th century, but the similarity of the windows in both aisles suggests that after the north aisle was built the south aisle was widened to 9 ft. to match the other. The chancel, built of rubble, may have followed soon after the 14th-century north aisle; it is of great length compared with the nave and has large windows. The west tower was evidently erected in several successive stages: the lowest 10 ft. in the early 14th century, continued up another 8 or 9 ft. about 1340 with ashlar walling, the west window having moulded jambs rather like those of the south doorway, and completed c. 1400 in ashlar of larger stones. The clearstory was added early in the 16th century: there seems to have been some trouble from weakness in the arcades, especially the northern, which shows inequalities in the arches resulting probably from partial reconstructions, and most of its capitals have been rather crudely remoulded. No important changes occurred before the 19th century, but there was some deterioration, as a description of 1858 mentions that the chancel was heavily buttressed on the north side and its windows had lost their tracery. The closing of the side doorways and insertion of the west doorway were done before that time. Scars and repairs in the arcades are evidence of the damage caused to the masonry by the erection of galleries in 1841. Probably the vestry south of the tower was then added. Since then the church has been well restored, the chancel windows provided with tracery, and the north vestry and organ chamber added.

The frame is by Taylors, 1887, but the bells were rehung on ball bearings by Gillett & Johnston in 1947. Prior to 1887 there were 3 bells, the present 3rd formed the treble and the 5th the tenor. They were made into 6 by adding 2 trebles and a tenor. At the time of the augmentation they recast the existing middle bell, a 1703 William Bagley bell of exactly 8cwt. They had previously recast the then existing tenor, a Henry Bagley I bell of 1665 which weighed 9-1-22, in 1874. The frame is "composite" with oak cills and frame heads and cast iron main braces. All the bells retain their canons, except the tenor which was cast with a "flat top", and none have been turned.

Entry is via the main west tower door. Please be aware of the clock release wire - it is easy to miss it!  It must be attached to a hook on the left inside edge of the Ellacombe Apparatus.

Details of the Bells

1 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1887   5-0-23  28.375"  1197.5Hz (D+33c)
2 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1887   6-0-24  30.75"   1064.0Hz (C+29c)
3 Abel Rudhall, Gloucester        1758   5-0-21  31.125"   944.0Hz (Bb+22c)
4 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1887   8-3-11  35.50"    901.0Hz (A+41c)
5 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1874  10-2-25  39.375"   793.0Hz (G+20c)
6 John Taylor & Co, Loughborough  1887  16-1-13  44.50"    707.5Hz (F+22c)"

SOURCE - (Visit Link)

Address of Tower: St James Church Road Snitterfield, Warwickshire England CV37 Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 6 Relevant website?: [Web Link] Rate tower: Not listed Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Not listed

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