Bell Tower - Church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Lane, Stonham Earl, Suffolk IP14 5HR
Posted by: 
greysman
N 52° 11.250 E 001° 04.926
31U E 368891 N 5783626
The west tower, built c.1500, hold a fine ring of six bells with space for two more.
Waymark Code: WMR9FD
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/26/2016
Views: 2
This parish church is mediaeval with major phases of mid C14th and early C16th building. There was a big restoration in 1874. It consists of a nave, chancel, north and south transepts, south porch and a west tower, unusually there are no side aisles. Built in flint rubble, it is mainly plastered, and has freestone dressings. The nave roof is slated, the chancel roof of concrete plain-tiles, with other roofs mainly leaded; there are parapet gables throughout. There is some C13th fabric in the chancel including a lancet in the north wall. The double-bowl piscina is possibly C14th but reusing late C13th bowls; a pair of sedilia have a crouching hound, minus its head, between them, and another chancel window is also of c.1300. There was a major rebuilding of the nave with addition of transepts and porch in the mid C14th.
One of the church's glories is its very fine ten-bay hammer-beam nave roof, richly carved and moulded throughout with alternate trusses having true or false beams, the former carved as angels, the latter having pendentive posts with carved bosses. There are figures in canopied niches are at each wallpost.
The fine west tower is of c.1500 and has flushwork tracery to the buttresses, plinth and parapets, the good west doorway has traceried doors and the C14th west window is reused above it. Two of the bells are old, C15th by Richard Brasyer I who cast bells in Norwich between 1424 and 1482. Richard I was joined by his son Richard II in 1478 and he continued after his father's death until 1513. In 1949 John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough cast a replacement for the tenor. By 2004 the bells and fittings needed an overhaul and the ringing chamber floor was lowered in the tower so that the ringers are visible from the church, the C14th west window forming a backdrop. John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd. also provided a new steel frame and three recast bells, but the frame is arranged for eight bells, the church looking forward to an extra two bells some time in the future.
Following is a table extracted from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers showing the weights in kg, and sounding note of the bells.
Bell Weight Note Casting date Founder
1 202.30 E# 2004 John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd
2 225.89 D# 2004 John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd
3 256.74 C# 2004 John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd
4 257.64 B# c1450† Richard I Brasyer
5 372.85 A# c1450† Richard I Brasyer
6 483.53 G# 1949 John Taylor & Co.
The given co-ordinates are for the south porch.