Bell Tower of St Thomas a Becket's church, Sutton under Brailes, with a ring of 5 bells.
|
Frame |
Bells |
Year |
Material |
Maker |
Truss |
Layout |
|
1 |
1,2,3,4,5 |
1846 |
Oak |
John Davis |
6.A |
5.3 |
"A very pretty South Warwickshire Village. The nave dates from the 12th century, but the only remaining architectural feature is the north doorway, which was re-discovered and opened out in the 19th century. The east halves of the side walls are probably original: on the north side this half leans outwards, but the west half has been rebuilt plumb vertical, probably when the clearstory was added in the 15th century, the 12th-century doorway being reset, so that although the eaves line is flush throughout there is a difference of 10 in. inside (at floor-level) and outside at the base. The chancel was rebuilt in the 13th century and seems to have been lengthened eastwards at the end of the same century and larger windows than the original lancets provided. The south tower was an addition of c. 1340 but it was probably later in the century that the top was completed. There was a large restoration of the building in 1879 at a cost of £2,000, when the walls were stripped of plaster and external cement, the west and the southwest walls of the nave rebuilt and new roofs provided.
The highly decorated bells, a "listed" complete ring by William and Robert Cor of Aldourne, were retuned at Whitechapel and rehung by Whites of Appleton in the existing frame in 1983. They are strange bells, decorated with curious ornaments. The oak frame is dated 1846 and was made by John Davis, a local carpenter. He was paid £55/8/6 for "New roofing the tower and new frames for the bells". The bells are very long waisted in shape, having high crowns and curious bulging lips. They retain their canons and are listed bells. They had been chip tuned prior to the 1983 rehang.
There is a late C18th bell of 13" diameter on display in the church. It is the former sanctus bell.
The inscriptions are given in Tilley and Walters' book, "The Church Bells of Warwickshire".
The tower is on the side, rather than the end of the nave, i.e. on the South-East side, and the bells are rung from the porch - leaving the doors open on a nice sunny day is ideal.
There is limited parking on the grass verge just past the church. The village was transferred to Warwickshire from Gloucestershire in 1844.
The nominals of the bells have recently become available and the ring is just nearer to A than the previously quoted Ab.
Details of the Bells
1 William & Robert Cor, Aldbourne 1701 5-0-04 27.75" 1296.0Hz (E-30c)
2 William & Robert Cor, Aldbourne 1701 5-0-12 26.25" 1145.5Hz (D-44c)
3 William & Robert Cor, Aldbourne 1701 5-3-12 31.00" 1082.5Hz (C♯-41c)
4 William & Robert Cor, Aldbourne 1701 6-1-12 32.75" 962.5Hz (B-45c)
5 William & Robert Cor, Aldbourne 1701 8-3-22 36.75" 856.0Hz (A-48c)"
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