BELLS IN AND AROUND BIRMINGHAM: A SURVEY AND HISTORY (PART 2: LOCATIONS F-Y) Chris Pickford Version date: 29/09/2020 GAZETTEER FIRS ESTATE – see CASTLE BROMWICH, St.Wilfrid (R.C.), Firs Estate FOUR OAKS – All Saints, Walsall Road All Saints was built in 1908 to the designs of Edwin F. Reynolds, architect. Messrs. J. Barnsley and Sons were the builders. The foundation stone of the nave was laid on 4 April 1908 and the nave and temporary sanctuary were consecrated on 31 October 1908. Built in the Perpendicular style in brick, the church was intended to have a chancel, organ chamber, vestry and tower over the south porch of similar design. These were never built, but the chancel was rebuilt in a more substantial manner in the early 1960s and consecrated on 21 November 1965. The parish of Four Oaks was created from the parish of Hill in 1920. The portion of the church completed in 1908 had a stone bellcote over the chancel arch. The original bell – shown in a photograph of the church taken in 1943 – was about 20 inches in diameter and it was hung for swing chiming with a wooden stock. Having become unsafe, it was taken down in about 1965 when the chancel was added, but “went missing” shortly afterwards. There is now a loudspeaker in the bellcote. In 2000, however, a small sanctus bell was erected on outside wall on the south side of the sanctuary to mark the Millennium. It is a small bell with a diameter of 9 inches, inscribed “The Millennium Bell”. It is rung from inside the sanctuary. Church visited: CJP 15 May 1988 FRANKLEY (Worcestershire) – St.Leonard Situated at the western edge of the Diocese of Birmingham, Frankley has a mediaeval church with a west tower built in 1751 – as formerly recorded on an inscription on the gallery - at the expense of Sir T. Lyttleton to replace a wooden tower described as “ready to fall”. Stone from the old Hall at Frankley, destroyed during the Civil Wars, is said to have been used in the new tower. The Churchwardens presentments contain items confirming that the previous belfry was a wooden tower, and that it had fallen into decay by 1749: 8 May 1702 Church in good repayre excepting the Steeple which some Boards are roten and we crave time for the doing of it 14 June 1749 The steeple of the church is worn [much – deleted] out of repair 16 October 1749 nothing presentable … except the steeple The church was restored by Frederick Preedy in 1873, and again after fire damage in 1931 and 1947. In 1812 the Rev D Parkes noted “two small bells, one of which is broken”. One of the bells was sold in about 1865. According to William Saunders it was recast for the school (built in 1865), but there is no bell there now. Saunders noted that the remaining bell was 23” in diameter and that it was the smaller of the two bells that originally hung in the tower. He noted that there were two pits in the frame and that the bell was hung for “dead pull” ringing. In 1900, H.B. Walters noted a single bell by an unknown founder inscribed “+ SIR IHON LITTILTON 1584”, with the letter L inverted. He observed that the cross resembled that used by Appowell of Buckingham. The lettering, however, was unlike Appowell’s. The figure 4 was similar to that on the bell of 1584 at Little Washbourne. There is a rubbing of the inscription in the Walters collection at the Society of Antiquaries. It is clear that the date has been incorrectly reproduced as 1588 (not 1584) on the new bells of 1932 and 1947. The church was badly damaged by fire on 9 March 1931. The fire gutted the interior of the tower and the old bell was destroyed. The salvaged metal weighed 1-2-24 and Taylors estimated that the old bell probably weighed less than 3 cwt. The church was restored under the direction of Batemans, the Birmingham architects, and the possibility of installing a light chime of bells was considered. This was not pursued, however, and in 1932 Taylors provided a new bell, with swing chiming fittings, as follows: Bell Inscription 1. 218 / (Bell and pomegranate border) VOCOR CAMPANA GABRIELIS Waist: DE TURRE, A.D.VII. I.D. MART. A.S. MCMXXXI / INCENDIO DESTRUCTA, PRÆCIPITATA, / A.S. MCMXXXII EODEM EX ÆRE SUM DE / NOVA FUSA. / N.P. FROST, A.M., RECTOR / J. PEARMAN } / S. BREAKWELL } ECCLESIÆ CUSTODES / NOMEN INSCRIPTUM FEREBAM OLIM / SIR JOHN LITTILTON 1588 Opposite: (Taylor's rectangular mark) Bell Founder and date Diameter Note Cwt. Qrs. Lbs. 1. John Taylor & Co, 1932 25 E (1309 Hz) 3 0 4 This bell was destroyed when the tower was damaged by fire for a second time in 1947. The restoration work was again carried out by Batemans, the main contractor being Leslie Sargeant (builder) of Hollywood. There is now one bell supplied as a replacement by Taylors after the 1947 fire: Bell Inscription 1. 196 / (bell and pomegranate border) Waist: SIR JOHN LITTILTON 1588 / RECAST 1932 / RECAST 1947 Opposite: (Taylor’s rectangular mark) Bell Founder and date Diameter Note Cwt. Qrs. Lbs. 1. John Taylor & Co, 1947 24⅜ F (1376 Hz) 3 0 3 The bell hangs between two wooden beams erected in 1947 and it is hung for swing chiming with a cast iron stock, ball bearings and iron chiming lever. The bell appears to have been installed by Leslie Sargeant, who doubtless provided and fixed the wooden beams for the framework. Visited: CJP 26 August 1988 GARRETTS GREEN – St.Thomas, Garretts Green Lane This church was built in 1958-60 to replace the City Centre church of St.Thomas, Bath Row, destroyed by enemy action in December 1940. It was designed by Graham Winteringham of S.T. Walker and Partners, architects, and built by T. Elvins & Sons Ltd. at a cost of £56,312. The conventional district of Garretts Green was formed from Yardley and Sheldon in 1960 and later became a parish in 1968. The church was dedicated on 17 September 1960 but not consecrated until 7 March 1969. It has a tall brick tower over the porch, with a single bell: Bell Inscription 1. 106 438 / 1844 Waist: GIVEN BY / OAKFORD CHURCH, DEVON 1962 / AND RECAST BY / JOHN TAYLOR & CO., LOUGHBOROUGH Opposite: P.N. HAYWARD, VICAR / G. HOUSE } / H.T. PRESTON } CHURCHWARDENS Bell Founder and date Diameter Note Cwt. Qrs. Lbs. 15 1. John Taylor & Co, 1962 14 /16 C# (2195Hz) 0 2 22 The bell is hung dead from a channel-iron beam and sounded by trigger-action clapper. It was cast from the metal of a small school bell from Oakford in Devon, originally cast by C & G Mears of Whitechapel in 1844 and given to Garretts Green in 1962. The Whitechapel daybooks contain the following entry regarding the Oakford bell: 13 December 1844 Revd. J. Parkin, Oakford To a bell 0-2-17 @ 14d £4.5.2. Clapper 4s.0d. When the old bell arrived at Loughborough in August 1962, Taylors noted that it was just dated 1844, adding “looks like Mears”. Its diameter was 14¾ inches. Visited: CJP 23 August 1988 GLEBE FARM – see STECHFORD, St.Andrew, Glebe Farm GOSPEL LANE, St.Michael – see HALL GREEN, St.Michael, Gospel Lane GRAVELLY HILL – see ERDINGTON, All Saints, Gravelly Hill; ERDINGTON, St.Mary and St.John (R.C.), Gravelly Hill North GREAT BARR (Staffs) - St.Chad, Collingwood Drive, Pheasey Pheasey is in Lichfield Diocese and in Staffordshire, but it is included on account of its proximity to the City boundary. The church was built in 1964 at a cost of £30,000. The architects were Denys Hinton & Partners and James Moffatt & Sons Ltd were the builders. The building was completed in July 1964. This building had two bells, hung stationary in a brick structure on the roof by Taylors in 1964 for chiming with trigger-action clappers Bell Inscription 1. [blank and undated] 2. 196 / JOHN TAYLOR & CO. * FOUNDERS * LOUGHBOROUGH * Waist: ST.CHAD, 1964 / * * * / CHRIST IS RISEN Bell Founder and date Diameter Nominal Note Cwt. Qrs. Lbs. 1. Unidentified 12⅞ --- 0 1 5 2. John Taylor & Co, 1964 24⅜ 1305 E-17.83 2 3 16 Subsequently St.Chad’s amalgamated with the Methodist church, and the modified church building of the present Beacon Church no longer has a tower. The bells were sold in 2017, the smaller one for scrap and the larger for disposal via the Keltek Trust - intended (January 2018) for a light ring of bells at Vernet-les-Bains in Southern France. Not visited: Ex.inf. Taylors and Eric Speake’s notes (visited 21 October 1980) GREET, St.Bede – see SPARKHILL, St.Bede, Greet HALL GREEN – Ascension (previously Job Marston’s Chapel), School Road This church was built in 1704 to the designs of Sir William Wilson of Sutton Coldfield. Originally a free chapel or donative, it was built under a bequest from Job Marston of Hall Green (1637-1701) who left £1000 for building a chapel for the inhabitants of Hall Green living “at a great distance from their parish church” at Yardley. The contractors were William and Francis Smith of Warwick who received £698 “by the great” for their work which included building the chapel and providing most of the fixtures. The total cost amounted to £1012 18s 11½d. The chapel was consecrated on 25 May 1704. The building was enlarged in 1860 and the parish of Hall Green was created from Yardley in 1907. It was dedicated as the Church of the Ascension on 25 May 1954, on the 250th anniversary of the building.