St Lawrence 5: 7cwt in B Anticlockwise
Grid Reference | 140/252817 | |
Postcode | CV7 7HX | |
Affiliation | Coventry DG | |
Peals | Felstead Database | |
Sunday | None | |
Practice | None | |
Other Information | Anticlockwise |
History
In a pretty location on the edge of the village, near to the A45, this church is part of a village with the unique attraction of a war memorial to bicyclists. It also claims to be in the dead centre of England. The church is worth a view.
There might have been a church here pre-conquest, though nothing remains. The present church consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, west tower, and modern south porch and vestry. The chancel and nave are of 12th-century origin; the chancel was lengthened a few feet in the 13th century and the chancel arch widened. Aisles were added to the nave subsequently, the southern first, in the 14th century, and the northern during the 15th century. Later in the 15th century the west tower was built, apparently, judging from the difference of material, in three periods. The clearstory to the nave was raised at about the same time.
Minor alterations took place later, such as the insertion of 15th- or early16th-century windows, &c. The west window of the tower was remade in the 17th century. The tower appears to have had a stone spire originally which must have been a conspicuous landmark like those of Solihull and Coleshill. Various restorations have been carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was restored in 19th century and again in 1924.
Recent work has included the re-roofing of the nave and aisles in 2008 and a thorough restoration of the tower in 2009-11.
The ring of bells is hung in an old mid to late 16th century wooden frame, originally for four bells, with fittings by Day of Eye, 1897. They have elm headstocks, plate gudgeons, plain brass bearings in iron housings and traditional wheels, stays and sliders. They have Tee-headed clappers, suspended from independent crown staples by means of busk boards.
The following appeared in “Bell News” in the edition of February 12th 1898:
“Meriden, Warwickshire.—
A local paper is responsible for the following:— “ The bells at Meriden Church date from Richard II’s reign. They have lately been re-hung, and on Wednesday evening, at the invitation of the Meriden Guild, the Coleshill ringers gave several rounds of Grandsire Triples (sic). The visitors were afterwards entertained at supper by the Meriden Guild”
The three trebles are among the fourteen known bells by this founder. He was a brassfounder by trade, but cast some bells between 1736 and his death in 1744. It is thought likely that he took over some of the foundry plant of Richard Sanders of Bromsgrove, who died in 1737. The fourth bell was cast to replace a bell that had been missing for about a century. The tenor is an old bell, decorated with around 22 impressions of coins that are somewhat indistinct. It is tentatively dated at about 1500AD. It is slightly flat in relation to the other bells in the ring and is actually nearer to Bb than B, but the ring is effectively in B.
All bar the Warner bell are listed and all have canons; in the case of the Warner bell they are “Doncaster”. The third and the tenor have been quarter turned. All five bells are “maiden” castings.
The inscriptions are given in Tilley and Walters’ book, “The Church Bells of Warwickshire”:
The bells were formerly a ground floor ring, but are now rung from a new gallery that was very sympathetically added in 1989.
The first peal on the bells was rung in 1927:
An article on the bells appeared in The Ringing World of February 6th 1953:
The church is near the Coventry end of the village and can be found from the A45 westbound by following the sign to Millison’s Wood. This junction was formerly signposted as Meriden, but a new junction further along has been added as the main entry point to the village. (This new junction is the exit that will have to be used by Coventry bound traffic, then through the village) Look for Church Lane, opposite The Queen’s Head public house. Entry is via the south door of the church. Limited parking is available on the road by the south side of the church.
An inspection in late April 2013 showed that, with some minor work, the bells could be put into a condition where ringing for festivals, weddings, etc. would be possible. This work was done shortly afterwards and the bells are now available for occasional ringing.
Details of the Bells
1 William Brooke, Bromsgrove 1740 3cwt 25.188″ 1497.5Hz (F#+20c)
2 William Brooke, Bromsgrove 1740 4½cwt 27.625″ 1318.5Hz (E+0c)
3 William Brooke, Bromsgrove 1740 4¾cwt 28.50″ 1236.5Hz (D#-11c)
4 John Warner, London 1897 5¾cwt 31.00″ 1079.5Hz (C#-46c)
5 Unknown C15th 7cwt 33.00″ 954.0Hz (B-61c)