Chesterton

St Giles 3: 8½cwt in Ab

Grid Reference 151/264399 Chesterton/ Source: geograph.co.uk
Postcode CV33 9LG
Peals None
Date Lost 2009
Other Information Parish Website

History

This church has 12th century origins. Then nave, chancel and tower are 13th century, and the church was possibly lengthened ion the late 14th century.  In the late 15th century the roof and nave south wall and porch were added. The upper part of tower is c.1600. It was restored in 1862.

Until recently these bells were an unringable 3, all cast by Abraham Rudhall in 1705. They could not be rung due to the ” general tattiness” of all the original Rudhall fittings. The frame itself is probably of late 17th/early 18th century in date and is itself somewhat “tatty”. There is a pit for a fourth bell, though it has never been occupied. In about 1965 a rolled steel joist was inserted under the west side of the frame. A piece of oak with ornamental carved tracery has been used as a jack brace in the treble pit.

All the bells retain their canons. The frequencies, tenor to treble, translate to Ab, B and Db. They were fastened with keyed ironwork to wooden headstocks. they had strap gudgeons, rope rollers and busk boarded clappers. The trebles had traditional stays and sliders, the tenor a metal latchet stay and a pendulum slider. The fittings were mainly from the Eighteenth century, although the wheels may have been subsequently replaced.

The inscriptions are given in Tilley and Walters “Church Bells of Warwickshire”

Chesterton Inscriptions
Chesterton Inscriptions

Starting in September 2009 these bells were converted to a swing chime by Whites of Appleton. The work involved removing the existing fittings, drilling out the crown staples and replacing the wooden headstocks with new wooden replacements and clappers. The frame was then treated.

Details of the Bells

1 Abraham Rudhall, Gloucester  1705  5cwt  29.50″  1083.0Hz (Db-41c)
2 Abraham Rudhall, Gloucester  1705  6½cwt 33.50″   974.5Hz (B-23c)
3 Abraham Rudhall, Gloucester  1705  8½cwt  36.00″  849.0Hz (Ab+38c)

Photo Gallery

Chesterton East. Source: Aidan MacRae Thomson Chesterton Bells. Source: Whites of Appleton
The Church – Looking East The Bells