1st Peal Rung on Bells

The first peal was rung on the six bells at St Peter's today. A peal is considered as a "marathon" of bell ringing and usually rung to mark special occasions. The peal today of 5040 changes took 2 hours and 36 minutes to complete. The six ringers who took part in the peal consisted of the donor of the 3rd bell who rang it, another Tamworth bell ringer involved in teaching new ringers for Drayton and 3 members of the Lichfield & Walsall Archdeaconries Society who supported the project by pledging a grant of £4,000 to get the appeal started.

The link below shows you the details of the peal as it will appear in the bell ringers magazine "The Ringing World"

http://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1041833

Update on Bell Ringing Activity

Since the dedication service in mid October. We have had two groups of ringers visit Drayton.

 The first was a retired ringers group who meet every 1st Wednesday of the month to ring at different churches and to have lunch together. Any surplus money, after donating to the churches where they ring, is given to bell appeals. Drayton received £100 from their funds for our appeal.

Also on Saturday, 19th November, about 40 members of the Lichfield& Walsall Archdeaconries Society of Bell Ringers rang for 2 hours in the afternoon. They were then entertained in the WI Hall, by the Drayton ringers and friends, to chilli and jackets potatoes followed by delicious homemade cakes.

Two quarter peals (which last about 40 mins)  have been rung on the bells. The first was rung half muffled on Armistice Day, 11th November beginning exactly at 11.02am. This was fitting as the treble is inscribed in memory of the 6 men from the village who lost their lives in WWI.

The second quarter peal was rung in remembrance of one of these men, John Forest, on the 100th anniversary of his death.

Bell ringing practices are now held on Thursday evenings when people are available so that the more experienced Drayton ringers can get practice on 6 bells. Other sessions are held for 1 to 1 teaching for raw recruits to suit their diaries.


The first full peal on the bells is being planned for sometime just before Christmas. This will last about 2 hours 40 minutes and will probably be commemorated by a peal board in the ringing room.

Bell Dedication Service Photographs

Below is a link to photographs taken by Kevin Jackson, many of them of the bell dedication service. Enjoy them.




https://www.flickr.com/gp/144037923@N04/y27DCi

Bell Installation Second Set of Photographs

Kevin Jackson, a bell ringer from Tamworth took these photographs during the arrival and installation of the bells.  https://www.flickr.com/gp/144037923@N04/2W20Q8

Bell Installation 1st set of Photos

The bells arrived in the village last Monday,26th September. Work went on throughout the week until finally on Friday morning , 30th September at 11am the full set of 6 bells were rung together for the first time.

A number of people took photographs during the week of the work in progress.

 Below is a link to a flickr album which contains photographs taken by Brian Taylor, a Tamworth ringer who worked on the installation. Just copy and paste this into your web browser.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144818358@N02/albums/72157673406053740

More photos will be available as I receive them

Bells Arrive Today

The 3 new bells arrived today in a large van complete with all their fittings. Beforehand the bellhanger, Andrew Ogden, from Taylor's along with local volunteers set up the winches ready to hoist the bells up thye tower.

The bells arrived at about 10.30am. By that time a number of villagers had gathered to watch the bells arrive and to get an upclose view. The Penguin class from the Manor school also came across to see the new bells. Some of them, who had been in Y5 last year, had watched the bells being casted at the bellfoundry.

During the day, aided by many willing volunteers, the 3 bells were hoisted up into the belfry and sited in their pits. The next few days will see the task of mounting all the bell fittings such as wheels, clappers and rollers. Completion of the work will be followed by a test ring of the new bells which may take place on Thursday, depending on how easier things progress.

Bells Ready for Loading

Here is a picture of our bells with their headstocks.
 They are ready to be loaded on the lorry on Monday morning next, 26th September.
 I've been told loading will start at 8am, so a 10am arrival in Drayton is possible.

Commemorative Plaque Has Been Cast- A Suitable Conclusion to Our Appeal

John Taylor's Bellfounders of Loughborough have cast and polished the plaque that will hang over the tower door in the church porch.
It looks brilliant and a suitable conclusion to our appeal. The plaque has been kindly donated by Mr Colin Bryan, CEO of Drayton Manor Theme Park who gave the second bell in memory of his parents. George and Vera.

Ray Learns The Ropes

Ray Kneale, the rector Jonathan's father in law, has recently moved into Drayton. He volunteered to learn to ring in order to make sure that the new bells are rung. He is now able to handle the bell on his own and gaining confidence. Well done.

I have at least 5 other people who wish to try out bell ringing when the bells are ringing again in the village. Anyone else wanting to have a go?

Headstock in Memory of Don Hellmuth

Above is one of the new headstocks which will hold one of the new bells. It is inscribed in memory of Don Hellmuth, churchwarden of Drayton at the time of his death.

He was a strong supporter of the bell project and was at the meeting a few days before his death where the PCC agreed to order the new bells.

War Memorial Bell Receives Its Headstock

Below is a picture showing the new treble (smallest) bell. It has been fitted with the reused headstock from the old treble bell. The old treble is going to be hung stationary and used as a clock and chime bell. It's also a chance to read the inscription on the other side of this bell.

New Recruit Rings Rounds

Brian Reynolds, from the village, volunteered a few months ago to learn bell ringing so that he would be available to ring the new bells. He has been coming to St Editha's Tamworth for a few months now learning on a silenced bell. He little realised that it's not as simple as it looks. But after a great deal of perseverance yesterday he managed to ring some rounds and call changes on six bells using the simulator.Well done Brian!

New Bells Receive a Polish

The bells have now been polished and await their fittings.
Below is the new treble (smallest) bell which commemorates the six men from the village who died in WWI.

Commemorative Plaque Receives Permission

A plaque is to be erected on the ground floor of the tower above the entrance to the tower staircase. This will commemorate the completion of the ring of six bells in the tower made possible by the present bell appeal. The plaque will be about 12 inches wide by 9 inches deep and will be cast in bell metal by John Taylor's of Loughborough, the same firm that cast the bells in the tower. Mr Colin Bryan CEO of Drayton Manor Theme Park has very kindly offered to fund the plaque. The new second bell in the tower was given in memory of his parents, George and Vera Bryan who founded the Theme Park.
It was originally thought that we would need to apply for a faculty, as we did for the bell work, for the plaque. But after the paperwork was submitted to the diocese, the Archdeacon of Lichfield decided that he would immediately issue a certificate for the work to be undertaken. This will save at least two months and means the plaque could be in place for the dedication of the bells on Sunday, 16th October.

The wording of the plaque, agreed by the donor and the PCC is as follows:-

The Bells of St Peter's Church, 

Drayton Bassett

In 1964 John Taylor Bellfounders of Loughborough hung three

new bells, together with the original treble dating from 1713,

in this tower in a new metal frame for six.

In 2016 the 1713 treble was hung for chiming and a further three

new bells were cast by John Taylor's to complete the ring of six,

with the new treble dedicated in memory of the six men of this

village who died in World War I.

The second bell was presented by Drayton Manor Theme Park.

in memory of Vera and George Bryan OBE, founders of the park.

This project was made possible by the generous donations of

villagers, friends and charities.

Rev. Jonathan Iddon, Rector

New Photo of All Three Bells

The photo below is by courtesy of John Taylor's website.
The treble ( smallest bell ) dedicated to the memory of the 6 men from the village who died in WWI. You can just see their names inscribed on the bell.
The second in the middle is given by Drayton Manor Theme Park in memory of George and Vera Bryan its founders.
The third bell on the left is given by John Mulvey in memory of his parents, grandparents and great grandparents who had a connection with the parish.

New Bells Photographed After Tuning

This afternoon I had the opportunity to see our 3 new bells at the foundry. The bells had been tuned and were awaiting polishing, that's why they appear so dark.

 Above is one side of the treble bell(smallest) dedicated to the six men from the village who died in WWI

 Above is the other side of the treble bell listing the six men. To the left is the second bell given by Drayton Manor Theme Park in memory of George and Vera Bryan, its founders.
Below it the third bell given by John Mulvey in memory of his ancestors, who were associated with the village.

New Bishop of Lichfield to Dedicate Bells

It has just been announced that the new Bishop of Lichfield, Rt Rev. Dr Michael Ipgrave will attend the bell dedication service in the afternoon of Sunday, 16th October.

This will be one of the first ceremonies he will attend following his enthronement as the 99th Bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield on 24th September.

Tuning of New Bells

This week has seen the start of tuning the new bells. The photograph below
from the John Taylor's website, shows the 2nd bell given by Drayton Manor Theme Park in memory of their founders, George and Vera Bryan on the tuning lathe.

Dedication Date Set

On Sunday, 16th October there will be a bell themed morning service beginning at 9.30am.

In the afternoon, start time yet to be decided, there will be an official dedication service. As the seating in the church is limited this service will be by invitation only. refreshments will then be served at the WI rooms. More details will be published when available.

Date Given for Installation of New Bells

John Taylor's of Loughborough have stated that the 3 new bells will be installed in the week beginning Monday 26th September. The installation should take about 3 days if there are no complications.

It is hoped that as many people as possible, and hopefully the children of the school, will greet the arrival of the new bells into the village.

The rector, Rev Jonathan Iddon, is already in the process of arranging a date for the dedication service for the new bells.

Sound Control on Louvres Nearly Completed

Adrian Taylor, local joiner, has nearly completed the installation of the sound control on the four sets of louvres in the tower. In the photograph you can see the hopper type hinged opening. These are open in the photograph to let sound out but when the bell ringers are practising they can be closed to limit the amount of sound coming out of the tower.

Latest Pictures from the Tower

 This shows the bellframe which has been treated with a coat of rust inhibitor and a prime coat. A gloss coat is yet to be applied.

 Above is the original smallest bell, dated 1713. This bell will be hung dead in a separate frame and a hammer will strike the hour on this bell.

 This is the original 2nd bell, will be the 4th in the new ring. It has be moved onto the top of the frame to allow space for the new bells to be raised into the belfry.

                                                      Another view of the repainted frame.

Sound Control To Be Installed Soon

After the completion of the building of the new ringing room floor, work is to begin soon on the installation of new woodwork on the inside of the louvres. This will ensure that the level of noise from the bells can be controlled. The sound control, when installed, will contain small opening doors. These can be opened for service ringing and closed when bell ringing practices are taking place.
The new woodwork will be installed by Adrian Taylor who has installed the new ringing room floor. The work should begin within the next few weeks.

Villagers Watch Bells Cast

On Wednesday 13th April 50 villagers and friends visited Taylor's Bell foundry in Loughborough to witness the casting of our 3 new bells. 25 children from Y5/6 of the Manor School attended. Also there were descendants of 3 of the 6 men from the village who died in WWI to watch the smallest bell being cast. Mr Colin Bryan represented Drayton Manor Theme Park who gave the 2nd bell in memory of his parents, George and Vera Bryan who founded the park. The party was split into 2 groups to tour the museum and foundry workshop before being taken to a balcony overlooking the casting hall. Before the bells were cast  the rector, The Reverend Jonathan Iddon, led the party in prayer.

Following watching the casting from the safety of the balcony the group were allowed to come onto the casting hall floor to view the bells close up.

Keven Jackson,a ringer from Tamworth who very kindly drew up the drawings for the faculty application took a large amount of photos. Some of which you can view by pasting the following link into your web browser


.https://www.flickr.com/photos/141395550@N05/

More Villagers Volunteer To Learn to Ring

Millie and Lauren daughters of Kay Putnam and Brian Reynolds have been having instruction in bell ringing at Tamworth for the last few weeks. They are now confident and can handle a bell very much on their own. They will now need plenty of experience ringing with others to build up their accuracy and confidence.

Neil and Gail Kneal, who are new to the village and are our rector's parents in law, have just had their first lesson at Tamworth. Two more people will start learning the ropes when the bells are back in action at Drayton.

If you know of any others that would like to consider having a go at learning they can see what is involved and have a try. Just contact John Mulvey on 07760 367570 

Our 3 New Bells Cast

A group of 50 villagers and friends visited John Taylor's Bell Foundry in Loughborough yesterday. There, after a tour around the small museum and the works, we witnessed the casting of our 3 new bells. Among the party were Year 5/6 from the village school, 4 descendants of the 6 men from the village who were killed in WWI and who will be commemorated on one of the bells and donors of the 2 other bells.

It was a very moving experience watching this historic occasion which sees the completion of a scheme started with the rehanging of 4 bells at Drayton in 1964.

No date has been set yet for the new bells arriving in Drayton and being rehung. This will be at the earliest late June/ early July. But I will keep you posted as this will be an opportunity for people to see the bells at close quarters before they are hoisted up the tower.

I will attach a link later to an album of photos taken by Kevin Jackson, a ringer from Tamworth, who did all the technical  drawings for our faculty application.

New Ringing Floor Progresses

Adrian Taylor and friends have been at work. They have cut the trap door in the porch ceiling and now are in the process of building the new ringing room floor. See the photographs.

Clock Will Again Strike The Hour

In the original scheme that was proposed the smallest bell was to be set aside. This would have a clapper fitted so that it would be chimed manually from the porch by using a rope.

A number of people have asked whether the clock would be able to strike the hour again. Using the existing clock mechanism to strike the hour would have been very expensive. I asked the foundry about how this could be achieved at a lesser cost. They said that if the church, instead of having a manual controlled chime bell, were to have an electronic control panel this would be possible. The control panel can be programmed in many different ways just like central heating boiler controls so that the bell can be made to chime slowly for funerals, before services and how we want. This will be installed at the same time as the new bells are hung.

The Moulds Being Created for Our Bells

Work with the Manor School and a Farewell to Nicky Jarrett

During the Autumn Term, before Christmas, I was able to go into Manor School in Drayton for a number of afternoons to work with Nicky Jarrett, the deputy head and her Y5/6 class of children.

The children were studying the village now and 100 years ago. The children used the school laptop computers to do on line research using the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Many of the children were able to create family trees and quite a few of the children found family connections with the village.
We also visited the village war memorial and noted the names of the 6 men, from the village, who died in World War I. Then the children used the internet to find out about them . Bev Davies from New Row came into class and talked about one of the men, Sam Tilling, who was her ancestor.

After Easter the class are going to attend the casting of the 3 new bells at John Taylor's Bellfoundry in Loughborough. But Nicky Jarrett will not be with us, as she is moving to be deputy head of the school in Kings Bromley. This is great news for her but it's sad for us that she will not see the completion of the project. I'm sure that the children will send her a photographic record of their trip.

Date for Start with Tower Woodwork

 As soon as the bell appeal was launched, Adrian Taylor,a joiner who lives at Ashdene Farm, Drayton kindly offered, free of charge, to create trapdoors in the tower floors and to build our new ringing room floor. He has now told me that this work will start on Tuesday 29th March.

Gould's woodyard in Fazeley have offered to provide any wood needed free of charge for this work and for the sound control boarding that we are putting up against the louvres.

We are truly blessed with so many marvelous people who are willing to give their time and products free of charge for the appeal.

More Begin to Learn to Ring

Lauren and Millie, daughters of Kay Putnam have begun to learn to ring ready for the new bells arriving at Drayton. The two girls are carrying on a family tradition as both Kay their mum and their grandparents, Peter  and Marg know how to ring.  As the damp conditions, at the moment, at Drayton make it difficult to teach new ringers, teaching sessions have moved to Tamworth. Lauren and Millie have had 3 lessons so far and are making rapid progress.; Lauren nearly being able to handle a bell on her own.

Brian Reynolds who began to learn last month is sticking with it and is enjoying the experience. He is progressing well and is nearly able to handle the bell without assistance.

At least 2 more villagers are ready to start lessons and will have their first lessons soon.

Another Descendant Makes Contact

Today I received another cheque in the post for the bell appeal. This time it was from a Chris Maynard, whose grandfather was a younger brother of Alfred Ball. Alfred was one of the six men who went from the village to fight in World War I but didn't return. Alfred, along with his 3 younger brothers all fought for their country in this war but Alfred was the only one not to return.

They were the children of Alfred and Mary Ball and lived in Drayton Manor Lodge on Coleshill Rd  . Alfred Snr was employed as a groom at The Manor. Alfred Jnr , before going off to war, had also been employed at the Manor as a footman.

Best Wishes from a former Resident Minister of Drayton

I met Philip Hall a few times when he was Resident Minister at Drayton between 1995 and 2001. I had the pleasure of meeting him again at Don Hellmuth's memorial service in November, where he showed great interest in our efforts to augment the bells at St Peter's Church.

Today I received a letter from him wishing us well with our effort to augment the bells and enclosing a very generous donation to the bell appeal.

People who have any contact with Drayton Church retain a warm connection with it.

First New Learner Takes to the Ropes

Brian Reynolds, a Drayton villager, volunteered a while ago to learn bell ringing in order boost the number of people available to ring the new bells when they are installed later this year. We started off about 2 weeks ago using a bell at Drayton. This didn't go well as the long length and dampness of the rope on the bell made it difficult to handle. We then transferred to Tamworth where the length of rope is shorter and the atmosphere drier. Brian has had 6 lessons of about 1 hour each. He is making good progress and ringing the bell with a little help. He said that when he saw people ringing the bells he didn't realise it involved so much skill. He is persevering and is determined to be able to take part in ringing the new bells when they are installed.

Tower Electrics Having a Makeover

Yesterday I called in at St Peter's to see the progress with upgrading the electrics in the tower. Matt, the electrician, had made good progress. The new dual strip light and emergency lighting had been fitted in the ringing room. The whole staircase was now equipped with bulkhead lights and there were now no dark patches. The clockroom had been equipped with new lighting to illuminate the whole space. A new floodlight to illuminate the whole of the belfry was just being installed, together with electric sockets for ease of maintenance.


To be completed was wiring these circuits into a new consumer unit in the church which will ensure that the electrics in the tower can be extended if necessary in the future.



This is the emergency light in the ringing room. It will ensure that if the power goes off. This will switch on and ensure the ringers can catch their ropes.