Stafford, Staffordshire, S Mary
| Place | Stafford S Mary |
| Lieutenancy area | Staffordshire |
| Country | England |
| Historic county | Staffordshire |
| Dove tower ID | 16829 |
| Rings | 12 (full-circle ring), tenor 18–1–1 in ESee below 5 (clock chime), hour bell 10–2–16 in G♯See below 2 (other bells)See below |
| Frames | 7See below |
| Grid reference | SJ921231 |
| Latitude & longitude | 52.80628, -2.11813View on map, or get directions from Google MapsList nearest towers |
| Satnav lat & long | A suggested satnav destination for this tower is at 52.80722, -2.12069 View on Google MapEdit details |
| Postcode | ST16 2AT |
| Diocese | Lichfield |
| Church group | Church of England |
| Listed grade | I by Historic England |
| Church heritage record | 7094 |
| URL | http://staffordbellringers.wordpress.com |
| Affiliations | Lichfield and Walsall Archdeaconries Society North Staffordshire Association |
| Performances | Search for performances on BellBoardCustomise |
| Peal boards | No peal boards have been uploaded to BellBoard yet The Central Council is collecting photographs of all peal boards, and curating and uploading them to BellBoard. This includes material from earlier systems found here. |
Ring of 12, tenor 18–1–1 in E
| Bells | 12 (full-circle ring)Edit details | |||||||||
| Tenor | 18–1–1 (2045 lb or 928 kg) in E (650.0 Hz) | |||||||||
| Extra bells | 6♭ | |||||||||
| All rings |
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| Practices | Wed | |||||||||
| Projects & overhauls | 2023 by Nicholson Engineering Ltd (major overhaul) Transferred from Hanley, Staffordshire, former ch of S John Ev Ring installed in a new frame at St Mary, Stafford, and augmented to 12 with a flat 6th. Try out 7 Mar 2023. The following events happened while the ring was at Hanley, Staffordshire, former ch of S John Ev 2019 (major overhaul) Ring removed from Hanley for installation at Stafford, S Mary 1923 by Gillett & Johnston (ring created) Ring installed | |||||||||
| Tuned | 2020 | |||||||||
| Peals | View 134 peals in the Felstead Database |
| Bell | Weight | Frequency | Note | Diameter | Dated | Founder | Canons | Turning | Hanging | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3–1–16 | 1957.2 | B | 22.94″ | 2019 | Westley Group | F | N | FC | ||
| 2 | 3–2–10 | 1738.8 | A | 23.94″ | 2019 | Westley Group | F | N | FC | ||
| 3 | 3–2–6 | 1626.4 | G♯ | 24.69″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 4 | 3–3–25 | 1468.5 | F♯ | 25.81″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 5 | 4–1–4 | 1303.8 | E | 27.06″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 6 | 4–2–15 | 1224.8 | D♯ | 28.06″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 7 | 5–0–25 | 1087.0 | C♯ | 30.13″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 8 | 6–3–20 | 975.2 | B | 32.94″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | U | FC | ||
| 9 | 8–1–4 | 865.9 | A | 35.88″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 10 | 9–2–13 | 813.1 | G♯ | 38.00″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | 4 | FC | ||
| 11 | 13–0–14 | 730.2 | F♯ | 42.13″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | U | FC | ||
| 12 | 18–1–1 | 650.0 | E | 47.00″ | 1923 | Gillett & Johnston | F | U | FC | ||
| 6♭ | 5–0–14 | 1157.6 | D | 29.00″ | 1887 | Gillett & Co | R | 8 | FC |
Clock chime, hour bell 10–2–16 in G♯
| Bells | 5 (clock chime)Edit details |
| Hour bell | 10–2–16 (1192 lb or 541 kg) in G♯ (827.5 Hz) |
| Projects & overhauls | 2019 by Nicholson Engineering Ltd (ring created) 5 of the bells from the old ring of 10 were rehung dead as a clock chime. |
| Bell | Weight | Frequency | Note | Diameter | Dated | Founder | Canons | Turning | Hanging | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 [4] | <4–2–26 | 1667.0 | G♯ | 26.25″ | 1887 | Gillett & Co | R | N | D | ||
| Quarter 2 [5] | <4–3–16 | 1510.5 | F♯ | 27.13″ | 1887 | Gillett & Co | R | N | D | ||
| Quarter 3 [6] | 4–3–2 | 1331.0 | E | 27.50″ | 1709 | Abraham I Rudhall | R | D | |||
| Quarter 4 [7] | 8–1–9 | 992.5 | B | 34.00″ | 1692 | Henry II Bagley | R | 8 | D | ||
| Hour [8] | 10–2–16 | 827.5 | G♯ | 37.75″ | 1692 | Henry II Bagley | R | 8 | D |
Other bells
| Bells | 2 (other bells)Edit details |
| Bell | Weight | Frequency | Note | Diameter | Dated | Founder | Canons | Turning | Hanging | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctus | 0–3–5 | 1993.0 | B | 16.50″ | 1622† | Thomas I Hancox | Y | 4 | D | ||
| Training | 7–3–8 | 1110.0 | C♯ | 32.25″ | 1692 | Henry II Bagley | R | 8 | FC |
Details of frames
| Frame | Bells | Year | Material | Maker | Truss | Layout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3A | Quarter 2 | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.A | |||
| 3B | 6b of 12 | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.F | 1 | ||
| 3C | Quarter 1, Quarter 3, Sanctus | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.F | 1 | ||
| 3D | Training | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.F | 1 | ||
| 2A | Quarter 4 | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.A | |||
| 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 of 12 | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.B.a | 12.X | ||
| 1A | Hour | 2023 | Steel | Nicholson Engineering Ltd | 8.1.A |
Notes
[1]Fate of bells from former ring of 10
The former 4th bell has been acquired by the Keltek Trust and is on offer to the restoration project at Westhorpe, Suffolk to replace the existing 3rd bell (1740 Thomas Gardiner). The former 5th bell is still hung for full-circle ringing as a Training Bell albeit minus its clapper. The former 7th bell was scrapped. The former 9th bell was acquired by the Keltek Trust and was used to replace the former 7th bell at Pitminster, Somerset. The former tenor bell was scrapped.
Published: 12/03/2023; updated: 23/10/2024
[2]Position of 6-flat, Sanctus, Quarter 1, Quarter 3, and Training bells
6b, Sanctus, Q1, Q3, and Training are hung in steel rider frames above the main frame: 6b above 6; Sanctus, Quarter 1, Quarter 3 above 7; Training above 8.
Published: 23/10/2024
[3]Position of Hour, Quarter 4, and Quarter 2 bells
Hour, Q4, and Q2 are hung dead from steel beams in a three-tier frame sited adjacent to the main frame.
Published: 23/10/2024; updated: 23/10/2024
[4]Quarter 1 bell history
Quarter 1 bell was previously bell 1/10.
Published: 08/09/2025
[5]Quarter 2 bell history
Quarter 2 bell was previously bell 2/10.
Published: 08/09/2025
[6]Quarter 3 bell history
Quarter 3 bell was previously bell 3/10.
Published: 08/09/2025
[7]Quarter 4 bell history
Quarter 4 bell was previously bell 6/10.
Published: 08/09/2025
[8]Hour bell history
Hour bell was previously bell 8/10.
Published: 08/09/2025
Update log
| 07/01/2026 | Clock chime constructed date added |
| 27/03/2024 | PN added [Nigel Horritt, local contact] |
| 18/08/2023 | Chime and other bells note amended (first sentence) [David Kelly, Keltek Trust] |
| 25/04/2023 | Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 frames swapped [Nigel Horritt, local contact] |
| 24/03/2023 | Project description amended [Nigel Horritt, local contact, David Kelly, Keltek Trust, and Andrew Nicholson, contractor] |
| 14/03/2023 | 6b: canons, turning amended [Additional information (clarification) provided by Andrew Nicholson, contractor] |
| 12/03/2023 | Frames added; Note added; Some weights, dimensions, canons amended; 1-12, 6b: turning added [Andrew Nicholson, contractor. Additional information provided by Nigel Horritt, local contact and Dave Kelly, Keltek Trust] |
| 10/03/2023 | New ring of 12 created from the 10 bells from Hanley and a bell from the former 11 bell chime as the flat 6th. Try out 7 Mar 2023. Visitors are asked to make contact before setting out and to see their website for further details. [Nigel Horritt, David Kelly] |
| 30/09/2021 | SatNav destination changed. No parking at previous SatNav location. New location is at entrance to nearest car park. [Chris Adams] |
| 06/02/2021 | The future ring of 12 based on the bells from Hanley. [Nigel Horritt via David Kelly] |
| 29/11/2019 | URL added [NB: URL shown at RW2019/1151 incorrect via RW] |
| 24/11/2019 | Former ring being replaced by ex Hanley bells (> ring of 12) [TimJ (#254 info D Kelly) via e-mail] |