Stapleford
St Helen

Bells

The tower contains a ring of 6 bells. Three are by John Taylor and Co, and date from 1932. The fourth bell is by Samuel Medworth of Mansfield and is dated 1843 and the fifth and sixth bells are tenor bells and date from the 15th century and are the product of one of the Leicester founders.

Details are as follows:

  Inscription Maker Size Weight Date
1

Oak leaves

Waist:

1932

 John Taylor & Co 25" 3.2.26 1932
2

As 1

 John Taylor & Co 26½" 4.0.18 1932
3

As 1

 John Taylor & Co 28" 4.2.0 1932
4

JOHN STREETS JUNR & JOHN SMEDLEY CHURCHWARDENS MDCCCXLIII

 Samuel Medworth 29⅞" 5.0.5 1843
5

IHC NASARENUS REX JUDEORU FILI DEI [1]

 Leicester founder 32⅛" 5.3.20 14th Cent.

6

AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA DOMINUE TECUM [2]

 Leicester founder 35⅛" 7.1.7 14th Cent.

[1] The Latin inscription on bell 5 translates as:

Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Son of God

[2] The underlined letters in the inscription on bell 6 are inverted. The Latin translates as:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you

It was discovered in 1932 that the poor condition of the tower was being caused by the old wooden bellframe being wedged tightly against the walls, so transmitting the vibration caused by the swinging bells directly to the walls. A new steel frame was installed and the bells rehung to minimize the vibration. The work was carried out by John Taylor and Co, who charged for this, together with three new bells, £400.