Bristol Rural Branch
Hanham Abbots (St George)

Name or Dedication: St George

Location: Hanham Abbots, Gloucestershire

Grid Reference: ST649702

Originally hung for full-circle ringing on plain bearings, the bell here has been rehung dead in the same oak one-bell frame with an oak deadstock. It was cast with canons which remain on the bell, but has been drilled and bolted. The bell is clapper-chimed from the ground floor of the tower, the rope being attached to the flight of the clapper with an eye-bolt and passing through the original hole in the ceiling.

The frame itself is much later than the bell and appears to be a copy of an earlier one, quite possibly the original. However, it is clear that the bell has previously been rung full-circle in this frame. Parts of the frame have been cut away to allow the bell to pass, and some evidence of the original fittings remains, including the slider runner and part of the ground pulley block. The remains of the wheel were unfortunately disposed of in October 2006.

Bells previously hung for full-circle ringing

Source: Founder and date from Nick Bowden. Inspected personally and all other information gathered 2nd November 2006.

Where the exact weight of a bell is known, it is given in the traditional way using the British imperial units of Hundredweight, Quarters and Pounds (cwt-qtr-lb) in which there are 28 pounds in a quarter, four quarters in a hundredweight, and 20 hundredweight in a ton (one hundredweight is equal to approximately 50.8 kilograms). However, if only an approximate or calculated weight is known, it is given to the nearest quarter of a hundredweight.

A bell's diameter is measured across its mouth (open end) at the widest point and is given in inches (to the nearest quarter of an inch), one inch being equal to approximately 2.54 centimetres.

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