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LyndenleaBristol Rural Branch
Olveston (St Mary the Virgin)
Name or Dedication: St Mary the Virgin
Location: Olveston, Gloucestershire
Grid Reference: ST600873
Recast from the previous ring of six. The installation was carried out by John Sully of Stogumber, Somerset, who sub-contracted the casting of the bells to John Taylor & Co. They are hung on plain bearings with wooden headstocks, in an unusual frame of wood and cast iron on RSJs, made by Sully.
In the Ringing Room is an Ellacombe Chiming Apparatus, and a weight-driven birdcage clock made by William Dell of Bristol in 1760. Overhauled by White & Boniface of Bristol in 1971, it continues to be wound by hand once a week and strikes the hours on the tenor. Its octagonal wooden dial is on the east wall of the tower.
Bells hung for full-circle ringing
| Bell | Weight | Diameter | Note | Founder | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-1-23 | 28 in | F | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 2 | 5-1-10 | 28½ in | E | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 3 | 6-0-10 | 30¾ in | D | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 4 | 7-1-02 | 33 in | C | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 5 | 8-1-08 | 35½ in | Bb | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 6 | 10-0-04 | 37¾ in | A | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 7 | 13-0-14 | 42 in | G | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
| 8 | 18-3-08 | 47 in | F | John Taylor & Co. | 1907 |
Source: Bell data from a document in Olveston Ringing Room prepared by John Taylor & Co. Diameters from Paul Grainger-Allen. Key note confirmed personally 28th October 2006. Further information from Andrew Bull. Details of the clock from Arthur Robbins.
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.