St Michael's & All Angels, Croft
                                
 

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Our Rector writes.......

Bells, Tower and Clock

Church Clock

On July 24th 1897 , an open air fete was held and subscriptions were collected to erect a new clock in the tower in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria . This was built and fitted by Smiths, clockmakers of Derby . A small window with a carved stone surround on the south side of the tower marks the position of the original clock face.

Above is a photo of Fred Watson, verger and sexton at Croft for over 40 years. He rang over 100 peals for the Leicester Guild on Croft bells alone. He was well known for saying "Would you like to ring a peal at ... next Sturday." If the reply was in the affirmative, he would follow with "Well bring yourself and four others. I'll ring the treble." Once the peal was achieved, it would be announced that it was in honour of some birthday, wedding anniversary or other special occasion. The peal book is therefore quite a social history of Croft. The picture shows him winding the clock. When Fred worked in the quarry, the manager made him keep the clock five minutes fast so people would not be late for work.

Bell Details

There are currently six bells in the tower. In 1928, after an appeal, the existing three bells were re-hung in a steel frame and augmented with three new ones. they were dedicated by The Right Reverend Dr Cyril Bardesly, Lord Bishop of Leicester , on the 12th of May of that year. One of the existing bells had been recast and its fittings modernised while the two remaining ones were hung in the old way with wooden headstocks. The work was carried out by Taylor of Loughborough. Two of the earlier bells had been cast by Edward Arnold of St Neots in 1775 and 1777 and this company later moved to Loughborough to found the bell foundry there. The largest bell in the tower is also the oldest and was cast sometime in the middle of the 16th century, by a founder based in Leicester . The bells are some sixty feet above the floor of the tower from which they are rung (the bell ropes stretch from the font to the altar rail if they are laid on the floor of the church).

Dimensions:

Treble     1ft 11ins          G#           3cwts  1qrs  23lbs

2nd          2ft 1ins            F#            3cwts  3qrs  1lb

3rd          2ft 2½ins          E              4cwts  0qrs  10lbs

4th           2ft 4¼ins         D#           4cwts  1qrs  4lbs

5th           2ft 5½ins         C#           5cwts  2qrs  14lbs

Tenor      2ft 9¼ins          B             6cwts  2qrs  6lbs

illuminated page was completed by Earnest Morris, verger at St Mary's
              Leicester, who wrote several books about bell ringing.

Inscriptions:

 Tower captain : Lester Halling (01455) 282189