Henley in Arden, St John the Baptist

St John the Baptist Church is on the East side of the High Street (A3400) that runs North-South through Henley in Arden. Parking on the nearby streets is restricted to 2 hours. This is a sizable Church with a large tower. The ringing room is reached by climbing a spiral staircase that starts within the tower. As might be expected with such a large tower the ringing room provides plenty of room to ring the 6 bells with seating for several non-ringers. That said there is a lot of space taken up by the clock mechanism and a wooden frame around the pendulum that swings in the middle of the room. Three small windows provide some natural light.

I visited for the first time on Saturday 5^th July 2008 as part of our 2008 tour. I rang bells #4, #5 and the tenor and I found that they all rang well enough. On the day the tenor had black insulation tape around the top of the sally which made it a bit awkward for those, like me, that are tall enough that they catch the sally high up. The length of the pull is quite short which makes them easy to control.

The tower has a ring of 6 bells with a tenor weighing 11-3-4 in F♯. Dove's Guide includes details of the bells at St John the Baptist.

The Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers also have information on the Henley in Arden Parish Church of St John the Baptist.