Parking and turning, even for a coach, is no problem, plenty of room in front of the lych gate. Unfortunately the church is kept locked. Normally visiting bands are met: if this is not possible you will be instructed.The rather small upstairs ringing chamber is reached by a door just inside the church.

There is one clock hammer, and the chiming rope is attached to the 2nd, about 18" above the floor.The bells are easy to ring, despite the apparently long draught, but the 4th is liable to go up wrong if not handled firmly, and the 3rd is somewhat slow at backstroke and the fifth likewise at hand.

Also in Barford, in the main street, on the left just after the cedar tree, the Post Office stores sells almost everything. (Including supplying felt pen sets for the Bell Club packs at the best price I can find anywhere!)

On the A46 dual carriageway 1 mile north of the M40 (J15) roundabout there are Little Chefs and filling stations with all the standard facilities.

Sherbourne is a very small village - no shop and no pub now. The pretty 19th century estate workers cottages in Church Road, with their barge boards and 'tudor' chimneys behind their long yew hedge, the present church (1864) and the school (1881, now closed and used as the village hall) all owe their origin to the benevolence of Miss Louisa Ryland at Sherbourne Park.

The 1552 inventory says 'item ij bells'(2 bells).

The present number 4 bell was cast in 1632 by Hugh Watts of Leicester.

The second church certainly appears to have had two bells because in the Churchwardens accounts we find: 1724 'paid for menden the litel bell whel' £00-02-01, 1734 'Paid to John Hands for menden both the Bell Clapers and for a hup for the great bell and Cleating of it up and Plating the litle bell whell' £00-02-03'

Pd for too new bell Rops' appears in 1724 (4/-), and in 1734 (4/6), 1736 (4/6), 1739 (3/6) and 1741 (4/-)'

'Paid for menden the Bell claper' appears in 1726 (1/-), 1734 three times (6/-), 1738 the great bell claper (3/-), 1740 one of the Bell Clapers (3/-) and 1741 (3/-) and in 1742 the Bell Wiells needed attention twice (8d and 1/8)

Charles Armstrong, local historian, says of the third Church (1747) that 'at one time there were 3 bells but it is said that the third was seized by the people of Budbrooke in payment of a debt and latterly the third pit remained empty'. Certainly Budbrooke, 3 miles to the NW has now 3 bells, two of which are cast by Watts of Leicester nearly (but not exactly) contemporary with our present 4th. But then in Barford church tower (1 mile SE) a libellous notice to this day alleges that the people of Sherbourne stole one of their bells!!

1759 Paid Richard Kite for Drink at the rareing ye Bells and Paid for Drink when the Hung the Bells' (sic) (? both illegible amounts). 'Paid for casting the Brasses and to new Gudgins (£2-00-11). The bell ropes continued to get hard wear, being new in 1759, mending and new in 1760, mending in 1764, new in 1765, 69, 74, 75, 78 and 80 at 7/6 each time. 2 ropes were specifically mentioned in 1778.

An annual sum of 1/- for oil for the clock and bells appears from 1760 and there are odd references to 'mending the Bell Whele and other work'

The One-per-Learner Book was first published in 1985, followed by the Follow-on Book, the Ringers Exercise Book and the 20 Questions Leaflet. The Model Bell re-appeared as a made-up job, together with the Method Maker and the Ringers Listening Aid and last, the Bell Club pack of Progress Cards and Badges.

Most of the surplus from this non-profit-making enterprise is handed back to Guilds and Associations Bell Restoration Funds, (£24,000 to date) but Sherbourne has benefitted directly by a contribution to anti-bird netting for the louvres, a new pulley-box and a complete set of new ropes (£915) in 1999, and our plurality neighbour Barford received a donation towards the cost of their 1994 augmentation from three to six.

Early days ~ What we know of the earliest ringing has been gleaned from the Churchwardens Accounts. Every December 26th from 1722 to 1745 appears 'Pd to Willm Turner for ringing ye bell at such poor peoples burials as are not able to pay for themselves '£00-05-00

The annual payment continued in the new church from 1761, Richard Chamberlain replacing Wm Turner, and thereafter 'the Clark'.

And for the next building in 1864 Ringing bells at the consecration of the Church £1-00-00

(so presumably 'proper' full-circle ringing here at last)

Thereafter an annual payment of £3-00-00 was made to the ringers until 1928.

1881 traditions ~ Tilley & Walters' 'Church Bells of Warwickshire' records thanks to the Vicar, Rev. G Sedgwick, details of ringing traditions extant in 1881:

On Sundays, bells chimed for services; peals before Mattins on Festivals; tenor bell rung up after chiming when there is a Sermon. (peals presumably means full-circle ringing!)

Ringing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve; on September 29th (Dedication Festival); for Weddings by request.

Death Knell rung for about one hour after death; tellers 3 x 3 for man, 3 x 2 for woman, two strokes for child, on tenor; age of deceased tolled when requested. Tolling before and after Funerals.

Bell ropes are paid for out of the endowment of the church.

In 1928 ~ when Mears & Stainbank put the bells onto ball-bearings, until 1960 an annual payment of £3-00-00 went to 'the chimers', and in 1943 a second annual payment began, initially £2-00-00, rising to £3-3-0d and ending in 1951 was made to the Bellringers as a donation from Mr C. Smith-Ryland.

We know of one man, Lewis Harrison, whose grave near the lych gate records that he rang (or chimed?) here for 62 years, probably 1895-1957.

In the 1960's ~ Bill Male from Warwick (who could whistle peals of Grandsire Triples and once rang Holt's Original on a miniature set of keyboard-operated bells that he had made!) and Percy Oram from Whitnash came and taught some ringers but they all evaporated. By 1969 the St Mary's Warwick ringers were ringing once a month on Sundays. In 1969 Pam Sturdy arrived in the parish and began to teach a new band but this too folded when she moved to Wellesbourne, and the St Mary's ringers recommenced their monthly visits.

In 1972 ~ Pam married Ted Copson and they returned to live in Barford, found a family of four other ready-made ringers had just moved into Sherbourne and taught a few more adults and youngsters, producing quite a presentable village band ringing Doubles and up to Kent and Cambridge during the 70s and 80's. The only Peal rung with a largely Sherbourne band was conducted by a sixteen-year-old for her Duke of Edinburgh's Badge, first peal for her and her and three others, in 17 Doubles m/v.

2000 ~The Present Band ~ As is the way, especially with juniors, ringers come and go. At present six ringers live in the parish and three come from surrounding villages. Since Barford has been augmented we lost the right to draw on residents from our larger sister parish but have benefitted by staunch support from the new ringers there. Both churches rang at midnight for the RING in 2000 and also at noon on January 1^st. This latter was followed by a Full Peal at Sherbourne.

Current traditions ~ SUNDAYS We scarcely ever miss ringing at Sherbourne 10.25-11am for the Morning Service (no evensong here), although the standard varies from called changes on as few as 4 to quarter peals of doubles or minor.

Special Quarter Peals are arranged for Good Friday and Remembrance Sunday (half-muffled), and on All Saints' Day before the Plurality Service then we often have a ringers bring-a-plate party, at someone's house.

August Bank Holiday Tuesday we have an Outing, visiting 4 or 5 reasonably local towers.

PRACTICE NIGHT is Friday 5.00-6.45pm.

Sherbourne parish is in plurality with Barford (since 1994 a lovely ringable light six) and Wasperton (2 hung for chiming, currently unringable).

Statistics ~ Eleven Peals have been rung on the bells (the first in 1949 up to the last on 1/1/2000 to welcome the 21^st century), and about 80 Quarters. For some years recently we were the leading quarter-peal tower in the Coventry Diocese.

The tower is within area of the Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers.