Excerpt of a peal of Bristol Surprise Royal at St Bartholomews Church, Wednesbury, West Midlands

Wednesbury is a small town situated close to Willenhall, Walsall, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich, part of the historically industrious "Black Country" area of the West Midlands conurbation. It has a Victorian church at the highest point in the local area, which has a tower and spire.

In the tower is a peal of 10 bells, which were cast and hung in 1912 by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon. The tenor weighs 24-0-18 (1227kg) and is in Eb.

A view of the tenor can be had by clicking on the "linked video" just below.

The bells are hung on 2 levels, with the 3rd, 5th, 8th and 9th hung above adjacent bells within the ring. The lower frame is a H frame and the upper frame is a low side frame. The bells are hung next to the louvres, can from some angles can actually be seen swinging and are EXTREMELY loud.
The clock is also a Gillett and Johnston installation. The bells are of superb tonal quality and the tenor is "Major Thirds", instead of a more tradiitonal minor thirds sound.

Details of the peal -
Lancashire Association
Wednesbury, West Midlands
St Bartholomew
Sunday, 6 March 2011 in 3 hours 1 minute (24-0-18)
5040 Bristol Surprise Royal
Composed: Anthony J Cox
1 Andrew B Mills
2 Pauline Campling
3 Andrew D Sibson
4 Louis P H Suggett
5 Bernard F L Groves
6 Colin M Lee
7 James C Marchbank
8 George H Campling (C)
9 Trevor W Marchbank
10 Gordon R Birks

First of Bristol S Royal: 4