Description:Adjusting the hammer of the great tenor bell at Penkridge Church, which at the time of this photograph was muffled because of the death of King George VI, is 19 year old Roy Bastone, one of the bell-ringers.
The supports and framework of the peal of eight bells was due to be overhauled at a cost of £500. The eight bells which were re-cast and made up from a set of five bells 120 years earlier, were due to be taken down so that the framework could be repaired after 60 years of inattention. The bells themselves were said to be in good condition, but the headstocks and gudgeons supporting the bell heads, needed to be restored along with other work including re-setting of slider-supports which stop the bells from swinging over and on the runners, through which the bell ropes run.
St. Michael and All Angels' Church dates from the 13th century, and also has Decorated and late Perpendicular features. It was a Royal Collegiate Church, but the collegiate buildings were destroyed in the 16th century.
This photograph was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter on Saturday 16 February 1952. Reproduced by Kind permission of the Staffordshire Newsletter who retain copyright.