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St John's Church Hanley

The Hanley war memorial bells were located within the tower of St John's church where they formed part of a larger 10 bell ring. The church was made redundant in the 1980's meaning that the bells were no longer accessible and could not be rung. As such there was a desire amongst the local community to have the ring of bells restored and moved to a new location where they could be rung once again.

In 2018 War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £7,460 through the War Memorials Trust Grants Scheme to have the two memorial bells conserved and relocated to St Mary's Church, Stafford. It is rare that the Trust funds relocation of war memorials as with most types of war memorials such an undertaking can pose a risk to the fabric of the memorial. In addition relocating war memorials can remove them from the community they commemorate. However, in this instance, maintaining the memorial bells in their original location meant that they were no longer serving their commemorative function as they could not be accessed or rung. A tablet was erected in the original church noting the new location of the bells.

The condition of the memorial bells was also of concern as years of not being used had resulted in a build up of deposits and corrosion which required addressing. Some of the fittings and mechanisms also required work to allow the bells to be rung again.

The bells were cast by Gillett and Johnston Foundry of Croydon in 1923. The second and fifth bell in the ring were given as war memorials to those from the church choir and Johnson Bros of Hanley who fell in the Great War.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM3111
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 38402

WMO/196208

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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