St Mary's, Shrewsbury

[Simon Farrar]

I was in Shrewsbury a week and a half ago, and visited the redundant
church of St Mary the Virgin. As well as the ring of 10 in the tower,
there is a sanctus bell hung in a bell cote near the corner of the chancel
crossing. What I noticed to be unusual is that the bell appears to be hung
for full circle ringing with a full wheel and a stay. The bell is roped up
with a proper ringing rope.
The man who was in charge at the time said that it was used a few times a
year for services, and that the churchwarden had a lot of trouble ringing
it. He gave me permission to ring it but I only swung the bell, not
wanting to attempt to raise it without knowing full details.
Can anyone tell me any more?

Simon Farrar