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Bell ringing

Bellringers at St Agatha’s, Brightwell practice on Tuesday evenings from 19:30 and at St Mary’s, Wallingford on Thursday evenings from 19:45. They are supportive of each other’s bands and some members of both bands attend both practices and will ring at which ever church is holding the Team service.

BellsStMLM.jpg

Wallingford

 

St Mary’s has a fine ring of 10 bells (tenor 18 cwt). If enough people are present, we can ring all 10; the back 8 or the front 6 make for good alternative combinations.

There is a weekly practice every Thursday from 19:45–21:30. Sunday ringing is from 09:30–10:00, and from 18:00–18:30. (For a very few Sundays in the year, these times are changed when the times of services change.)

We try to ring a quarter peal monthly (usually at 17:00 on a Sunday). We are also allowed a maximum of 4 attempts each year on the bells for a full peal.  The most recent full peal was on Boxing Day 2018, which took 3 hours 5 minutes with over 5000 changes, and was to mark the 200th anniversary of the first peal on the bells on Boxing Day 1818.

The present band comprises a very wide range of both age and ability and we ring variously from rounds & call changes to surprise depending on who is present. We welcome all ringers to join us at our practices or for Sunday ringing. We are delighted to see any visitors who are passing through or nearby Wallingford. We are particularly interested to hear of anyone wishing to learn to ring, or to take up ringing again after some time away. Please contact the tower captain or the tower secretary (contact details below) or just turn up on a practice night.

 

Tower

The original tower was destroyed by lightning on Ascension Day 1638. It was rebuilt by Will Loader, a former mayor and builder, in 1653, with materials from the recently demolished Wallingford Castle.

 

Listen to the bells for the Queen's Jubilee (June 2022).
Bells

Church manuscripts record that in 1552 St Mary’s had three bells and one Sanctus bell.

When the tower was rebuilt in 1653, our unique bell frame was constructed of Spanish chestnut, from timbers reputed to be taken from the castle, to house a ring of six bells.

 

In 1738 the frame was increased in size and the bells were replaced by a ring of 8 from the Whitechapel Foundry. No. 2 bell was recast in 1887.

 

In 1999 the 8 bells and the frame were refurbished and the bells retuned in readiness to ring in the new millennium.

 

In 2003, two new bells and an upper two-bell frame to augment the ring to 10 were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and given to St Mary’s by Lord Bill Bradshaw in memory of his wife, Lady Jill Bradshaw who was one of the ringers.

Tower Captain: Chris Tuckett

Tower Secretary: Jo Gamester

Brightwell

 

During 2016, the 8 bells of St Agatha’s were refurbished and are now perfectly in tune. Listen to the bells below.

Bell Tower Captain: John Dowling. 

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