Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers

It is with great sadness that the death of Eddie Davies is reported. Eddie, who died on 19th December 2019 after a short illness, was an active ringer at Great Ness.

The fifteenth Association peal of 2019 has been rung at Guilsfield.

About twenty-two ringers took part in the Association’s December practice held at All Saints’ church, Baschurch. The ringing included Plain Bob Doubles, Plain Bob Minor, Grandsire Doubles, Stedman Doubles, St Clement’s College Bob Minor, and Cambridge Surprise Minor.

Another thirteen or so ringers arrived for the Carol Service which was led by the vicar of All Saints’, Rev. Linda Cox. Various members of the ringing fraternity read the lessons, and the congregation enthusiastically sang the carols, accompanied on the organ by Martin Scott.

Following the service, mulled wine (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and home-made mince pies were served by members of the local band, and the congregation had the opportunity to admire the Christmas trees that had been created by local groups (including the ringers) and displayed as part of the church’s Christmas Tree Festival.

Thanks go to Paul and Edwina Smart, and all who took part in the service.

The December 8-bell practice was held at Hodnet and thirteen ringers took part, including two visiting ringers. The methods practised were Grandsire Triples, Plain Bob Triples, Plain Bob Major, Stedman Triples, and Erin Triples.

Thanks to John Powell for allowing the use of the bells, and to all who participated and made this a useful practice.

Three peals were have been rung for the Association - at Guilsfield, St Martins, and Hodnet. The peal at Hodnet was to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the installation of bells in the tower.

It is with great sadness that the death of Elaine Evans is reported. Elaine learnt to ring at St Chad's in Shrewsbury, and was a ringer at Atcham, alongside her husband Steve.

Fourteen ringers participated in November's Surprise Major practice at Wem, attempting (mostly successfully) Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow, Yorkshire, 4-Spliced and 8-Spliced.

Thanks to Gareth Jones for organising the use of the bells.

The eight bells in the tower of St Luke’s, Hodnet were cast at different times, the two trebles added in 1947. The original six bells, cast by Thomas Rudhall of Gloucester, were hung in the tower in 1769 and so this year marks their 250th anniversary.

The final Association training morning of the year took place at the Edgmond Ringing Centre. Lisa, Darren, Vicki, Dan, and Louise were the students. Ringing included call changes, plain hunt on 5, Plain Bob Triples, Plain Bob Minor, and Cambridge Surprise Minor.

Tony Freemont, the Association’s Training Officer was helped during the morning by Mark Adams, Jacqui Barden, Karen Compton, Rob Davis, Kathryn Greaves, Madeline Harris, Matt Lawrence, and Ginette Pardoe.

Thanks to Mark for preparing the simulator and the bells.

In a change from previous years this was held at Myddle Village Hall. The quiz was devised and presented by Tony Freemont. Six teams sat down to answer questions on origins of foods, the Bible, USA state capitals, animals in literature and films, words beginning with ‘pass’, number sequences, rivers of the world, modern history, settings of TV programmes, books, 2019, and general knowledge. The highest scoring team was, mostly, from Market Drayton and they received a tin of chocolates for their efforts.

Baked potatoes were served with chilli, meaty and non-meaty, along with baked beans, coleslaw, and cheese. Delicious puddings were provided by several members and included fruit pie, apple crumble, fruit compote, cheesecake, pear frangipane, and chocolate cheesecake.

Geoff Harding and Jad Bienek ran the bar. Peter Woollam and Nik Galton sold raffle tickets, raising £99 for the BRF. The prizes were won by Geoff Harding, Dan Matthews, Gareth Jones, Cynthia Costelloe, Gloria Cawood, Cordelia Warr, Ed Swain, Jan Snowball, and Steve Harris. Thanks to all who bought tickets and to all who provided the prizes.

Matt Lawrence, Ringing Master, thanked Tony for devising the quiz, and everyone who had helped to make the evening such an enjoyable occasion.

Congratulations to Jonathan Molesworth, ringer at St Martins, who has rung his first quarter peal.

This was held at Lilleshall with twelve ringers attending. Those present practised call changes, plain hunting, Plain Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, and Stedman Doubles. Towers represented were Dawley, Lilleshall, Market Drayton, Newport, Oswestry, and Shawbury.

Thanks to the Matt Lawrence for hosting this practice and supplying delicious homemade shortbread biscuits.

Thirteen ringers attended October's Surprise Major practice at High Ercall, ringing Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow, Yorkshire and 7 Spliced.

Thanks to Chris and Judy Yates for organising the use of the bells.

It is with great sadness that the death of Cathy Gaskell is reported. Cathy learnt to ring at Market Drayton, and was a ringer there until she had to retire from ringing because of illness.

The eleventh Association peal of 2019 has been rung at Llansilin, and is the second peal of Doubles & Minor for the Association, the first being at Edgmond in 1982.

These were held at Whitchurch, with sixteen ringers attending. Matt Lawrence, Ringing Master, was in charge of the ringing. Some of those present found these bells challenging to ring, and the movement of the tower was disconcerting to those leaning against the walls.

The quarterly meeting was held in the choir room. Eugene O’Connor and Cathy O’Connor (Lilleshall) were elected as members of the Association.

David Beckwith gave a brief report on the state of the Association’s finances. The major expenses since the July meeting have been the cost of hiring the Mobile Belfry for the July practice, and the Central Council Representative’s expenses for attending the Central Council meeting in London.
Matt encouraged all those present to participate in the

• Quiz Night which is to be held at Myddle Village Hall. Tickets are available now. A poster has been sent to all towers.
• The annual Carol Service will be held at Baschuch on Saturday 14th December, with ringing from 6pm to 7:30pm, followed by the service and refreshments. All members of the Association and their families are welcome to take part.

Matt described proposed changes to the Rules of the Association, which will be brought to the membership at the AGM in January 2020. These changes include:

• removing the class of Formerly Resident Life Member;
• allowing all full members to vote at Association meetings and hold office;
• renaming the Report Editor to Membership Secretary, and Children and Vulnerable Adult Protection Officer to Safeguarding Officer;
• including Central Council Representatives as Officers of the Association;
• removing the position of Committee Member;
• changing what constitutes a quorum of the committee;
• removing the need to send notice of an EGM by recorded delivery.

There was also some debate about the Association's sole objective of the promotion of the Christian religion. Both the Central Council and The Ringing World have changed their objectives in favour of supporting ringers.

Peter Woollam raised £24 for the Bell Restoration Fund by running a raffle. The prizes of wine, chocolates, and a scent diffuser were won by Tony, Geoff, and Peter.

In Gill Glover’s absence, Biff Patterson ran the draw for the 100+ Club. The winners of the third draw of the year are:

Thanks to Malcolm Monie for hosting the practice and meeting.

The tenth Association peal of 2019 has been rung at Lilleshall to remember Bill Reynolds.

Thirteen ringers turned up at Wem for the September practice, making attempts at Bristol, Cambridge, London, and Yorkshire.

Thanks to Gareth Jones for organising the use of the bells.

On a beautiful late summer afternoon teams representing six towers gathered at Albrighton for the 2019 Striking Competition.

The draw for the order of ringing was held in the Parish Centre, and tea was served there throughout the afternoon.

Every band chose to ring call changes, which meant that the band with the highest score would win both the Call Change trophy and the Ernest Willcox cup. A scratch band also rang.

Chris Adams and Rosemary Wright, were the judges. Before giving brief remarks on each band’s ringing and the points scored, Chris explained how they had marked the test pieces. Chris made short comments on each band’s ringing. The first band’s ringing was good with smooth ringing and a nice rhythm, with only minor errors; the second band spent more time settling down and the ringing got better as it went along; the next band rang better in the test piece than in the practice, and most faults were gaps rather than crashes; the fourth band made a good effort but the transitions were not always crisp; the fifth band were galloping along at the start then settled down and the ringing became pleasant; the sixth band to ring had minor blemishes in most rows, with gaps at the backstroke lead; the last band to ring appeared not to have practised much together, they were steadier in the test piece.

Interestingly, the order in which the bands rang was also the order in which they were placed.

The Ernest Willcox Cup for the fewest faults was presented to Rob Herbert for the Edgmond team.

Rob also collected the Call Change Trophy for Edgmond.

The Charles Allmand Memorial Shield, for the highest placed band which had not won a trophy in the preceding two competitions, was presented to Naomi for the Lilleshall team.

The Albrighton ringers and helpers were given a round of applause for the use of their bells and for providing a sumptuous tea. Thanks were also given to Chris and Rosemary, and to all those who had taken part and had made the afternoon fun. Chris and Rosemary were presented with bottles of wine as a thank you for their expertise.

Peter Woollam ran a raffle, raising £66 for the Bell Restoration Fund. Thanks go to all those who donate raffle prizes. The winners of the wine and chocolates were Kathryn Greaves, Jane Hughes, John Whitham, Karen Bryant, Geoff Harding and Tim Mear.

The eighth and ninth peals for the Association in 2019 were rung at Selattyn and Whittington.

The third Association Edgmond Training morning on the 7th September started 15 minutes early (at 09.15) because of village’s Scarecrow Festival with which the church was closely involved. ( https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/telford-entertainment/2019/09/07/first-scarecrow-festival-at-shropshire-village-is-huge-success/ )

We had six students: Darren, Louise and Pam from Broseley, Ollie (a junior member) from Oswestry, Lisa from Atcham and Vicki from Meole Brace.

The ringing varied from bell handling to Stedman Triples with rounds and call changes, plain hunt, Plain Bob Doubles, St Martin’s Bob and St Simon’s Bob Doubles singly and spliced together, with Grandsire Doubles and Plain Bob Minor in between.

Some of the trainees who had come armed with the knowledge (and expectation) to ring plain hunt found themselves ringing the treble to Doubles, which they did commendably well.

I am, as ever, very grateful to all those who supported the students including, Matt Lawrence, Kathryn Greaves, Ginette Pardoe, Bill Deason, Cordelia Warr, Mark Adams, Rob Davies. As usual, some of the more advanced learners played their part as helpers.

I was disappointed to learn that Madeline Harris couldn’t attend, not just because she is a great ringer and trusted helper, but also because she brings the cakes!! However, as luck would have it, the ladies of Edgmond had a cake stall within the church. Good to know that we were able to contribute to the financial success of the Scarecrow Festival!

We overran our time (with Mark’s permission), and our trainees and helpers became part of the ringing demonstration.

It is with great sadness that I have to report the death on Tuesday of our Tower Captain Bill Reynolds. Bill learnt to ring at Lilleshall when the ban was lifted in 1943 and remained a loyal member of the band until his recent poor health prevented him from climbing the hill to the church. He was for a time a member of the Association and rang 11 peals. Most notable of these was a fathers and sons peal in 1973 by a Lilleshall Sunday Service band. His funeral will be held at 3.30pm on Monday 23rd September at Telford Crematorium.

A quarter peal was rung at Lilleshall in memory of Bill.

The seventh Association peal in 2019 has been rung at Ellesmere to mark the retirement of the Rev. Philip Edge.

It is with great sadness that the death of Arthur Talbot is reported. Arthur learnt to ring at Norton-in-Hales, where his father and brother were ringers. Arthur also rang at Market Drayton.

There was a good turnout of ringers at the August 8-bell practice held at Hodnet. Sixteen ringers practised call changes, Grandsire Triples, Plain Bob Triples, Little Bob Major, St Simon's Bob Triples, Stedman Triples. Toswers represented included Baschurch, Calverhall/Ightfield, Clive, Edgmond, Hodnet, Lilleshall, Market Drayton, Newport, Tong, Wellington, and Whitchurch.

Thanks to John Powell for allowing use of the bells.

The following article appeared recently in The Ringing World.

Last summer Edric and Maureen Broom announced that they were planning to relocate to Keynsham near Bristol so that they can be closer to their family.

They moved from Herefordshire to Edgmond in 1985 and immediately became active members of St Peter’s church. Shortly afterwards Edric was elected Ringing Master, a position that he held for nearly 30 years. Edric also served as the Shropshire Association Ringing Master for 7 years followed by a long period as Training Officer. In recognition of his contribution, he was subsequently elected an honorary life member of the Association.

Wednesday the 12th of June was their last official Edgmond practice night. To celebrate the occasion, Edric was invited to be our ‘celebrity ringing master’ for the evening which was rounded off with wine, champagne, food and socialising. As a sign of our appreciation, Edric and Maureen were presented with a framed water colour painted by local artist and ringer, Tony Waldron from Tibberton. Poignantly, the picture is of Edgmond church as viewed across the churchyard from their house.

On behalf of the Edgmond ringers and the Shropshire Association, we thank Edric and Maureen for their friendship and support over the last 34 years and we wish you all the best for the future in your new home.

Sixteen ringers participated in the June practice at High Ercall, making attempts at Bristol, Glasgow, London, 6-Spliced and 8-Spliced. Fourteen ringers turned up at Wem for the July practice. The ringing included Cambridge, Glasgow, Lincolnshire, London, Yorkshire, and 8-Spliced.

Thanks to Chris Yates and Gareth Jones for organising the use of the bells.

In a departure from the usual venues for these Association events, the practice was held on the Lichfield Diocesan Mobile Belfry, located on the driveway of Peter Woollam’s home. Six members of the committee met to erect the belfry, under the strict guidance of Peter. Then a quarter peal of Plain Bob Doubles was rung. An unsuccessful attempt was made at a quarter of Plain Bob Minor. For several of the members who turned up for the practice, this was their first time to ring on the Belfry. Matt Lawrence, Ringing Master, led the ringing of call changes, Plain Bob Doubles and Minor, and Dixon’s Bob Minor.

The quarterly meeting was held on Peter’s patio, looking out towards Wales. Jacqui Barden reported that Robert Milton of the Churches Conservation Trust, is keen to involve the Association in the Carol Service for the Friends of St Mary’s in 2020. Matt thanked John Neal of Shrewsbury for organising the Association’s outing in June.

David Dakin, Pippa Hodgetts and George Hodgetts, all from Sheriffhales, were elected as members of the Association.

The Treasurer, David Beckwith, gave a brief report on the state of the Association’s finances. All the ads in the Association Handbook/Report have been paid for, and Gift Aid has been received for 2017 and 2018. The major expense since the last meeting was for the hosting of the website.

Geoff Harding reported that he has visited Atcham to replace some clapper bolts. Montford have received a quotation from Taylors for work to be done on the bells there. The treble at Montford is currently out of action.

Those present were reminded that nominations for Honorary Life Membership are due to the committee before its next meeting on Sunday 15th September.

Tony Freemont agreed to create a Quiz for the social event in November. Matt is still working on finding a venue for this event.

As well as hosting the Association, Peter ran the customary raffle, raising £23 for the Bell Restoration Fund. The winers of the prizes of wine, chocolates, a scent diffuser and a beautiful bunch of lavender flowers, were Jad, Matt, Ann, and Geoff.

Gill Glover reported that there are currently 115 members of the 100+ Club, and thanked them for their support. The winners of the second draw of the year are:

Matt thanked Peter Woollam for his hospitality.

It is with sadness that the death, on 23rd June 2019, of Chris Henshall of Lower Heath, Prees is reported.

We think Chris began ringing at Wistaston with Frank Morton when he lived in the Crewe area, and he became a regular ringer at St Luke's, Hodnet when he moved to Lower Heath near Prees. In his ringing career, the Association website lists him as ringing six quarter peals between 2006 and 2010 and a peal of Cambridge Surprise Major in February 2002 at Edgmond.

Outside of bellringing, Chris was a keen beekeeper and inspired others to take up the practice. After his retirement as a solicitor for the Council in Crewe, he started learning to fly small aircraft but the emergence of his condition sadly put a stop to that before he was able to fully qualify.

Congratulations to Andy Digby of Meole Brace, who rang his first peal to mark the 150th anniversary of Holy Trinity church, Meole Brace.

John Neal arranged an excellent outing to the Pershore/Evesham area for the Shropshire Association. About 24 ringers from Shropshire and other Associations enjoyed ringing at Pershore, Great Hampton, Evesham, Fladbury, and Upton Snodsbury. They also rang at Crowle. Call changes and Grandsire were rung at every tower. Other methods rung included Stedman, Bristol Surprise, Cambridge Surprise, London Surprise, and Superlative Surprise. At least two ringers rang on 12 bells for the first time – well done to them. Crowle was the mystery tower of the day. The ringing there was enlivened when a rope slipped wheel. The sound of the bells is nearly as loud inside the ringing room as outside the church.

The weather was rather too wet for eating outside, so those who had brought picnic lunches were allowed to eat them inside the redundant church of St Lawrence, which is situated in the grounds of Evesham Bell Tower.

Thanks go to John Neal for his organisational skills, and to all the incumbents and bands of the towers visited.

The Committee have received three letters of complaint regarding the content of the Librarian’s report in current Annual Handbook and Report. We acknowledge that inadequate consideration was given to the impact that the penultimate paragraph might have had on readers and it should not have been included in the report.

The Librarian’s report also acknowledges contributions from Alan Glover. We would like to clarify that it is the two passages in italics only which are attributed to him.

We will be reviewing our editorial procedures for future Reports. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any upset this has caused.

Weddings, peals, holidays…they all led to a reduction in the usual number of ringers at the 8-bell practice held at Hodnet. Twelve ringers practised (with varying degrees of success) call changes, Grandsire Triples, Plain Bob Triples, Plain Hunt Major, Plain Bob Major, Stedman Triples.

Thanks to John Powell for allowing use of the bells.

Once again Wem was the location for the Surprise Major practice. Fourteen ringers participated, ringing Bristol, Cambridge, London, Yorkshire, 6-Spliced, and an attempt at 8-Spliced

Thanks to Gareth Jones for organising the use of the bells.

Stanton-upon-Hine Heath was the venue for the May Association practice. In the absence of the Ringing Master, a former Ringing Master cajoled the thirteen ringers who attended into ringing Reverse Canterbury Pleasure Place Doubles, St Simon’s Bob Doubles, Plain Bob Minor, St Clement’s College Bob Minor, Double Court Minor, Hereward Bob Minor, Cambridge Surprise Minor, Norwich Surprise Minor, Cambridge/Beverley/Surfleet Surprise Minor, and Kent Treble Bob Minor.

Sadly, a broken stay brought the ringing to a close a little earlier than expected.

Peter Woollam raised £17 for the Bell Restoration Fund by running a raffle. The prizes of wine and chocolates were taken home by Lisa and Mark.

Thanks to Claire Unsworth for her hospitality.

This was held at Atcham with thirteen ringers attending. Those present practised Plain Bob Doubles and Minor (though not at the same time), Grandsire Doubles, Reverse Canterbury Pleasure Place Doubles, St Simon’s Bob Doubles, St Martin’s Bob Doubles, and Cambridge Surprise Minor.

Thanks to the Atcham band for their hospitality.

Last year, a group of us paid a flying visit to Ieper, tagged on to a weekend in Dordrecht. Although some of the party stayed an extra day, there is so much to see and do we soon decided it would be good to go back and spend a bit more time exploring the area. Once again Bill Deason was the driving force, and soon we had a hotel booked and ringing slots organised. We felt it would be fitting to dedicate our peal and quarter peal attempts to those ringers from Shropshire who gave their lives in the two World Wars, and with this in mind we applied to take part in the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and lay a wreath.

Twelve of us set off on Friday 5th April and met up in what was to become our most visited restaurant for a convivial start to the trip. Saturday saw a successful peal on the easy to handle and lovely sounding bells of St George’s Memorial Church. After a delicious lunch provided by the local ringers, some of us spent the afternoon helping them to practise call changes and plain hunting. In the evening we gathered at the Menin Gate for the ceremony. The wreath was laid by the Master of the Association accompanied by two past Masters and the youngest member of the group.

Three quarter peals were scored over the next two days, the last being specially arranged for Liz Millward, who had spent her birthday looking after us. By the time we headed home on Monday afternoon, we had all rung a peal or quarter, most had visited battlefields and cemeteries, walked the ramparts, sampled the local beer and eaten a lot of chocolate.

Thanks from us all to Bill for making it happen, Liz for her excellent hospitality, and especially remembering all those brave young men.