Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers

Vicki Sivess arranged an excellent outing to Leicestershire for the Shropshire Association. About 20 ringers from Shropshire and other Associations enjoyed ringing at Measham, Packington, Coleorton, Belton, Orton on the Hill, and Polesworth. The ringing included call changes, plain hunt, Plain Bob Doubles and Triples, Grandsire Doubles and Triples, Stedman Doubles and Triples, Primrose Surprise Minor, St Simon's Doubles and St Martin's Doubles spliced, Plain Bob Minor and Little Bob Minor spliced, and Cambridge Surprise Minor and Major. Sue Dancey, Mark Adams and Paul Lewis lead the ringing during the day.

Lunch was taken at the Queen's Head in Belton. Vicki had planned a long lunch break which allowed the ringers to chat and have dessert. After lunch the ringers were met at St John the Baptist, Belton, with cups of tea/coffee and delicious freshly-made Victoria sandwich.

Thanks go to Vicki Sivess for her organisational skills, and to all the incumbents and bands of the towers visited.

The June 2025 Newsletter, which has details of the Association's June outing to Leicestershire, reports of recent Association events, and details of some future events, can be read and downloaded here.

The May 2025 Newsletter can be read and downloaded here.

The bells of St Michael and All Angels Church in Lilleshall have been a cherished part of our community for over 200 years. However, they are becoming increasingly difficult to ring and maintain. We are now raising funds to restore the bells, to ensure they continue to ring out for generations to come.

We’re aiming to raise around £60,000 and have already made an excellent start.

As part of our fundraising efforts, a team of bell ringers will be taking on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in June 2025. This 24-mile circular route involves 1,585m of ascent and includes the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough. We’re aiming to complete the challenge in under 12 hours!

We've been training hard - fitting in early Sunday morning circuits of Lilleshall Hill and the Wrekin, as well as full-day hikes in the Shropshire Hills.

If you’d like to support us, please visit our JustGiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/lilleshall-bells?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015

Thank you for your support!

It is with great sadness that the death of Ann Williams is reported. Ann had been unwell for some time and had spent the last few days of her life at Severn Hospice in Telford. Ann is the leading woman peal ringer for the Shropshire Association, having rung 175 peals for the Association. She had rung more than 500 peals altogether. Ann was one of the Association’s Central Council Representatives and had also led the planning for the centenary of the Association in 2026. She was awarded the St Alkmund’s Canons at the 2025 AGM in recognition of this work.

We can now offer members a range of items embroidered with the SACBR logo. These are embroidered to order: contact Biff Patterson [ ] for details or to place an order.

COLOUR: burgundy or navy, with embroidered logo and lettering in blue/white/black/gold

PRICES
Short sleeve polo shirt cost £15, long sleeve polo shirt cost £20. Both of these are lightweight cotton pique with cuffed short sleeves, button placket and fold down collar. Sweat shirt costs £20.
T-shirts (cost £10) are also available.

SIZES ARE UNISEX

	12-13yr	S	M	L	XL	XXL
Chest	32 - 34"	34 - 36"	38 - 40"	42 - 44"	46 - 48"	50 - 52"
Length			27"	28"

The polo shirts are pure cotton, wash very well, BUT are skimpy. Biff suggests going up one or even two sizes on what you would normally select. Available in standard rectangular shape, quite long in the body.

The Church of England has been working on an updated framework for Safeguarding training within the church. Dave Bassford (CCCBR Safeguarding Officer) and The Ringing World have given the Shropshire Association permission to include on this website an article written by Dave and appearing in the 21 January 2022 issue of The Ringing World.

In this article Dave explains that all ringers must take the Basic Awareness training (formerly C0). This is free, done online, takes about an hour to complete, and must be renewed every three years.

The Lichfield Diocese requires Tower Captains and those ringers in a role which involves work with children, young people or adults at risk, to also take the Foundation training (formerly C1), but not the Leadership training.

The trainings can be accessed by going to https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org/.

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers has issued three documents about its work, volunteering with the Central Council, and what it means to be a Central Council Representative.

Those documents can be read and downloaded here:
What's the point of the Central Council.pdf,
Volunteering with the Central Council.pdf,
What does being a Central Council Rep mean?

Are you looking for some practical, written help for yourself or your tower but don’t know what is out there? If so, Books for Bellringers may be what you need. It is a small collection of books aimed mostly at beginners but with some material for those learning methods. Towers can borrow the collection for a period of up to two months so that everyone has a chance to see what they might find useful. Individuals or towers can order copies of the books using the details in the catalogue supplied.

If you would like to borrow the collection please contact Gill Glover [] .

The next Association committee meeting will be held on Sunday, 7 September 2025.