2023 REVIEW

2023 has been an exciting year for us.  We started the year by considering the implications of Whites' recommendations following their inspection of the bells in 2022.  It was obvious however that we needed to take action to restore the bells and so we started the fundraising process.  Our first grant was pledged by the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust in February which was a great encouragement and we now have grants totalling £58,000 from thirteen different bodies, with several further applications being considered.

It took six weeks to open a bank account for the Bell Fund but this was finally achieved in April and we were able to start accepting donations from individuals. We are very grateful for the many donations received since, most of which have come from local people, and which is also hugely encouraging.  We are particularly grateful for the response to the special peal rung by the Ancient Society of College Youths in November to support our efforts.

Overall we have now raised approximately £65,000 and our target is almost within reach. 

Our band of ringers has also developed well this year, starting with five fairly inexperienced ringers and ending with eight slightly more experienced and one very experienced person who is able to guide us forwards.  In the past eighteen months, we have successfully integrated four new starters with no previous experience of ringing.

2024 will hopefully also be another exciting one with completion of the restoration project a very real prospect in the near future.  And, although we will have to interrupt our progress for a few months whilst the bells are away being worked on, we look forward to welcoming more new ringers to the tower and continuing to develop as a band.

SUCCESSFUL PEAL 6 NOVEMBER 2023

NEWS EXTRA - PEAL UPDATE

Ringing is expected to start at about 2.30pm on Monday 6 November (St Leonard's day) and everyone is welcome to come to the church to see the ringers at work and to enjoy cake and various beverages. Please do join us if you can.

The band will be ringing Spliced Surprise Major in 5 methods (Bristol, Cornwall, Deva, Lessness and Malpas) to a composition by Mark Davies - a very clever ringer from Cheltenham.

The band are all very experienced peal ringers, most of them with several thousand peals to their name.  In no particular order, they are:

David Brown (conductor) – an Oxford graduate from the 1970s, who afterwards moved to Cambridge and now lives in Norwich.  He rings at Westminster Abbey and also collects railway lines and Scottish mountains.

Paul Mounsey – a contemporary of David Brown at Oxford, now living in Ely.  He is the Conductor of the St Paul’s Cathedral Guild of Ringers.

David Dearnley – also lives in Ely, is Secretary of the Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers.

Graham Bradshaw – divides his time between Leicester and London, is Finance Director of The Ringing World Limited (which publishes The Ringing World, the bellringers’ weekly magazine, and numerous other on-line resources).

Andrew Mills – originally from Nottinghamshire, now lives near Hertford.  Employed as a senior bellhanger by Taylors of Loughborough (competitors of Whites!).

Roy LeMarechal – rings at Bishopstoke, near Southampton.  Since retiring from his day job he has worked part-time as a bellhanger for Taylors.

Martin Whiteley – lives in Derbyshire.  An enthusiast for extreme peals – not just 3 hours, but 6 hours or more!  Also a keen mountaineer.

John Hughes-D’Aeth – lives and rings down the road at Little Milton, is Conductor of the Westminster Abbey Company and also rings at St Paul’s Cathedral.