Sunday Services
Ringing is from 9.30 to 10.00 a.m. every Sunday. Evensong ringing is by arrangement. It is best to check before setting out to ring with us.
Practice Night
We practise on Monday evenings from 7.30 - 9pm and cater for all standards from complete beginners up to Surprise Major. We also have a training bell linked to a simulator which we use to help complete beginners practise their bell handling. If you are interested in learning then we can arrange a 7pm start on practise nights for this. Visitors are welcome.
The Bells
We are fortunate to have a fine ring of eight bells, the tenor weighing 24cwt. This bell is 53 inches in diameter.
Tower Officers
| Captain | Deputy Captain |
|---|---|
| Margaret Ross Email:maggieross@live.co.uk |
Charles Botting |
| Secretary | Treasurer |
|
James Gladwyn Email: bray@ebsb.odg.org.uk |
Mary Cross |
| Steeplekeeper | |
| James Gladwyn | |
Website: http://www.ringing.info/
An index to many websites related to bellringing
The six largest bells were cast at various times between 1612 and 1914 and the treble and second in 1948. In the early 1900s the bells had been installed in a strangely designed steel frame and this had never been entirely satisfactory either for the ringers, as the frame movement made the bells difficult to ring, or for the tower itself as structural engineers who were consulted in the early 1980s believed that the stonework was being damaged. In 1985 the bells were rehung in a new frame by the Whitechapel bellfoundry who also retuned the bells and supplied many new fittings. We now have a ring of bells that sound pleasant and are easy to ring.
Inscriptions of the Bells
| Bell | Note | Weight (cwt-qtr-lb) |
Inscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treble | D | 6-2-24 | To the memory of Anthony Barker R.A.F. killed over France July 1944. Per Ardua Ad Astra |
| 2 | C# | 7-0-21 | Presented by John Harrison in ever grateful memory of his beloved wife Beatrice Ethyll who died at Bray 5 May 1946. Gillett & Johnson, Croydon 1948 E.S.C. Lowman, Vicar |
| 3 | B | 7-0-16 | Feare God, Honour the King 1678 (Cast by Henri Knight III at Reading) |
|
4 |
A |
8-2-4 |
Henri Knight made this bell ano 1612 RG. HP. EL. TW. (Cast by Henri Knight I at Reading) |
|
5 |
G |
9-1-14 |
Henri Knight made this bell ano 1613 (Cast by Henri Knight I at Reading) |
|
6 |
F# |
12-0-10 |
Perpetuis annis memor esto Mariae Johannis Cujus sub cura fueris mala pelle futura. T. Mears fecit. This bell was recast 1914. Rev. Chas. Andrewes Raymond, Vicar. Frederick Islay Pitman) Frederick Thos. Ford) Churchwardens 1812 |
| 7 | E | 16-1-20 | Thos. Ward: Wm. Lee : Churchwardens 1771 (This bell bears the mark of Thomas Swain, of Longford) |
| Tenor | D | 24-0-27 | 1656 (This bell was cast by Ellis and Henri Knight of Reading) |
We are always pleased to show visitors our bells. A walkway above them, installed to permit access to the sound control doors behind the louvers, doubles as an excellent viewing gallery. If you would like to see them, the most suitable time is on a Monday evening during our weekly practice.
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Our Current Ringers (L-R); Mike Trimm, Margaret Carlyle, John Payne, Charles Botting, Ben Gladwyn, Claire Boyles, Aurora Calloway, Maggie Ross, Tim Palmer, Elisa Musson, Amelie Smith, Sean Wright |
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