LATEST NEWS

The information below pertains to our situation
prior to March 2020.
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Beyond this date, please refer to our NEWS page
for the latest updates.


We have a large project under way which comprises three integrated parts: to replace the bells of St Milburga's Church; to maintain the heritage of the old bells by conserving them in use as clock bells; and finally to provide a state of the art teaching centre.

At Stoke St Milborough, we currently teach the skills required to ring bells from the very first handling of bells right through to the advanced stages of group bell-ringing. However, we could do so much more if we were able to improve our current bells and introduce technology for the benefit of learners. 

Our new teaching centre will be accessible to all residents of the South Shropshire area and will be open to all who wish to learn to ring or to those tutors who wish to use the centre to teach their learners. All are welcome and participants do not have to be associated with a church or any particular religion. Visitors from far and wide are invited at any time to come and find out more about bell-ringing, which combines elements of physical exercise, music, teamwork, motor skills, memorisation and social skills. 

We work closely with other towers, namely Stanton Lacy, Bromfield, Ludlow and Tugford, as well as with our ringing associations within the Diocese of Hereford, and further afield. For the benefit of the wider community, we also use hand bells at Christmas time to entertain at care homes or other events.

Residential short courses will be offered in association with local B&B residential accommodation, thereby bringing economic benefit to the community.

The teaching centre will give St Milburga's Church extra function which will contribute to its use outside normal services, thereby helping to keep it open for the whole community. 

The Bells

Our present bells are a mixture of founders and dates with an uneven weight progression and they do not constitute a well matched set of eight bells. The dynamics of the bells were tested in 2008 and the results can be seen on this site under  'our bells'.  We get comments about our bells which range from the polite ' they are quite difficult to strike even with a good band' to the more blunt 'these bells are not fit for purpose'.   We now seek to replace these with a matched set; these may be a good redundant set if available, otherwise we will replace with new bells; these will be chosen to fit our sturdy 1999 steel frame.  Our four original Clibury bells will be preserved, in use, by returning them to their original old oak frame in the top of the tower and fitting them with clock hammers.  The three Rudhall bells (ex Hopton Cangeford) will have a home where they can be used with other matching bells.  Our tenor bell is expected to go to a new church in Australia, whilst our existing treble will be used for chiming as a service bell.

Our Teaching

We have been involved in the teaching of bell ringing for some time.  The majority of our own ringers and all ringers from the neighbouring parish of Tugford have started their bell-ringing at our tower.  Apart from our normal Tuesday practice, we currently run five or six teaching sessions per week; these may be individual handling lessons or small groups beginning rounds or call-changes.  However we find it extremely difficult to make progress learners into change ringing with our present set of bells.  With a new set of bells and modern bell-ringing teaching aids we aim to expand our teaching and run short courses.

How You Can Help

The total estimated costs of the project are £95,000.  We will be able to do some of the work ourselves and we will be able to realise some money through the sale of some of the redundant bells.  We have gained support from several charities.  To date we can account for £91,000 leaving a further £4,000 to be raised. We are also currently looking for further support and making applications for funding. We welcome any suggestions: do use the Contact tab if you wish to get in touch.

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GET UPDATES ON THE PROJECT VIA OUR NEWS BLOG HERE

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