Following last year’s highly successful outing incorporating towers in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, this year the ringers of Stoke St Milborough continued the three counties theme by visiting Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Powys all in one day, namely Friday 31 July. We had around 20 ringers of all ability levels in the group, comprising members of our Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday practice groups. The day was structured to give as much variety as possible on rings with between six and ten bells of varying weights and character, with the aim of giving everyone the chance to ring something suited to their level at every tower we visited. 

​The day started in the beautiful Herefordshire village of Kentchurch, situated on the banks of the river Monnow, just a few yards from the Welsh border. Assembling at 10:30am, the early birds got the six light bells up and soon we were ringing a full repertoire of rounds and call changes, Plain Bob Doubles, Stedman Doubles and Surprise Minor methods. (Cambridge and Beverley were the methods of particular focus.) The bells went very nicely and we managed a good 45 minutes of ringing before… the rope on the three snapped! Oh well, not to worry. At least we were on the verge of ringing down when it happened and there was no harm done to either bells or bodies! We had already been informed by the tower captain that new ropes were ready and waiting to be installed, so the bells of Kentchurch are probably already back in full voice as we speak.

​Next up, five minutes’ drive away on the Welsh side of the Monnow valley, Grosmont awaited us. This was a very impressive church with an octagonal tower and a beautiful stone spire that dominates the village. The six bells, which were of a similar weight to Kentchurch, went well and we were able to continue as previously, giving everyone the chance to ring something useful for them. The award for the cosiest ringing room of the outing goes to Grosmont with its 1930s easy chairs and homely retro carpeting. You could well imagine ringing there in winter with a nice mug of Horlicks to sip on between touches…

For lunch, everyone did their own thing. Most headed in to Abergavenny, but one or two of us headed over to picnic at nearby Cwmyoy, home to St Peter’s church, which is reputed to be the wonkiest in Britain. At the church’s west end, the tower leans more precariously than that of Pisa and the chancel at the east end leans just as much in the opposite direction. Walking around the church feels almost like being on a ship at sea and the mind plays tricks as to which surfaces are sloping and which are the true horizontals. The church does have six bells, which are reputed to be rather nice to ring, but sadly this is not possible due to the precarious state of the tower. 

St Mary’s Priory in Abergavenny was our first tower of the afternoon and it was a true delight to ring its ten magnificent 1947 Taylor bells, of which the tenor weighs 25 hundredweight. They are renowned far and wide for their lovely tone and evenness, and we were very pleased to find that we were able to do them justice with bands incorporating all of our ringers. Our learners were able to slot in alongside our more experienced ringers to ring rounds and call changes on ten with no difficulty. We also managed to ring some successful Plain Hunt on ten and Grandsire Caters. 

The inspiration for visiting Abergavenny came from the fact that it featured in the first ringing outing that I ever attended in early August 2016. I had had my first ringing lesson with Henry Lewis at Stoke St Milborough the week before, on 30 July 2026, so was far too ‘green’ to ring any of the bells on that occasion. I watched and listened, but that was all. So, to celebrate my ten year anniversary of ringing, I thought, what better than to come and ring some of the bells that I hadn’t been ready for in 2016?  This time, I got to ring that majestic 25 hundredweight tenor and the experience confirmed that ringing at Abergavenny had been well worth waiting for. I’ll certainly be back, but I suspect I won’t leave it for another full ten years!
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Next up, we made our way to the delightfully named Llanbedr Ystrad Yw, nestling on the edge of the Brecon Beacons in Powys. ‘The church of St Peter in the vale of the yews’ is how it translates and, true to its name, you will find incredible yew trees in the churchyard, including one in which you can even step inside a hollow within the trunk. This 9-hundredweight six goes very nicely and sounds lovely from outside. We had a most enjoyable hour running through our six-bell repertoire and it was nice to be in a ground floor ring which is fully open to the church, so the heat of the day was somewhat moderated.

Our final ring of the day took place at St Catwg’s church in Llangattock. We had been warned that these would be tricky bells, but aside from a long draft and a bit of springiness in the ropes, we thought they were not bad at all and were able to dust off our eight-bell repertoire. Grandsire Triples, Stedman Triples and half a course of Yorkshire were all got round without incident and our learners got some good experience of controlling their bell to stay in position in Rounds and Call Changes.

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The day ended with dinner and drinks at the nearby Horseshoe Inn in Llangattock, before we all headed back north through a stunning summer dusk to our distant lands of Nod. 

Thanks should go to Martin Scott for managing most of the ringing throughout the day. Congratulations should go to those members of our Friday learners’ band who handled a variety of unfamiliar bells with aplomb. And a special mention should go to Henry Lewis, who wasn’t able to be with us this year, but whose dedicated teaching ensured that our learners were confident in their handling and able to make the most of the day’s opportunities. Without Henry, I myself would maybe never have taken to bellringing in the way that I have and so I may never have rung that tenor at Abergavenny at all. Thankfully, however, things have played out differently and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Ashley Smith
Stoke St Milborough Bell Ringers
www.stmilburga.co.uk ​

Hello everyone

It was a bumper district practice at Stoke St Milborough on Saturday 20 June!

For those interested, Ashley Smith provided a demonstration of the Stoke St Milborough ringing simulator.  His eager students were then able to ring plain hunt, plain bob doubles, a course of Yorkshire Surprise Major and two leads of Glasgow Surprise Major on the simulator before the start of the district practice on open bells.

Twenty-three of us attended the practice on the 8 bells of St Milburga, Stoke St Milborough, led by Ringing Master, Mark Gilham.


It was great to see not only a good turnout of Stoke St Milborough ringers but ringers from across the district, all keen to catchup with friends and make the most of the practice in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere.

We practiced quite a variety of methods that were requested:

• Call changes on 8
• Plain Bob Triples
• Superlative Surprise Major
• Grandsire Triples
• Yorkshire Surprise Major
• Stedman Triples
• Bristol Surprise Major

Part-way through the practice we took a break for tea and cake, followed by a brief business meeting. Julie Quinn of Cuckfield was proposed as a non-resident life member by Paul Wells and seconded by Mark Gilham.  Penny Bellis of Stoke St Milborough was proposed as a member by Ashley Smith and seconded by Sue Rees.  Paul Cross of Ludlow was proposed as a member by Tim Hughes and seconded by Rosie Marshall.  Julie, Penny and Paul’s election was agreed unanimously.

Michael Carding provided an overview of Shropshire Association Centenary events over the coming months, including the Centenary Service at St Chad’s, Shrewsbury in July, walking tour and mobile belfry in August, and open towers in September.  Details of events will be available on the Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers website.

Mark Gilham then provided a brief summary of future Church Stretton District events, including the Guild Competition Day on 18 July, the Ringing Festival (‘RingFest 2026’) on 15 August and the District Outing to Shropshire and North Wales on 12 September.

Ringing resumed after the meeting, although there was plenty of cake to keep everyone fortified!

We do hope you’ll join us for RingFest 2026 which will be at St John’s, Bishop’s Castle, on Saturday 15 August, 10.30am ’til 4.30pm.  We’d like bands from across the district to showcase their ringing in a non-competitive way, either on St John’s tower bells, on the ‘Peals on Wheels’ mini-ring or both.  Is your band short of a ringer short of a few ringers for the RingFest?  No problem – borrow some ringers on the day.

Best wishes

Neil


Neil Pirie
Church Stretton District Secretary
Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers

07970 276580
[email protected]


Website: www.hdgb.org
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Another appearance for a Shropshire tower on Bells on Sunday! This time, Morville near Bridgnorth was featured on Sunday 31 May 2026 with an excerpt from a recent quarter peal of Nailstone Surprise Major.

Click here to listen to the full recording

We are pleased to report that Radio 4 has today broadcast the bells of St Mary the Virgin in Bromfield, Shropshire. The original recording was made by Ashley Smith on the fourth Sunday of January during the usual monthly ringing ahead of the 11:15 service. The extract you can hear was taken from a touch of Cambridge Surprise Minor which involved the regular Sunday service band members. Bromfield is only the fourth Shropshire church to feature on Bells on Sunday since recordings went digital in 2014, the others being Shrewsbury St Chad's, Hodnet and Stoke St Milborough.

Click here to listen to the recording through BBC Sounds

The anniversary to mark 140 years since the formation of the Hereford Guild of Bellringers fell on 2 March 2026. During the day, ringers throughout the Guild area assembled to ring out in celebrations of this event.

Members and regular visitors to Stoke St Milborough rang a quarter peal of 1440 changes of Cambridge Surprise Minor in the morning at St Milburga's. In the evening, we reassembled with other members of the local band and friends to ring multiple touches of 140 changes at St Mary the Virgin in Bromfield. Some of the performances included notable 'Firsts' for certain ringers and everyone had an enjoyable time trying out some unusual compositions and combinations of methods

You can view our performances below by clicking through the gallery and they are all entered into the dedicated event page on Bellboard here 

On Monday 23 February 2026, eight ringers from the Shropshire area rang for an hour at Stoke St Milborough in honour of St Milburga, whose feast day is today.

Our ringing included a plain course (224 changes) of St Milburga of Wenlock Surprise Major, the method having been devised in 2025 and previously rung at Much Wenlock. This was the first time most of the ringers had rung the method. 

Click this link to view the performance on Bellboard

You can also listen to a short excerpt of the ringing below or by clicking this link to Youtube

224 changes of St Milburga of Wenlock Surprise Major shown as a circular pattern, created by generating a radial graph in Microsoft Excel.

It can be viewed here on Complib in standard layout.

Stoke St Milborough bell ringers have made their first contribution to the Hereford Guild's aim of achieving 140 Firsts over the course of its 140th anniversary year. With a band made up of regular participants in our Wednesday morning advanced 8-bell practice, we rang Pudsey Surprise Major at Morville, a first in method for Jenny Ferguson and a first of turning in the tenor to a Major method for Ashley Smith.

You can view this and all of the other achievements in the 140 Firsts initiative here on Bellboard: ​

Hereford Diocesan Guild — 140 'Firsts'

At Stoke St Milborough, we will be very happy to help ringers of all levels throughout the Guild to achieve a first during the year ahead. Our bells are very available for performances and we have ringers who will happily participate in Quarter Peals and Peals both here and anywhere else where we can be of assistance. So if you have an ambition to tick off your own First this year, don't hesitate to contact us if you think we might be able to help you achieve it.