Click this link to read the full article:

​https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/south-shropshire/ludlow/2022/06/13/the-chimes-they-are-achanging-at-south-shropshire-church-with-new-bells/?fbclid=IwAR08EXxlKX1K916RCXxa7A-e-Ji1Yo9BBJCTbcPQPQEnLaqWlApoqqLxnbE

The final day of St Milburga’s Bell Festival was a resounding success, with the bells being enjoyed by people of all generations from far and wide. In the afternoon, we welcomed Caring for God’s Acre, who explored the churchyard in search of slowworms and other mini-beasts with children from Bitterley school. The children were also given a brief introduction to bell-ringing, so we look forward to welcoming some of them as the next generation of ringers if they choose to take up this lifelong passion.

In the evening, the festival closed with our Service for the Dedication of the Bells, led by the Bishop of Hereford, Richard Jackson, and Reverend Father Justin Parker. A variety of readings and a veritable feast of wonderful hymns and anthems were enjoyed by the congregation, and the bells were given the Bishop’s solemn blessing in the hope that they will ring on for centuries to come.

Our photos and video clips of the Service can be viewed in our Google Photos album of the Festival here
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We would like to thank all of you who have supported our bell project, whether by helping to finance the bells themselves, by spreading the word, by coming to ring with us, by attending our events or by listening in and contemplating in your own way. We will continue to use the bells as a means of helping St Milburga’s church to grow and thrive into the future, so do keep an eye on everything that we get up to via our website www.stmilburga.co.uk and don’t hesitate to get in touch. We always love to hear from you.

As part of St Milburga's Bell Festival, the first peal was rung on the new bells on Monday 13th June. The composition consisted of 5088 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major, and was conducted by Matthew Higby. The full details of the band and the performance are as follows:

You can also view these details on the Bellboard website here:
​https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1524181

​Many congratulations to the band on their successful peal attempt, which showcased the beauty of the bells in such a memorable way.

Here are some clips of the peal. (The first one was recorded outside the church during the opening couple of minutes of the peal, and the second one was recorded about one hour into the performance from above the village, approximately half a mile away.)

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To celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, members of St Milburga Ringers participated in ringing at various churches within and near to our Benefice.

Firstly, on Thursday 2nd June, five ringers participated in Rounds and Call Changes at Tugford... 

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1520440

On Friday 3rd June, ten ringers convened at St Milburga's to participate in 45 minutes of Rounds, Call Changes and Grandsire Triples...

​https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1520456

Then, on Saturday 4th June, two separate bands were formed to perform concurrent quarter peals at Stanton Lacy (8) and Bromfield (6).

The method rung at Stanton Lacy was Grandsire Triples...

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1520983

... whilst at Bromfield, we rang 1270 of Grandsire Doubles and Plain Bob Doubles (the '70' being a nod to the seventy years of Her Majesty's reign...

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1520680

Congratulations to all participants on a great set of performances, and to HM Queen Elizabeth II on her incredible 70 years on the throne.

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