The Bells of St Marys Church

 

 

Click on the pdf link to open the recruitment poster from the Central Council for Church Bell ringers

* poster.pdf:

Click here for the Redbourn bellringers on You Tube

STRIKING COMPETITION

The Redbourn band was placed 4th highest in the County 6-bell striking competition held at Great Wymondley on 26th September. There were 8 bands competing, each having qualified by being placed first or second in district striking competitions held earlier in the year. The bells at Great Wymondley were quite challenging, but despite this, the judge commented that the Redbourn band produced a pleasant piece of ringing with good structure. They scored 76 faults compared to 33 for the winning band from St. Peters Church, St. Albans. To put the scores in perspective, the band in final place scored 153 faults during their 10 minute performance. Congratulations to the Redbourn Band for being 4th best in Hertfordshire in 2009.

PEAL NEWS

A PEAL WAS ATTEMPTED AT ST. MARY'S ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 31ST 2009 TO CELEBRATE 125 YEARS OF THE HERTFORD COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE RINGERS, FOUNDED IN ST.ALBANS IN 1884.

The band included several ringers from St. Mary's and was the third and final attempt in 2009. Unfortunately the peal was not to be, but the local band will try again on July 4th 2010 as part of the Redbourn 900 celebrations.

QUARTER PEAL NEWS

A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor was rung on March 7th 2010. The quarter peal was rung for Evensong and to celebrate the birth of Holly Elizabeth Edwards on November 13th 2009. Holly is the second child of Rebecca and Ben Edwards, who are both regular Sunday ringers at St. Mary's.

The bellringers who took part were:

Treble: Andrew Farnham

2nd : Rebecca Edwards

3rd : Pauline Ridgwell

4th : Diana Reading

5th : Liz Middleton(Conductor)

Tenor : Barry Cowper

The Hertford County Association of Change-Ringers

The Hertford County Association of Change-Ringers (HCACR) was founded on October 28th 1884, at a meeting held in St. Albans Abbey. Its objects are to further the work of the Church by the ringing of bells, to promote all aspects of bells and bell-ringing, to encourage the recruitment and training of bell-ringers and to advance the art of change-ringing. At present, the Association has 101 member churches and over 700 resident members.

The Association is divided into six districts: Bishop’s Stortford, Eastern, Northern, St. Albans, Watford and Western. The districts organise the majority of the Association’s activities, including social events such as quiz nights, dinners, treasure hunts etc., as well as regular bell-ringing practices and business meetings.

The Association organises two annual striking competitions: the six-bell Kimpton Cup and the eight-bell Coburn Trophy. It also holds regular 10-bell practices and enters teams in the Essex and Ridgeman ten-bell inter-county striking competitions. A library is maintained, containing a range of educational items and historical records.

The HCACR Bell Restoration Fund was established in 1971 to provide financial assistance to church authorities when repairing or improving church bells and installations. To date, over 70 grants have been made, totalling over £80,000.

Due to its close proximity to London – in many respects Hertfordshire is the quintessential ‘Home County’ – the Association’s territory may not be especially well known as a holiday or tour destination. However the HCACR possesses some of he most interesting and varied towers in the UK, as well as some fine countryside. From the great Norman tower of St. Albans Abbey to the smaller scale charms of Holy Cross, Sarratt, there is much to attract visiting ringers here.

Further information about the Association can be obtained from its website