Church Bells

BELLS UPDATE, May 2008

St Laurence's 8 bells are home and reinstalled in the Belfry. As soon as the complex rerigging of bells and interactive clock mechanisms is completed ringing will begin and, finally, the clock will restart and the chimes begin.

Next event – Coffee morning in the St Laurence room on Saturday 7th June with display about the work and visit to the tower.

Click here for details of the restoration work and pictures of the removal of the bells.

Click here for pictures of the bells being returned to the tower.

St Laurence church is very fortunate to have a fine peal of 8 bells. The oldest bell, The Sanctus, was originally cast in Buckingham in 1611 and the final pair of bells was added as recently as 1955.

As well as chiming the hours and quarter-hours, a mechanical carillon plays the hymn tune St David after the chimes every third hour.

Change ringing by a team of experienced ringers shows the full potential of the bells but as with many church towers across the land there have been times when our bells have been silent. This was the case at St Laurence towards the end of the last millennium due to a shortage of ringers but there was a drive to have all the towers with bells in England ringing for the year 2000. St Laurence redoubled its efforts to recruit ringers and prospective recruits were directed to Great Horwood for training, there being no tower captain at St Laurence at the time. Other local churches in Stewkley, Whitchurch and Little Horwood also assisted with the training of the present band.

The current joint tower captains are Diana Slevin and Mandy Cliffe and each Sunday a number of bells at St Laurence are raised and rung full circle, summoning our parishioners to the service. This is known as “Service Ringing”, it is what the bells are for. Some times we have very experienced ringers visiting the tower, and those with sharp ears may discern some nice tunes. This is known as “The Exercise”. A peal ring was conducted in November 2006 to commemorate 50 years from the installation of the 2 treble bells in 1956 and also to mark the retirement of the vicar, Tony Whalley. Details and pictures here.

Regular ringing practice is needed in order to achieve a standard in keeping with the fine ring of bells at the church. Practices are held on Monday evenings from 7.30 to 9.00 alternately at the St Laurence tower (8 bells) and at Great Horwood Church (6 bells). This alleviates the pressure, until restored, on the Winslow bells and also keeps the tradition alive at Great Horwood.

We would welcome more bellringers on a regular or occasional basis. If you are interested and are experienced, even if lapsed, then please contact Tower Secretary Margaret Lowrey on (01296) 712770.

The Winslow church is approached from the N.W. corner of the Market Square, or from Church Walk, off the High Street, Great Horwood church is off the main road. We will be actively recruiting novices when the restoration work is done but do make contact if you can’t wait!

Click here for for team activities. Contact us by email at bells@stlaurencewinslow.org.uk.