Learner’s morning held at St Peters Bromyard

We were delighted to host a session for some eager learners at St Peters Bromyard on Saturday 28th October. With attendees learning to ring a bell, getting to grips with call changes, starting their plain hunt journey through to doubles methods, we welcomed 15 enthusiastic learners from Chetton, Coalbrookdale, Wellington, Broseley, the Cathedral & Bromyard. In between tower bell practice sessions there was an opportunity to have a go at handbell ringing.

Many thanks must go out to the helpers, Kris Perruzza, Ginette Pardoe, Darren Swancott, Ady Taylor & Nicky Hudson who allowed us to give people the experience they came for. And to Bill & Clare Evans for running the handbell workshops.

There are a few snaps from the event below and the consensus is that we will do it again!

Broseley awards

Broseley ringer Darren Swancott won a national award for Contribution to Ringing on 11th March 2023.

The award was given by the Association of Ringing Teachers. There was a prize of £125 which will go towards Broseley’s bell project.

Another Broseley ringer, Yvonne Hadley passed her Level 2 Learning the Ropes certificate. Darren and Yvonne are pictured above with their certificates.

The past and future of ringing at Broseley

Tower Captain Ginette Pardoe has written an article called “The past and future of ringing at Broseley” which was publisted in The Ringing World in September 2022.

You can download a copy of the article here:  Broseley Ringing World article Sept 2022

Pictured above are:
Front row: Ginette Pardoe, Jan Baldwin, Gaynor Evans, Pam Sheldon, Mel Price (aka Ding, hiding) and Suzy Roberts (aka Dong).
Behind: John Maclean, Bruce Watson and Darren Swancroft.
(Photo Patricia Marinic)

Broseley bells project

Broseley has an enthusiastic team of 15 ringers, 5 of whom started to learn since the Covid lockdowns.

However, we have some issues with our bells. The ropes are pulled at strange angles from the bells to the ringers, the pulleys are worn, the sliders have been repaired with metal patches and bells 3 to 8 have the remnants of the original crown staples which could cause the bells to crack in the future. The bells were originally a peal of 6 hung in a wooden frame, but 2 extra bells were added at a later date in a metal frame. The flexing of the bell frame causes issues with pinching of the bell fittings.These problems combine to make the bells quite difficult to ring.

We’re therefore raising money to send the bells away for preventative maintenance and retuning, and to have them reinstalled in a new 10 bell frame. If we can raise enough money we’ll be able to install an additional 2 bells.

We’ve currently raised £17,000 and are busy fundraising to obtain the rest of the money needed to start the project.

For more information, please download our PDF Broseley Bells Project Leaflet.

If anyone would like to donate, we have a JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/broseley-bells

Thank You!

Broseley wins George Cousins Cup

BroseleyDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, Darren and the Broseley team have used some of the time away from ringing to do maintenance in the tower, both to the bells and in the ringing room.

As a result of all the hard work, the team were awarded the George Cousins Cup for the most improved ringing room in the Hereford Diocese.

Improvements include:

  • smaller and less rickety table
  • new corner cabinet
  • larger noticeboard
  • new pulls for clock hammers
  • new secondary glazing
  • refurbished boxes and steps into ringing room
  • new 3D printed model bell.

click on the pictures to expand

Broseley Tower page