The Church Stretton District Outing 2026 was held on 12th September. Fourteen of us met at St Mary’s church, Ellesmere for the start of a day in which we aimed to visit five churches around North Shropshire and North Wales, with a well anticipated lunch thrown in.
St Mary’s, a beautiful Grade 1 listed building has a ring of 8 bells which were accessed by a set of very steep stairs, but the climb was worth it. All of the bells date from the 18th century, with the oldest three bells cast by Abraham Rudhall II in 1727. Although relatively heavy to ring, they had a very melodious ‘warm’ sound to them. A spacious ringing room meant that we could easily sit and observe those who were ringing. Interestingly in the middle of the circle was a large, cream-coloured animal hide – cow we think – which you might notice in the group photo above with Jenny, Neil, Rosie, John, Alice, Ian, Ian, Tony, Paul, Richard and Jan.
A short drive took us next to St Martin of Tours church, St Martin’s. This delightful little church with a ring of 6 bells had a smaller ringing room which comfortably accommodated the now 18-strong band. The bells there were lighter than St Mary’s but with a sound that was just as pleasing, and ringing was easier as a result. The ringing room had a window ‘wall’ with a view through to the nave and the altar. A small Juliet-style window ledge also gave a beautiful view out over the surrounding graveyard and beyond. What I did find very interesting was a working Ellacombe chiming apparatus, complete with mini-sallies. Richard explained how the apparatus was connected to chiming hammers so that a single person could chime rounds, changes or even tunes on the bells when they were down.
By this time everyone was ready for lunch and some very welcome refreshment at The Keys pub at St Martin’s. The food was delicious and very filling.
Then on to St Mary’s church, Chirk where last year the bells had been rehung and augmented to a ring of 8. This was the lightest of our 5 towers at just over 7cwt and a good opportunity around the front to practice on very light bells. The more experienced rang very well struck Grandsire Triples and also Plain Bob Triples, whilst I practiced Plain Hunt on 5. The bells of Chirk proved to be a delight to ring.
The penultimate tower was St John the Baptist church, Whittington just a short distance from Whittington Castle. Access to the ringing room was by an easy to ascend metal spiral staircase. The 6 bells were easy to control and the resulting ringing had a beautiful soft tone. Taking a moment away from ringing, it was nice to get the opportunity to look around the church itself. Obviously a well-loved and equally well-used church, its charm was underscored by beautiful, and colourful, leaded windows and the extremely pretty organ with intricate wood-carvings and decorated organ pipes.
And so we reached our final tower at St Oswald King and Martyr church, Oswestry. I have been into the body of the church a number of times but never up the bell tower. What a lovely tower it is too! The tenor was outstanding as there was a large box for the tenor ringer to ring from. Watching the band and practicing my rope sight soon gave way to the other items of interest around the tower. There was clear evidence from the peal boards that many peals had been rung here. The earliest I found was from 1731 of a ‘Whole Peale of Tripples’ and the latest from 2017.
Those in need of refreshment retired to The Oak Inn across the road to recall the events of the day and compare notes on the towers and bells.
A massive thank you to Jenny Ferguson for organising this outing to some excellent rings of bells. Not only did I enjoy the day immensely but I learnt a lot too.
Jackie Morris
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.
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.
