This session is for anyone who would like to move on to ringing Plain Hunt or who have already started and would like the opportunity to practice and build confidence.
It will take place on Saturday 26th April from 2pm – 4pm at Marden.
Spaces for this session are limited so please book your place with Isabel, hfd_education@hdgb.org
On 7th January 2025 we sadly lost Ena Plant, a ringer and great friend. Ena died in hospital after losing a battle with cancer.
Ena learned to ring in 2014 and was a very keen member of Broseley band.
Ena hadn’t been able to ring for some time due to a heart problem, but she was a very sociable person and always joined in and helped where she could. She organised prize draws for the BRF at District meetings and came along to tower fundraising and social events whenever she could.
During her working life She worked as a post lady and had also worked at RAF Cosford. During her retirement she enjoyed spending time with family and friends, sitting outside her bungalow with husband Paul enjoying the sunshine and walking their dog Bertie.
Ena was great fun and always smiling and laughing. She brightened the lives of many people and will be very much missed by all who knew her.
Our thoughts go out to Ena’s husband Paul and their family.
We are very saddened to inform you that Mike Jefferis of Holmer died on 7th January 2025. Mike was an extremely loyal, kind and dedicated man, his personal faith meant he was very much part of the warm and friendly atmosphere at Holmer church. A member of our Guild since 1991, Mike was an enthusiastic and reliable member of the Holmer band and he will be hugely missed.
Our thoughts and deep sympathies are with his wife Sally and daughters Kirsty and Jody.
The rare set of bells at Mordiford Holy Rood church were carefully taken down on 4th January 2025 and sent off to Taylors in Loughborough for the next part of their conservation and cleaning. All new ringing fittings will be manufactured, together with a new rope guide.
The bells are a complete ring of five by William Huntbatch of Worcester dating from 1687. They will not be retuned nor augmented and so when the work is complete, they will sound as near as possible to how they did nearly 340 years ago!
More information on the Taylors website here and a Hereford Times Report is here.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Mordiford Bell project, should do so through Mordiford Parish Giving or cash or cheque to PCC of Mordiford c/o Mr R G Moss, Little Hope, Mordiford, Hereford HR1 3LT.
After many years as Peal Recorder, Neil Bennett has regretfully had to step down due to his health. Neil has been working closely with Andrew Watkins recently to add all the Guild peals onto Bellboard; Andrew will step in as Acting Peal Recorder for the time being.
With effect from 04/01/2025, there is a new address to be used for all Peal Recorder enquiries, including arrangements for paying peal fees and the election of new Non Resident Life Members.
All emails should be sent to pealrecorder@hdgb.org
It was a surprisingly sunny Saturday for our Tower Open Day around North Herefordshire, with a couple of last minute changes due to the deluge a couple of days earlier, we kicked off the day at Tarrington. Twenty-two towers were open throughout the day, with thanks to Anne at All Saints, offering the bells last minute to replace Marden and Bodenham, both
which had been flooded the previous day.
The route took ringers through some of our county’s pretty black & white villages, towers varied, with ground floor ringing rooms, detached towers, an anti-clockwise ring, the recently rehung and those still on plain bearings, from the three bell tower of Brinsop to the 10 at Leominster. Refreshments were available at several churches, with a selection of
cake and some fabulous soup provided by the ringers at Burghill.
Visitors included those who were new to ringing, experiencing their first new towers outside of their district, to those who had ventured across the country. We had ringers that travelled from Essex, Suffolk, North Wales and further afield with one making the trip down from Dunblane in Scotland. Five ringers managed to ring at all 22 open towers during the day, a small prize awaited them at the final tower, Leominster.
We are delighted to say that over £1100 was raised for the Bell Restoration Fund. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along, whether as a visitor, a steward or to help out with refreshments, your support is greatly appreciated.
Due to some very wet weather a couple of days ago we have had to make a couple of changes to the towers tomorrow.
The first tower will now be Tarrington 9:00-10:00.
Unfortunately both Marden and Bodenham churches have flooded in the past 8 hours, we have however arranged for Hereford, All Saints to be open 10:30 – 11:30.
We hope this doesn’t dampen your excitement too much and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Our Events Team has also been out and about checking the route, we still have a couple of roads flooded that we hope will have subsided by Saturday. We will update if an alternate route is necessary
We look forward to meeting you on Saturday!
On Saturday 19th October, join us to enjoy a day in north Herefordshire visiting our famous black & white villages, ringing at 23 towers, from 3 bells at the recently rehung Brinsop, to 10 bells in the market town of Leominster.
As the Guild has not held a Tower Open Day for over 30 years, you might not be sure what a Tower Open Day entails or what to expect. A Tower Open Day is similar to our AGM days, or a ringing outing in reverse, we open our towers for an advertised time and ringers will come along to ring. Open Days are a popular way for ringers to experience ringing at new towers in different parts of the country. They are very social and friendly events and are an excellent way of raising money. Any profits we make from the day will be donated to the Hereford Diocesan Guild Bell Restoration Fund (charity number 508531) so we hope as many local ringers as possible will support the event.
Towers will be open for one hour from the time shown (see list of towers below). Local ringers and stewards will be at each tower to help the day run smoothly. Some towers will also be providing refreshments for a small donation.
Earlybird tickets £20, tickets on the day £25, or £2 per tower. Cash only – no card facilities on the day.
Earlybird tickets are available to book from 15th September to 13th October, email Nicky at peo@hdgb.org
Day tickets, allowing access to all towers open on the day will be available from the first five towers.
Download a poster of the tower list with lots of information about the towers here:
All towers will be open for 1 hour from the time shown, stewards and local ringers will be at each to to help the day run smoothly.
All funds raised will go to the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers Bell Restoration Fund, Charity No. 508531.
We are looking for people to help out on the day as tower stewards. If you would like to volunteer either by yourself or as a small group, please let us know, email eventsteam@hdgb.org. We will need 3 or 4 people for each tower, don’t worry if you’re not sure what’s involved, everything is explained here!
We will be keeping tower captains and steward volunteers informed in the run up to the event, but if you would like any more information about how the day will work at any time please get in touch – email eventsteam@hdgb.org.
We hope that you will be able to support the event and look forward to seeing you somewhere on the day.
HDGB Events Team
Nicky Aubrey, Richard Bracher, Tim Hollinghurst, Fran Watkins
| Time | Place | Bells |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Tarrington | 6 |
| 09:25 | Withington | 6 |
| 09:50 | Sutton St Nicholas | 6 |
| 10:30 | Hereford, All Saints | 8 |
| 11:05 | Wellington | 6 |
| 11:30 | Canon Pyon | 6 |
| 11:50 | Kings Pyon | 5 |
| 12:15 | Weobley | 6 |
| 12:40 | Brinsop | 3 |
| 13:00 | Burghill | 8 |
| 13:25 | Pipe cum Lyde | 6 |
| 13:45 | Holmer | 6 |
| 14:15 | Norton Canon | 6 |
| 14:40 | Almeley | 6 |
| 15:05 | Eardisley | 6 |
| 15:30 | Dilwyn | 6 |
| 15:55 | Pembridge (tbc) | 5 |
| 16:20 | Staunton on Arrow | 6 |
| 16:45 | Eardisland | 8 |
| 17:10 | Kingsland | 8 |
| 17:35 | Eye | 6 |
| 18:00 | Leominster | 10 |
Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers
Management Committee Meeting – Saturday 12th October 2024
Held in the Forbury Chapel at Leominster, 7.15pm
From Norman’s family …
With sadness we announce the death of Norman Mattingley, who died on 25th August 2024. The family invite you to join us in celebrating his life at his funeral service at Kenwyn Church, 27th September at 11am. We plan for there to be open ringing before the service.
Following the funeral, please join the family to celebrate Norman’s life at The Alverton in Truro.
All are welcome to join. If you can, please let Helena (helena.j.mattingley@googlemail.com / 07814254942) know if you intend to be with us in person, and if there are any access or dietary requirements.
We are sad to announce the death of Norman Mattingley, one of the Freemen of our Guild on 25/08/2024.
Norman died at home, funeral details will follow when they become available.
Norman joined the Guild in 1969, and quickly became a hard-working member whose enthusiasm and knowledge helped drive and develop the Guild during 1970s, 80s and 90s. Initially joining the Guild Committee as a District Representative in 1970-76, from then onwards Norman fulfilled almost all roles within the Guild. He was Guild Master 1976-1977, served as Acting Guild Secretary 1977-1979, Report Secretary 1989-1991 and was a Guild Central Council Representative from 1981-1995.
In addition, he served on the 1976 Central Council organising committee, and the 1986 Centenary Committee both of which were hugely positive events that helped the Guild members form closer fellowships.
He was a founding member of the Bell Restoration Fund in its current form and served with drive and enthusiasm for many years.
Norman held active District roles and was Tower Captain of Hereford St Nicholas from 1976 until 1994 during which time they were augmented from 6 to 8. He was also a Tutor on the Hereford Ringing Course for many years.
Norman rang 1063 peals in total including 671 for the Guild. Notable among his HDGB peals were the 15,000 Doubles rung at Eardisley in 1974, and the first peal of Maximus for the Guild in 1981.
This is an impressive list of achievements, and there are many more not noted here, but these do not reflect one of the most memorable things about Norman – his sense of fun. It is clear that he was serious about ringing and the Guild, but he carried people with him because of his enjoyment of ringing and silliness. Those of us who have witnessed one of Norman’s impromptu ‘speeches’, or taken part in the party games at Guild social events he organised will not forget him, often we all giggled away, as he looked like a 6ft 4, well built, schoolboy.
When Norman and his family moved from Herefordshire in 1994, Val Roberts, who was Master at the time wrote ‘We wish him and his family all the best. He was a gentle giant amongst us and we will miss his leadership in the Guild’. Truly Norman was one of the great characters of our Guild and we cannot underestimate the work he has done for us and ringing in general.
Our sympathies are with his wife Steph, and his children David, Christina and Helena.
