Category: Guild News

The Hereford Diocesan Guild made a rare appointment at its AGM on May 9th by electing Valerie M Roberts, of Much Wenlock, as its Vice-President.  She joins a very select group of four ringers who have held this position within the past 50 years, namely Arthur W Davis, Wilfrid F Moreton MBE, George T Cousins and Michael V Powell JP.

Valerie was taught to ring at Much Wenlock in 1952 by her father, Harry Edge, and she has retained her close involvement with that tower ever since.  Harry was in the band for her first peal, at Stokesay, Shropshire, on May 9th, 1959.  Thereafter she progressed rapidly and soon demonstrated her organisational abilities by taking Guild office, the first of many, as Bridgnorth District Secretary in 1962.

At the age of 23 she became the first lady, also the youngest person ever, to be elected Master of the Guild from 1968 to 1970, a post she held for a second time from 1993 to 1995.  In between, she was one of the first trustees of the Guild Bell Restoration Fund when it was founded in 1976.  She was elected a Freeman of the Guild in 1982 and from 2000 to 2004 was the Bridgnorth District’s Education Officer.  In addition, she and Alec Osbaldiston led the sub-committee that organised the Guild’s highly successful annual ‘Thomas Cooper Trophy Striking Competition’.

Arguably her greatest service for the Guild, though, was as its Peal Recorder for ten years from 1970, during which time she meticulously wrote out, using a Rotring pen and stencil (not to mention masses of patience), more than 3,000 of its peals, which now fill ten of the ‘Viggers’ Record’ volumes that make up the Guild’s Peal Book.  The magnitude of the task becomes apparent when one hears Valerie declaring ruefully that it used to take her longer to write out some of the multi-Doubles peals than it had taken to ring them in the first place!  Given that it required at least an hour to write out even the simplest of peals, it was truly a heroic labour of love, for which the Guild has long been highly appreciative.

The rare honour of ‘The Order of St Ethelbert’ was bestowed upon Valerie at a service held in Hereford Cathedral in October 2017; it was awarded ‘for services rendered to bellringing and in recognition of loyal and distinguished service to the Church of God and to His people in the diocese’.  It is perhaps not generally known that the “young and virtuous” King Ethelbert of the East Angles, whose shrine is in the Cathedral to this day, was brutally murdered whilst on his way to King Offa of Mercia’s Palace at Marden, Hfds, in AD 794:  his demise at Sutton Walls is widely thought to have been at the instigation of Cynethryth, wife of Offa.

Much Wenlock bells are an Abraham Rudhall II back six with two Taylor trebles added in 1930.  They are a fine eight and popular with peal ringers, 61 peals having been rung on them since their augmentation;  Valerie has rung no less than 17 of her 74 peals on them.  But, after nearly 100 years of heavy use, the bells are now in need of some professional attention, and John Taylor & Co., of Loughborough are about to embark on a £25,000 restoration to bring them back into tip-top condition.  Unsurprisingly, Valerie is a leading light in the preparation of, and fund-raising for, this project; work is expected to be completed this summer with, it is hoped, financial support from the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers Bell Restoration Fund and other grant-awarding sources.

To all who know her, no meeting is ever boring when Valerie is present.  She holds strong, and always well-thought-out, views, about the Guild in particular, and ringing in general, and is never afraid to make them known!

It’s hard to imagine anyone more deserving of this latest honour than Valerie M Roberts (née Edge), so many thanks for all you’ve done, and a warm welcome to this new position you now have in your favourite Guild!

Neil Bennett

We had a very enjoyable Guild Festival and AGM, the whole day ran smoothly with beautiful weather to allow us all to appreciate the wonderful scenery in the Clifford and Kington District.  Morning ringing started at Presteigne with ringing ranging from rounds to Surprise Major.  At smaller towers those in charge kept the ringing running at a brisk pace, whilst those not ringing took the opportunity to catch up with each other outside.  Some opted for a pub lunch whilst others enjoyed their own packed lunch or picnic.

At Eardisland, Rosie Roberts took the service, and reminded us that, whatever we might be able to ring, we were all working together to be part of one band or body, and that each of us was of equal importance to that body.  The hymns were sung with enthusiasm, and all seemed to enjoy the service.

Tea in the parish hall was followed by the meeting.

Attendance throughout the day was good, with some ringers joining only for the ringing, others joined just for the service, tea and meeting. 52 members attended the meeting. A happy flow of people enjoyed whichever part of the day suited them best.  We hope to see you all again soon.

Some of the main outcomes of the meeting are as follows:

Alan Reade of Claverley was elected as a Guild Freeman, in recognition of his long-standing work for the Guild and particularly as the Tower Stewardship Advisor, a post that Alan has held since its creation back in 2010.

The Guild Officers for 2024 are:

• • Guild Master – Sue Robinson
  • Guild Secretary – Fran Watkins
  • Guild Treasurer – Mark Aston
  • Guild Education Officer – Jessica Pugh
  • Peal Recorder – Neil Bennett
  • Report Secretary – Neil Bragg
  • Master Elect – Kris Perruzza
  • Belfries Officer – Ashley Fortey
  • Public Engagement Officer – Nicky Aubrey
  • Tower Stewardship Advisor – Alan Reade
  • Webmaster – Nick Chapman
  • Events Committee Representative – Richard Bracher
  • Central Council Representatives – Anthony Ellis & Abigail Pugh
  • Clerical Representatives – Barney Bell, Anthony Ellis, Nicky Seabright

The Guild Subscription has increased to £10 for 2025, the reduced rate for under 18s remains unchanged.

The Centenary Shield was awarded to the Committee that had organised the Guild Competition Day in March.

Vice-President

Val Roberts was elected as a Vice-President in recognition and appreciation of the outstanding contribution she has made to the Guild. Val was the first lady Master of the Guild in 1968, and became Master again in 1993.  Val has also served as Peal Recorder for 10 years from 1970 and began the huge task of writing the Guild Peal Books.   As well as this, Val has remained a stalwart of the Bridgnorth District, and the Guild, throughout the years.  In typical fashion, when speaking to accept the nomination, Val offered continued help and advice to the Guild in her new role. This honorary post is an excellent recognition of all Val’s hard work, and we thank and congratulate her on this well-deserved achievement.

Fran Watkins (pictures: Nicky Aubrey)

 

The Bell Restoration Fund AGM will be held at 7:30pm on 14th June 2024 at the Forbury Chapel, Church St, Leominster HR6 8NQ.

As a reminder, the membership of the BRF comprises all current Ringing Members, Honorary Ringing Members and Freemen of the Guild, together with one representative from each affiliated church’s Parochial Church Council.  Members are entitled to attend, speak and vote at the Annual General Meeting.

More about the Bell Restoration Fund and its work can be found here.

Thanks to our partnership with Wyestitch, you can now order a range of clothing with an HDGB embroidered logo, plus optionally your own personalisation too!

See the full range and order yours here:
https://hdgbellringers.deco-apparel.com/

 

We hope that the good news about the Guild Competition Day has spread far and wide! We had a really positive day, holding three competitions, but more importantly, we met together, made friends and celebrated ringing at all stages.

The results of the day were as follows:

Novice Challenge

• • • Bronze was awarded to Kington A, Kington B and Coalbrookdale
    • Silver was awarded to Dorstone and Wellington
    • Gold was awarded to Hereford Cathedral

 

Call Change Competition – The Osbaldiston Shield

• • • • 1st Hereford
      • 2nd Bridgnorth
      • 3rd Bromyard 

Method Competition – The Thomas Cooper Trophy

• • • 1st Church Stretton B
    • =2nd Clifford & Kington
    • =2nd Church Stretton A
    • 4th Ledbury
    • 5th Hereford

The atmosphere was warm and friendly, we were very pleased to welcome ringers who were not taking part, and non-ringers to the occasion, it was great to see non-ringers stood outside listening to the ringing as intently as the ringers who were competing. We estimate there may have been around 100 people in the church at some points, and the wonderful refreshments kept flowing all afternoon.

Thanks are due to all who helped to make the day a success, especially Gareth Jones , Master of the Shropshire Association, who acted as judge and undertook the mammoth task of judging 14 teams, and whose judging and comments reflected the positive and encouraging atmosphere we were aiming for; John Clayton, tower captain of Kington, and all the ringers and helpers whose hospitality made the day; Dan Jones who ran a handbell workshop, it was great to hear the ringing in the church; and to Ledbury District, and Frank Seabright in particular for the loan and transport of the Wombel which created such interest during the day. Most importantly, thank you to all the teams who took part – you were fantastic!

We received some lovely comments after the event, and would like to share some of them with you:

‘I really enjoyed taking part in the competition…top marks for creating such a lovely afternoon of ringing fun.’

‘Thank you for putting on such a great day on Saturday! It was wonderful to walk into the church and find it full!’

‘We all thoroughly enjoyed it and were very pleased with ourselves afterwards. We all benefitted immensely from the experience, and are keen to return next year!’

‘It was excellent. So much enthusiasm amongst the newer ringers.’

‘Really enjoyed the day. A chance to catch up with other ringers and a new tower grab! It was great to feel part of the ringing community.’

Any stress of competing seems to have been quickly dispelled as the genuine happy smiles on the face of bands leaving the tower were a joy to see!

Let’s build on this positive day, it would be great to see you all again, and meet even more ringers we don’t yet know at the Guild AGM.