When
this church was made redundant the body of the church was demolished
leaving the tower complete with its ten bells, still standing.
Later, the
bells were removed and taken into the care of the Central Council
Redundant Bells Committee. A
red brick office block, was built adjacent to the tower.
The
bells were offered to St Pierre du Bois in September, 1983.
Memories of Ringing at Feltham - By
Richard Price
I
learnt to ring on these bells. My father Tony Price was the Tower
Captain and looked after the bells, until just before his death
in 1972. I could pull a bell just before the war at the age of
8 and could ring rounds ‘just’. With the ban on ‘Open’
ringing during the war we took out the clappers and rang silently.
It was quite unique to learn to hunt and dodge without hearing
the bells – also to be told off for bad striking! My father
did not serve in the forces as he worked for the Air Ministry
with experience in designing and constructing gun turrets for
aircraft.
After
the ban was lifted we soon got the bells going again, and I rang
my first peal of major at Feltham on June 10th 1944 (Plain Bob
Major). My first peal of Surprise Major (Cambridge) was rung on
December 22nd 1945. The bells at this time were still on plain
bearings and the quality of the treble left something to be desired.
My father, Tony Price was a good friend of Mr Albert A Hughes
of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and he was instrumental in having
the Treble, 2, 3 and 4 recast. The bells were returned and re-hung
on ball bearings.
The
first peal on the restored ring was Plain Bob Major on 14th February
1948. I had the pleasure of calling my first peal on Feltham bells
on 28th February 1948 of Plain Bob Major. No one within the band
was older than 18 years. Another peal of note was Plain Bob Minor
on the back six to which my father rang the Treble and second
single-handed and conducted the peal. I rang the tenor.
Other
peals of note were: -
3rd
December 1949 - Spliced Surprise Major in standard 4 methods.
23rd
December 1950 - London Surprise Major.
31st
March 1951 - Plain Bob Major.
This
was my mother’s first peal. I conducted it and my father
rang the 5th thereby ‘circling’ the tower. He had
taught all the other seven ringers.
22nd
September 1951 - Plain Bob Major.
I
conducted this. It was special in that the band comprised 4 mothers
and their four sons. 3 of the respective fathers and husbands
were listening outside. This is the only time this has been done.
8th
November 1952 – Yorkshire Surprise Major.
26th
September 1953 – London Surprise Major.
Rung
by the officers of the Middlesex County Association. My father
was Master and I was Ringing Master of the South and East District.
22nd
May 1954 – Spliced Surprise Major in 4 methods.
I
rang the Treble thus circling the tower to peals of Surprise Major
also my 150th peal.
8th
October 1955 – Bristol Surprise Major.
Miss
Hilda Snowden rang the Tenor a very accomplished ringer from Essex.
A fine performance.
My
father had been trying to find money from various sources for
2 trebles to make Feltham into a peal of 10 bells. He made a steel
girder superstructure frame to carry the new bells. He did this
virtually single-handed over several months and paid for much
of the steel out of his own pocket. His training as an engineer
stood him in good stead.
Two
new bells were cast and my father hung them. The new ring was
dedicated and opened on Saturday 25th October 1958. The first
touch on the ten bells was a course of London Surprise Royal for
which I rang the tenor and my father the new Treble. Everyone
concerned said that the new ten were a most successful augmentation
the top six all being modern bells ring by themselves are absolutely
delightful and sweet in tone.
I
stood in the first peal attempt on the 10 bells, Grandsire Caters
but the Conductor miscalled it (Frank Blagrave).
The
church became redundant and was pulled down except for the tower
for several years. There was some talk of the bells going to replace
the poor ring of 8 bells at St Andrew’s Axbridge Middlesex
but that all fell through.
A
rough sketch of the situation over the period from the late 1940’s
to just before ringing finally ceased - By
Peter Lawrence
From
the end of the 1945 War to the late 1950’s, the ringing
there was in the hands of Tony Price, aided by his family (wife,
daughter and two sons). As the family grew up and moved from the
area, this support gradually was reduced. In the earlier part
of this period were also Walter Sparrow and William Morris. The
two latter members aspired to ringing on ‘the higher numbers
of bells’ and moved to nearby Kingston. There was also an
older gentleman who attended sporadically, and he was named Lewis.
Until
the mid-fifties Feltham was very much a teaching tower helping
greatly the nearby bands at Hampton, Sunbury and Stanwell, and
a variety of Surprise Minor became the norm at practice night,
and frequently Surprise Major. Tony Price was very pleased to
ring a peal of Double Norwich at Feltham with seven of his pupils,
including his two sons, Frank Blagrave and myself, I have forgotten
who are the other participants. I believe there was also a peal
of Minor rung by the Price family, including double-handed ringing.
In the mid-1950’s, one ringer left Hampton to join the Feltham
band (Robert Lay). At this time also, some additional indigenous
Feltham beginners came forward, notably Stephen Gamble. Indeed,
without Stephen’s help, Tony’s work during the augmentation
to ten bells would have been that much harder. A fair proportion
of the initial fitting work was done after practice night using
labour from us who attended the practices.
After
the augmentation, a fair start was made on Surprise Royal, especially
London No 3, but then for personal reasons, the Price family moved
to Sunbury. Ringing then became rather basic in repertoire (rounds,
call changes, doubles etc) although under Stephen Gamble’s
leadership a fairly large band was maintained through the early
1960’s. Leadership finally passed to Dorothy Salter, and
finally to Mac Mc Donald from nearby St Dunstans. ( a ring of
3, sometimes ringable, sometimes not. I believe partly due to
the influence of the vicar of St Dunstans (the mother church)
ringing gradually faded out until some months before the church
was finally, for all practical purposes, closed in the 1970’s.
The names of some of the ringers can be found in the Reports of
the Middlesex County Association & London Diocesan Guild for
the relevant years. Particular mention of Tony Price can be found
in the 1972 Report.
There
was a tentative proposal in the mid 1970’s to obtain the
Feltham bells for Hampton against the disposal of Hampton bells
to another interested church. Our vicar, quite rightly I believe
was a little doubtful of the scheme, mainly because he was not
convinced that the Parish as a whole was as enthusiastic as some
of the ringers. In the event, our band has now, sadly almost collapsed,
although we have done quite well for over thirty years.
A
list of Quarter Peals rung since 1963
Details provided by:
Alan
A J Buswell.
12 Park Road,
Denmead
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO7 6NE
31st
December 1966 – Plain Bob Major
13th
December 1974 – Research is currently underway.
21st
March 1975 - Research is currently underway
4th
April 1975 - Research is currently underway
20th
June 1975 - Research is currently underway
25th
July 1975 - Research is currently underway
The parish
Church of St. Pierre du Bois
Newsletter
~ December 1983.
St. Pierre
du Bois Bell Appeal.
The
following “Press statement” will appear in the Guernsey
Press soon, and we wanted you to know about it beforehand:
A meeting held in St. Pierre du Bois Church Fellowship Rooms between
the Rector, Churchwardens and bell-ringers’ representatives
discussed a recent offer from the Central Council of church Bell-Ringers
of a ring of 10 bells from the now redundant church of St Catherine’s,
Feltham, Middx.
These bells had been inspected by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
of London, who states that “they are a good peal”
In addition, the tower had been inspected by two independent bodies
the Central Council and Giffard & Partners, consulting engineers
from Southampton. Both declared St. Pierre du Bois church tower
structurally sound and quite capable of taking such a ring of
bells.
The present 3 bells would remain undisturbed in the tower as they
are of historical interest: these bells cannot be rung in the
traditional change-ringing style and neither are they sufficiently
tuned.
The new Ring of bells is considered to be an extremely good offer
as they have been made available at scrap value.
As an opportunity such as this seldom arises, the meeting decided
to secure the bells and proceed with a full bell appeal.
Initial donations and promises will enable the bells to be secured,
but a total of £35,000 will be required to cover the complete
installation of the bells and future maintenance.
The target is to have the bells installed and ringing by the end
of 1984, in time for the 40th Anniversary of the Island’s
Liberation Day.
A special Committee has been formed which will shortly be making
an appeal to individuals, business houses and any organisations
that might be interest, especially those with parish connections,
with a view to enriching the heritage of this beautiful island.
Although it has been decided to make this a wider appeal, we would
naturally be delighted for any further contributions from our
own parish, and particularly from our congregation.
Mr Keith Tydeman leans on the 11cwt tenor bell
which could soon be hanging in St Peter’s Church tower.
Mr Tydeman is chairman of the apeal to raise £35,000 for
the purchase of the 10 bells pictured.
10 bells for St Peter’s will come from Middlesex
- By
Tim Earl
A Foundry has been appointed to renovate and retune the 10 bells
acquired for St Peter’s Church. The bells are soon to be
moved to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, although work will not
start on them until the Appeal Committee have ‘more money
in the kitty’.
Their
appeal has raised a third of the £35,000 needed to buy,
renovate, ship and install the bells in the church tower.
The
decision to have the bells moved to Whitechapel follows a visit
to the UK by Mr Keith Tydeman, chairman of the appeal. He said
that the bells are stored in the yard of an old coach house at
the entrance to Uxbridge Golf Club.
Eight
of the bells were cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in 1899. Two
more were added to the peal in 1958. The largest bell ~ the tenor
~ weighs 11 cwt and has a diameter of 3ft 6in.
Mr
Tydeman says that the bells can be inscribed and that people who
donate enough for a complete bell can have an inscription etched
into ‘their’ bell.
Richard Bellinger reslendant in Guernsey Militia uniform. Saumarez
Park, Liberation Day 1984.
The ringers aided Mr Gerald Przenislawski at this Military Vehicles
Display. A raffle, sale of plants and cakes and a most generaous
donation from Gerald resulted in raising sufficient money to pay
for the fifth bell known as the ‘Liberation Bell’
Jane Le Conte by
the cake and plant stall. ~ Saumarez Park –LIBERATION DAY
1984.
….say
the bells of St Peter’s
Reported
in the Guernsey Evening Press and Star.
St
Peter’s rector the Rev. A.F.Ridley is on the right of this
picture of his team of bell ringers, taken before their inaugural
peal of the church’s new bells. Team Leader Phil Le Conte
is kneeling on the left.
Back Row –
Roy Le Marechal, John Colliss, Stephen Pettman, Richard Price,
John Foote, Tony Fortin (Alderney), Frank Price & Rev. Alfred
Ridley (Rector).
Front Row –
Local ringers – Phil Le Conte, Helen Tucker and Jane Le
Conte.
St
Peter’s new peal of bells rang out for the first time to
celebrate the 40th anniversary of Liberation.
Soon after parishioners had left the church of St Pierre Du Bois
at the end of their special Liberation Day service, the team of
10 Bellringers began their three hour peal.
Team leader Phil Le Conte, one of three local ringers in the team,
said they were ringing 5,040 blows of Grandsire Caters. Caters
is a nine-bell method, and Mr Le Conte said this was the first
time a nine-bell method had been pealed in the Channel Islands.
Helen Tucker, another local enthusiast, took the 10th bell, ringing
at the end of each change. The third local was Jane Le Conte.
Also ringing were two guests who knew the bells well. Dr Richard
Price and Frank Price come from Feltham in Middlesex, where the
bells used to hang before coming to Guernsey.
John Collis, Roy Le Marechal and John Foote of the Winchester
and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild, of which St Peter’s is now
a member, lent their services for the first peal, and the team
was completed by a member of the Sussex Guild, Stephen Petman,
who conducted the peal. Mr Pettman’s parents live on the
island of Guernsey.
Guernsey Evening Press and Star.
The
bells waiting to be unloaded.
The
Ringing World ~ May 10th 1985. Issue No 3863
A ring of ten to mark the 40th anniversary of Liberation
Day.
Ringers
with the newly arrived bells. L. to R. – Phil Le Conte (Tower
Captain), Ed Hynard (Suffolk visitor), Richard Bellinger, Jane
Le Conte, Nikki Tostevin, Keith Tydeman, Carl Le Prevost.
The
9th May 1945 is undoubtedly the most important day in Guernsey’s
modern history. It was the Liberation Day – the day the
surrender document was signed between occupying German forces
and the British relieving forces. Since then, 9th May has been
celebrated by an annual Bank Holiday. It is a day held dear by
all islanders, even those not born in 1945. Hence, when the proposal
to hang a new ring in one of Guernsey’s parish churches
was first announced, it seemed appropriate to hang it in time
to ring out in celebration of the Islands’ 40th anniversary
of Liberation.
The
parish of St Pierre du Bois
The church in question is in the parish of St. Pierre du Bois
(St. Peter in the wood). The wood has long since vanished but
this is one of Guernsey’s most rural parishes and one still
with its distinct identity. To be a resident of the parish –
a St. Pierrais – is a source of pride to many.
It
is impossible to say how long a place of worship has stood on
the church site, which certainly filled the requisites needed
to be a sacred site for pagan worship. The church sits on the
edge of a plateau which, to the south ends in high granite cliffs
and to the west, slopes down through little valleys dotted with
farmhouses, to the fisherman’s cottages lining the west
coast.
The
first reference to the church is found in a charter of 1030 AD
in which the Duke of Normandy gave the church to the patronage
of the Benedictines of Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and it was
these monks who supervised the conversion of the original small
building to the church which stands today. Stone used for pillars
and arcaded work was brought from Normandy and the monks are also
thought to have brought a family of craftsmen with them to oversee
the work. This family, Tostevin by name has been involved with
the church ever since and so it is appropriate that one of the
family is our present tower secretary.
Floor
slopes upwards
The church is built of pink granite and set into the side of a
hill. Its most remarkable feature is that the floor slopes upwards
from west to east to such an extent that the sanctuary is nearly
5ft higher than the west end of the aisle. The fine square tower,
with its 4ft 6” thick walls is at the west end of the church
and the main entrance is set in the base of the tower.
The
tower contains three chambers. The three old bells hanging on
half-wheels are to remain undisturbed in the upper chamber. The
middle chamber houses the new ring. They hang on H frames –
nine bells on one level with the 4th hanging above the 3rd.
Appeal
launched
The appeal for funds was publicly launched in December 1983 with
a target of £35,000. At this time we had been offered the
ring of ten bells from the redundant St. Catherine’s, Feltham
by the Central Council Redundant Bells Committee, and after obtaining
various quotes chose Whitechapel Bell Foundry to install the bells.
Our
first boost was the Gift of an entire bell from the Houslip family
who live a short distance from the church. The appeal committee
flung itself into a variety of fund-raising events and were particularly
pleased with the Military Vehicles Rally held on Liberation Day
1984, which together with a raffle raised sufficient to purchase
the 5th of the Feltham ring which is already inscribed ‘1939
– 45’. ‘Thanks be to God for self deliverance’,
and which will be known as the Liberation Bell. A further bell
was paid for by donations from two local trust funds and a most
generous grant of £1500 from the Winchester and Portsmouth
Bell Restoration Fund; and most recently there was the anonymous
gift of another bell in memory of a member of the congregation.
Savings
made on frame
Various events and donations kept the appeal total rising, but
costs were rising also. When it was looking as though we might
have difficulty keeping up with costs we discovered we could make
savings by having the frame made locally, and this fact made it
possible in October 1984, for the committee to decide funds were
sufficient for work to proceed. Whitechapel Foundry were instructed
accordingly. The bells would be ready to ring for the 40th anniversary
of Liberation!
Work
commenced in the tower at the end of February and Phil Jakeman
from Whitechapel arrived on 25th March. The bells were dedicated
on 27th April by the Dean of Guernsey, the Very Reverend Canon
John Foster and the first peal attempt is planned for Liberation
Day.
Special
thanks
It is impossible in such an article to thank all those who gave
so generously of their time, talents and money to make such a
project possible, but we would like to take this opportunity to
thank those The Ringing World readers who sent donations and gave
us information on the history of the Feltham bells. Special mention
must go to the Appeal Chairman, Keith Tydeman – without
his organisation, foresight and sheer hard work the rest of us
would have found the task very much harder.
Our
band – which also rings for Forest church services –
has been fortunate to be able to practice twice weekly at the
Forest church, for which we extend our thanks to the rector. The
Tuesday night practice remains at the Forest, whilst the Friday
night one moves to St. Pierre du Bois.
Ringing
on ten bells will provide us with a considerable challenge and
one we are looking forward to immensely. We hope to see many visitors
who will help us on our way – they can be assured of a warm
welcome.
Page
405~406 The Ringing World. May 10th, 1985.
St
Peter’s bells are dedicated.
Guernsey Evening
Press and Star. Monday 29th April 1985.
The new ring of 10 bells recently installed at St Peter’s
Church rang out over the parish for the first time on Saturday
afternoon after being welcomed to the church in a special dedication
service. The Dean, the Very Rev. Canon John W. Foster, conducted
the service of dedication after confirming with bell appeal chairman
Keith Tydeman, as is the custom, that the installation had been
completed satisfactorily with skill, care and dedication.
Many
island dignitaries and officials attended the service and guests
included the Lt-Governor, Sir Peter Le Cheminant, and Lady Le
Cheminant, who were accompanied by the ADC Captain David Hodgetts,
and Mrs Hodgetts, the Bailiff, Sir Charles Frossard, and Lady
Frossard, St Peter’s Deputy James Robilliard and other parishioners
and officials.
Bell
ringers from all over the island, Alderney, Jersey and the UK
attended the dedication service.
At
the beginning of the service, St Peter’s Church rector,
the Rev. A.F. Ridley, welcomed everybody on such ‘a very
significant occasion’.
During
the service the Dean blessed the bells and, on dedicating them,
said: ‘In the faith of Jesus Christ, we dedicate and bless
these bells of St Pierre-du-Bois to the glory of God, in the service
of his people in this parish. May they resound to His praise and
may our hearts be uplifted to worship, and to rejoice in the name
and Love of God, our Father, His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and
His Holy Spirit.’
The
parish bell ringers were then led to the bells and formally rang
out the first peal.
Hymns
were sung and prayers given in worship during the service which
was highlighted throughout by four trumpeters under the direction
of Mr Roger Ashby.
Mr
Ashby was also responsible for the composition of the three fanfares
included in the event which he wrote especially for the occasion.
After
the dedication service, guests met informally for refreshments
in the Church Hall and Mr Ridley said that only $3,000 more is
needed to pay for the bells, which cost some £31,000.
It
was thought the bells and installation would cost £35,000
but money has been saved by using local tradesmen.
Mrs
Gilian Davis, Master of the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan
Guild of Church Bellringers was impressed with the peal of 10
bells and donated £150.00 to the fund on behalf of the Bell
Restoration Fund.
‘Never
in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the Channel Islands
would have a peal of 10 bells,’ commented Mrs Davis.
St
Peter’s parish church is the first in the Channel Islands
to have a ring of 10 bells.
The
86 year old bells were brought from St Catherine’s Church
in Feltham and will form part of the 40th Celebrations of Liberation
Day.
Guernsey
Evening Press and Star, Monday 29th April 1985.
IMPORTANT DATES
Opening of the
bells 27th December 1899
First Peal on the Bells 5040 Oxford Bob Triples 16th August 1900
105 years ago
1,2,3,4 recast and rehung
First Peal on the restored ring Plain Bob Major 14th February
1948
Two trebles added First touch on the ten was London Surprise Royal
25th October 1958
First Peal on the ten bells in Feltham ????
First Peal on the ten bells in Guernsey 9th May 1985
