I wanted to keep this story short but now that I think of the journey I’ve a feeling I might fail!!
Following my retirement I volunteered to restore the village church turret clock dating from the year 1830, which had been fettled for some years but needed some TLC. One of the problems for the clock was grit and debris falling into the clock from the bell chamber above.
Here starts my relationship with bells and bellringing. I cleared 4 dustbin loads of grit and debris from the bell chamber and vacuumed it clean. I also bird proofed the tower to prevent bird ingress, the door to the roof had fallen off! All of the debris was sieved by a local archaeologist to ensure nothing of interest was disposed of. The debris included ‘bits of wood’ that turned out to be wooden shrouds from the wheels and sections of pulley blocks, all retained I might add.
My interest in the bells and bell ringing was formed and I attended an open day at Shawell church where the Friends of Crick and Shawell (FOCAS) were very informative,inviting and friendly.
Under the expert tuition of Andy and Daphne Hinton, two excellent ART teachers, I was taught, and still being taught, the art of bellringing.
The social aspect of bellringing, often involving a beer with the FOCAS band, got the conversation about the Leire bells that were not in a ringing condition and that the Leire had no active bellringers either.
Within the FOCAS group of ringers is embedded, the Upper Avon Valley Bells maintenance team headed up by Rob Palmer and includes Colin Sim, Gordon Ball and Andy Hinton. The conversation turned into restoration and the restoration of the bells commenced. It was then completed by this team who have such wonderful knowledge, expertise and dedication.
After many hours of work the bells were brought back to life and the Leire villagers were informed via Facebook, that the Friends of Crick and Shawell along with ringers from Lutterworth and surrounding villages were to ring on a Thursday evening.
The reception from the village was overwhelming with all feedback being positive. This led to many a conversation about bell ringing in the Leire village pubs etc so I asked via Facebook if anyone would be interested in learning how to become a bellringer, I wasn’t expecting 19 people to say yes!
Following some tower tours of the candidates the numbers dwindled to 12 when they realised the time and dedication required to ring safely etc. The aim was then to train as many candidates as possible and the FOCAS trainers jumped to action.
Back Row- Anneli Mcall, Nick Jacson, Andy Hinton (Trainer) Pat Burrell
Middle Row – Marie McSeveney, Dpahne Hinton (Trainer)
Front Row- Richard Garner and Vix Connoly
We started training candidates in late summer 2023 and by Christmas we had a new Leire band that rang together on Christmas Eve ahead of the children’s nativity. We simply did rounds and call changes and the striking may not have been the best but we now have a band that can ring, with other trainees starting their journey. I am sure others will follow depending on time constraints and trainer availability.
Sitting – Sally Brooks, Nicola Williams and Alison Ledward flanked by Andy and Daphne Hinton the trainers.
Missing from this shot is Fiona Littlewood.
None of this would have happened without an open day at Shawell organised by FOCAS, the Upper Avon Bells maintenance team and the dedication of the trainers, Colin Sim and Daphne and Andy Hinton. My thanks and that of Leire village go out to all involved it’s been quite a journey so far.
Richard Garner
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