Welcome to our website dedicated to Bell Ringing and the Village of Haughton, near Stafford. Please subscribe to receive updates and news by email. Feel free to contact us with information you would like us to put on the site and Share the link www.thebellringers.org.uk with your friends, family and neighbours. We practice weekly on a Tuesday at 8pm.
It been quite a while since the bells rang out for services at Seighford, with just two or three remaining members it is hard to form a band, so a couple of us from Haughton and Swynnerton teams have been going to support them.
Local Ken Anderson came and took a couple of videos of us ringing for their Easter Service.
I hear there are 18 clock winders at Seighford, that quite an achievement. If any of you or anyone else would like to learn to help and ring the bells please get in touch.
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
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Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
Please feel free to share this post by text, email or social media
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
Please feel free to share this post by text, email or social media
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
Please feel free to share this post by text, email or social media
It is quite a tradition that most towers frequent their local Pub or cafe after ringing. This adds to the social aspect of ringing and all sorts of topics will be discussed, from budgerigar's weighing down empty lorries to what's going on in the latest episode of Love Island (I believe that's a reality TV show!), but most of all we discuss our practice, what went well in it, what didn't go quite so well and how we can improve. It is quite a integral part of ringing.
So it's great to have a new Enthusiastic Team at the Bell where we can go and have a social hour after our practice. Hannah and her team have been very welcoming
We had also had a very good meal there last week, and would very much recommend going.
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
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Last year, Karen (one of our Haughton ringers) took her son Samuel to see Stafford bells being re-hung and being in the engineering business couldn't help but get stuck into the job, by to lifting a bell into it's position and helping to install it. The bell hanger made a comment, that he should learn to ring so he could ring the bell he had just installed.
The task of teaching Samuel was given to me, and with his enthusiasm he quickly excelled and learnt to handle a bell and rang his bell at Stafford, but by then he had caught the 'ringing bug' and couldn't get enough.
He applied for a job at Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough which he got and so re-located there. Obviously having a bell foundry on your doorstep there are lots of towers around that area. Bell ringing is a brilliant way to meet new people particular after re-locating as you quickly get to know the local area by travelling around to different towers and you get to meet new friends. There's normally a practice to go to most nights of the week and so stopping in watching telly isn't an option.
Samuel wanted all of his friends from Haughton to ring at his new towers and visit his new area. so between us we made up a list of towers and started to organise a trip. He has already become Steeple Keeper at two of the towers.
The weekend was set for 16th 17th and 18th February, the trip was to start with a tour around Taylors Bell Foundry https://www.taylorbells.co.uk/ Guided tours of the foundry are run by Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust and more information can be found from here: https://belltrust.co.uk/ It's well worth a visit whether your are a bell ringer or not.
We then had lunch in the 'Ring O' Bells' Loughborough
Next we thought we'd better do some ringing so headed of to a little village called Belton. We were met and let in by a lovely lady called Val, she made us very welcome and had a ring with us.
We checked into our hotels and then went out for pizza.
Saturday 17th February
We started the day off ringing at Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire, S Paul (T). 6, 10–0–19 (517"kg) in G - LE12 8RT https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/13605 . We had been warned the day before by Val that access to the ringing room was quite unusual and she wasn't wrong.
Most of us manged to get up - Val even joined us from Belton.
The 2nd Tower: Oaks in Charnwood, Leicestershire, S James Greater (T). 8 (full-circle ring), 10–1–12 (526"kg) in A!- LE12 9YD https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/11164 The treble's stay had been broken the day before and so only very experienced ringers could ring it, limiting what we could ring, but we managed some goo rounds and call changes on the 8 and some Plain Bob and Grandsire doubles with 678 behind.
The 3rd Tower: Copt Oak, Leicestershire, S Peter (T). 6 (full-circle ring), 9–3–4 (497"kg) in A. Thu.SK482128Map - LE12 9XP - https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/15706
4th Tower: Prestwold, Leicestershire, S Andrew (T). 8 (full-circle ring), 10–2–21 (543"kg) in F#.SK577214Map - LE12 5SH - https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/13948
We left Prestwold to the afternoon as they had an open day on and they asked us if we could ring during the event.
It was then back to our hotels and a wander out in the evening for a curry.
Sunday 18th February
We joined the bell ringers at Loughborough to ring for their Sunday service they were very welcoming, and we enjoyed ringing rounds and call changes on 10, Grandsire Triples and Stedman Triples.
To give the non-ringers a break from our obsession of bell ringing, we planned a trip on the Great Central Stream Railway https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/on the Sunday afternoon.
That finished the tour up. As you can see Bell Ringing opens up many opportunities for the ringer, it gets you to many different interesting places where you would never think of going. Please come along and join in with us. Tuesday evening 8pm, at St. Giles Church Haughton.
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
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Big Ben was first heard on Radio 4 on 17th February 1924 and so this week has marked it's 100 years. The story of Big Ben can be heard on Radio 4 this Sunday (24th February) 12.15pm to 12.30pm Click the link to find out more:
Haughton Bell Ringers practice every Tuesday evening 8pm until 9pm (except for the 2nd Tuesday in the month, when the practice is moved to the Thursday of the same week) We welcome new ringers, and anyone who would like to visit us.
Please feel free to share this post by text, email or social media
