There have been 3 bells in Bishopstoke since the end of the 16th century although nothing is known about any ringing before the 20th century. These bells rang from three different churches on the former site of St Mary's.
In 1910 the bells, dated 1589, 1598 and 1600, were transferred from the 1825 church to the newly built tower of the present church. At the same time two more bells were added to make a ring of 5. In their previous home the bells were probably just swing-chimed. Now they were hung for full-circle ringing. There has been an active team of ringers at St Mary's since this time.
In 1920 a sixth bell was added. Finally, in 1921, two more bells were installed as war memorials. This completed the octave which rang from the tower until 1995.
By the early 1990s the bells were becoming hard to ring and needed a good overhaul. At that time the team of ringers was probably about as strong as it had ever been. The ringers decided to continue the augmentation process but completely replace the tonally poor bells with a brand new, modern tuned ring of ten. Consequently, most of the old bells were sold off individually to various churches around the world, the frame was strengthened and the Whitechapel bell-foundry supplied the current superb ring of ten bells.
As an interesting aside, by 1995, the Whitechapel foundry had only cast three complete rings of ten bells since the Second World War and the one prior to Bishopstoke's was for Westminster Abbey!
Although the current team of ringers at St Mary's consists of about 20 people with an age range from pre-teens to retirees, quite a few no longer live locally and are not seen regularly. New recruits are always welcome.
The ringers form a skilled team and regularly win trophies in ringing competitions in Hampshire.
As well as ringing at St Mary's, the ringers also have regular trips to ring at other churches. They also arrange other non-ringing social events like their annual dinner.
If anybody would like to have a go at bell-ringing and join in with an enthusiastic and sociable group then there is little to stop them beyond the 26 steps up to the ringing room. The ringers welcome visitors on Sunday mornings and on Thursday evenings from 19:30 till 21:00.
Please contact us for more information
