About Us
Pewsey Vale Bellringers - how it all began
Our band of ringers really enjoy bellringing - so much so that we
ring at four different churches!
Our band began many years ago, with its core members ringing at St Peter's, Milton Lilbourne
on Thursday evenings, for Sunday services, and to mark special occasions. Back in 2015 we realised that the Milton Lilbourne bells and ancient bell-frame needed to be renovated
- and that we'd need to find somewhere else to get our ringing 'fix' during the many months that our bells would be out of action...
....enter, St John the Baptist, Pewsey
- without a full band, the bells at Pewsey had fallen silent, and so we began not only to ring at Pewsey, but also to recruit new members who wanted to learn how to ring. In just a few weeks, 13 people came forward - some returning ringers, and some complete novices! https://sdgr.org.uk/milton-lilbourne-and-pewsey-bells/.
Not long afterwards, hearing of this successful recruiting campaign, the incumbent and the churchwarden at St Mary's, Upavon
asked whether we would try and recruit a band for their church - whose bells hadn't been rung regularly for over a decade! The existing band members leapt at the chance, but said that, rather than having 3 separate bands for the 3 churches, they wanted to be part of a COMBINED bellringing band - and so, Pewsey Vale Bellringers band was created!
More recently, in the summer of 2022, the ringers of St Andrew's Church, Wootton Rivers
asked to be included in the combined Pewsey Vale Bellringers band, and so we are delighted to ring there too.
Pewsey Vale Bellringers - a friendly band
The Pewsey Vale Bellringers are a friendly bunch, who enjoy the camaraderie and relaxed atmosphere that our Tower Captain, Chris Wardell, is keen to cultivate. A ringer himself for over 40 years, Chris and his experienced ringers work 1:1 with each learner to ensure safety, effective bell-handling and to develop the learner's confidence at their own pace. They teach novices on 'tied' (ie silent) bells in Pewsey tower at 19:00 on some Tuesday evenings, so that bell-handling can be practiced without upsetting the neighbours!
Once able to ring competent rounds with confidence and accuracy, our ringers move onto ringing for Sunday services and then learn new ringing methods with the full band at practice sessions on Tuesday evenings (Pewsey), Wednesday evenings (Upavon) and Thursday evenings (Milton Lilbourne).
Several times a year we organise ringing outings - usually day-trips on a Saturday - although our most recent trip was a weekend visit to ring in some towers on the Isle of Wight, which was great fun, as you can see from the photos in the special section of our Gallery dedicated to our IOW trip!
New Paragraph
Please note that this site specifically relates to bellringing at Milton Lilbourne, Pewsey, Upavon & Wootton Rivers churches (we call ourselves Pewsey Vale Bellringers), and any information or views included are those of the bellringers - these do not necessarily represent those of the churches, their incumbents, their PCCs, or the Salisbury diocese
