Bell Ringing

The Bells of St Mary Magdalene

St. Mary Magdalene in Stoke Bishop, Bristol has a ring of 6 bells cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in London in 1978. The lightest of the bells (called the “treble”) weighs 3 cwt (“hundredweight”) tuned to G and the heaviest (known as the “tenor”) weighs 7¾ cwt and is tuned to Bb. A complete list of the bells and their inscriptions is included below.

History of the bells

Bells The first bells in Stoke Bishop were cast by John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough and rung for the first time in September 1874. After an enforced silence during the second world war, ringing was restarted under the leadership of Dr Robin Brocklehurst (Churchwarden 1939-60), recruiting the ringers from within St Mary's. Since then the bells have been rung regularly for Sunday services, weddings and practices.
Shortly after the bells' centenary year, St Mary's PCC took the decision to have the bells recast in a lighter peal which would be more suitable for a church in a built-up area. The operation was to cost £8,500 and an appeal was launched in October 1977 to fund it. Because the bells are appreciated by more than just those who come to church, the appeal was extended to everyone in the parish, and it is a measure of the esteem in which the bells are held that over £5,000 (£30,000 in today's terms) had been given or covenanted in 16 days and the whole sum raised by the end of the year. The new bells were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The original wooden frame was replaced by a cast iron one and lowered to its current position. The bells were upgraded from plain bearing to the current set of ball bearings and will serve Stoke Bishop for many more generations.

Links to other sites

St Mary Magdalene is a member of Bristol branch of The Gloucester & Bristol Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers.

We are also governed by The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

Ringing

The bells have traditionally been used to ring out to call worshippers to the church every Sunday morning and on Sunday evenings whenever there is a service. There is a small band of ringers who ring for weddings and at other times as required. The band meets to practise bi-monthly on the second and fourth Thursday of the month.

Visiting ringers are welcome with prior consent.

For further information please contact Simon Tomlinson (Tower Contact) on 0117 962 4020 or the Church Office on 0117 968 7449 or email office@stmarysb.org.uk

Details of The Bells of St. Mary Magdalene

No.	Weigh (cwt-qtrs-lbs)	Tuning	Inscription
1	3-0-14	G	Laudate Dominum In Coelis In thankfulness for all Ringers of this Church
2	3-1-12	F	Laudate Eum In Excelsis In thankfulness for all Vergers of this church
3	3-3-20	Eb	Laudate Eum Omnes Angeli Ejus In joyful memory of James Benet Bennett 1977
4	4-2-14	D	Laudate Eum Omnes Virtutes Ejus In joyful memory of Winifred Mary Codrington 1977
5	5-3-24	C	Laudate Eum In Firmamento Virtutis In joyful memory of Henry Louis Bothamley 1976
6	7-3-0	Bb	Omnis Spiritus Laudet Dominum Alleluia In joyful memory of William Edward George 1921

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click to see more

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is for those planning a visit, so that you know what to expect if you come to a service at St Mary’s.

Where and When

We meet at St Mary's Church for our Sunday services, find us on the map and you can read more about the different styles of worship here. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space (parking is mainly on the roadside on Mariners Drive) and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a lanyard.

about us2

Our Services

Sunday 9am - our more traditional service with Holy Communion.
Sunday 10.30am - contemporary worship (alternating each week to include either our SHINEonSundays children's groups or Communion for Everyone (see below).
Alternate Sundays 4pm - Explore@4

Click here for the dates for the term.

Everyone is welcome at any of our services and all of them will include singing, prayers, a Bible reading, a talk and ways to respond to what we have heard. There is usually an opportunity to receive prayer during or at the end of the service.

Please do just come as you are, you don't have to wear anything special and you don't have to join in, you are free to simply observe or participate as much as feels comfortable to you.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access into the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is an accessible toilet in the church and several toilets, including baby changing facilities, in the foyer of the church hall. If you need Communion to be brought to you, please let one of the Welcome Team know when you arrive.

Communion: At our services where there is Communion there will always be gluten-free wafers or bread available. All the wine will be alcoholic but if you prefer not to partake for any reason then you can still receive Communion in full just by having the bread. We prefer people not to dip their bread or wafer into the wine. All who love Jesus and want to follow Him are welcome to receive Communion. If you would prefer to come forwards to receive a blessing from the person leading the service, please do so.

Please note: we sometimes have a combined service on Sunday mornings during August and occasionally at other points in the year, so do check out our calendar just to double check the timings!

What happens for children and young people at church?

Families are welcome at all our services. At the 10.30am services on alternate weeks we offer groups for 0-12’s during the service. On alternate weeks at 4pm we offer Explore@4 which is specifically aimed at families, helping children and adults grow in faith together.

Sundays children and youth

On Week A we will have our SHINEonSundays groups for 0-12 year olds. We start the service together in church then the groups meet in the hall for 30-40 mins whilst the service continues. You will need to go with your children the first time and register them. You can then return to hear the talk once your children are settled and we will reunite for the end of the service.

On Week B for we have Communion for Everyone and everyone remains in church worshipping together. On these weeks we also offer our 4pm Explore@4 which is aimed at helping families to worship, learn and grow together, through song, discussion, reflection, interactive activities and creativity.

Click here for the Week A / Week B dates for this term.

For more information about what happens in the children's and youth work, there is more information on our Sundays page and on our Community page.

Does anything happen during the week?

Yes, the church is usually open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm for visitors and those who wish to use the building for private prayer.

We also have a short communion service on Tuesdays at 11.15am which follows our Connect group on Tuesday. You can find more about that group here.

There are other groups and activities during the week including a baby and toddler group, youth group and activities for our more senior members. For other events and during the week look at our calendar here.

Getting Connected

Emails

Every Friday a Church Family Email is sent out containing a Thought for the Week from one of the church leaders and information for the coming week. To sign up for these please click here.

Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know people. Being part of one of our home groups might help you to make new friends and grow in faith. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Read more here Home Groups.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church you can sign up to serve on a team, usually we encourage people to be involved with the church for a few months before joining teams.

Other Ministries

For other ministries, check out our Church Life part of the website.

Leadership


Jema Ball		Simon Potter
Vicar		Associate Vicar

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.