Category Archives: News

Summer Funday and Tower Tours

On Sunday 6th September, between 2pm and 4pm there will be a rare opportunity to enjoy a behind the scenes guided tour of the tower at St Anne’s Church in Limehouse. Designed by Wren’s assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor and built 1714-1727, St Anne’s was one of twelve churches built to serve the new suburbs after the great fire of London, funded by a tax on coal coming up the River Thames. The church did not open till 1730 because a change in government repealed the tax before the work was complete.

This historic church was almost completely gutted by fire in 1850. It was restored between 1851 and 1854 by Philip Hardwick.

With support from the London Docklands Development Corporation, the roof and tower were again restored between 1983 and 1997, and completed when a ring of eight bells was finally added, these bells having previously hung in the tower of St Peter’s Church, Walworth in South London. Two more bells were cast at the Whitechapel Bellfoundry in 2004 to complete the present ring of ten bells.

Those coming on Sunday on Sunday afternoon will be able to climb to the top and see the restored Victorian clock mechanism and admire the view across the local area. The Docklands Ringers will also be on hand to demonstrate the bells being rung, you will be able to have a go. You will also be able to view inside the main roofspace and see how the Victorian timbers have been ingeniously strengthened with a delicate space age tubular steel framework, threaded between the old timbers.

If you can’t make 6th September, the Docklands Ringers will be holding a ‘taster evening’ on Wednesday 9th September between 7.30 and 9.00pm when you can also come up and see the tower and find out more about the bells.

Half muffled quarter at Bermondsey for local undertaker

The funeral procession through Bermondsey

The Senior Undertaker during the repatriation ceremony of ten British Servicemen killed when the C130 Hercules they were travelling in crashed in Iraq.

Barry Albin-Dyer: The Senior Undertaker during the repatriation ceremony of ten British Servicemen killed when the C130 Hercules they were travelling in crashed in Iraq.

Today we rang a half muffled quarter peal of Plain Bob Triples as the cortege of Barry Albin-Dyer passed the church.

http://www.bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=468504

The following is taken from Barry’s obituary in the Daily Telegraph:

Barry Albin-Dyer, who has died of cancer aged 64, was for 30 years the chairman of F A Albin & Sons, a venerable firm of funeral directors in Bermondsey, south London, which was tasked by the MoD with organising the repatriation and funerals of members of the Armed Forces who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Clad in immaculate top hat and undertaker’s frock-coat and brandishing a cane, Albin-Dyer was a familiar sight at Bermondsey funerals, as well as at Wootton Bassett (and later Brize Norton), leading the cortege in the tradition known as “paging”.

It was Albin-Dyer who walked ahead of the flower-draped vintage Rolls-Royce containing the coffin of Jade Goody, the reality television star, in 2009. When the procession arrived at the market in Bermondsey where Jade Goody’s grandfather had kept a stall, Albin-Dyer released a white dove from a cage.

His pall-bearers also officiated at the funeral of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor in 2001.

Docklands Ringers gets social!

I’m pleased to announce two new additions to the DRC Communications network…

If you are on Twitter or Facebook, please Follow and Like our pages. We hope that they will be useful to showcase the range of events and activities of the Docklands Ringers and so we therefore also invite you to tweet, post, contribute, mention, tag and hashtag about all your ringing adventures – from practice night to Sunday ringing and from the tower to the pub.

Great creative and we will retweet and share!

Bring your sunglasses!!!

We have now spent two days at Bermondsey clearing out the handbell room and simulator area, repairing the ceiling and painting the staircase at the back of the organ leading up to the ringing room, with Mike, Morag and Luigi helping so far.

We are opening up the tower to visitors for the parish fair on Saturday afternoon 20th June and will be running some ‘taster’ events the following Tuesday, and another on the Tuesday after the Bermondsey Carnival on Saturday afternoon 4th July, and hopefully training some new ringers afterwards, so we want the tower to be spick and span and as welcoming as possible.

Today’s work has made a dramatic difference and as Mike says, you will need to bring your sunglasses next time you come to ring. It is just so bright!

We probably need to spend another two sessions freshening up the paintwork on the remaining walls and woodwork, and cleaning up afterwards, so if you know how to use a roller or paintbrush (or would like to learn). Please let Roger know and we will sort out some dates over the next five weeks.

Mike Todd says bring your sunglasses – The staircase behind the organ at St James’

Two Stepney Ladies, Born a Century Apart

Scarlett, born 2015 and Constance, born 1915.

Stepney bells rang out again after the service on Sunday 12 April in special celebration of the 100th birthday of Constance. The most senior member of the congregation, the birthday girl is pictured here with Father Chris and Scarlett, on that day aged three weeks – the congregation’s youngest member.

Following long touches of some very lovely called changes, Churchwarden Angela came bounding upstairs bearing ebulient thanks from Constance and her two daughters. We were then invited to partake in birthday cake saved especially for the ringers, which added greatly to our enjoyment of ringing for such a special occasion.

Special thanks go to ringing colleagues Tom, Juliet, Alastair and Tony who came from St Vedast Foster Lane, joining Elizabeth, Eva, Jennifer, Julian, Kevin and Mark and enabling us to ring all 10 of Stepney’s fine bells. Nothing less would have been appropriate on such an occasion: needless to say it’s not every day a member of our congregation celebrates 100 years of life. It was a very great honour to ring and contribute to the festivities. Many Happy Returns, Connie!