Tag Archives: Limehouse

Remembrance Sunday at Limehouse

Piers, Bo, Lina and Justina

With 15 ringers available, we had enough ringers, not only ring half muffled at Rotherhithe this morning, but also to split in two and ring at Bermondsey and Limehouse at the same time!

Over recent months we have grown the band so that we have enough ringers to able to do this more regularly. Piers, Bo, Lina and Justina all started learning to ring in August. They have learnt quickly, having benefitted from some intensive handling sessions with plenty of ‘rope time’ and use of our simulators to practice striking. They are all now ringing rounds and call changes sufficiently well to be able to ring together at Limehouse this morning.

This was also the first time that they had rung half muffled, enabling them to tick another box in their 50 Ringing Things book (two for those that helped fit/remove the muffles).

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers announced this morning that working in Partnership with the Government, in a year’s time, on Nov 11th 2018 they are looking for: 

1.     As much bell ringing in as many towers as possible, with half-muffled ringing in the morning, and open bells in the afternoon and evening.

2.     Ringing as part of the large-scale British project, ‘Battle’s Over – A Nation’s Tribute’. Pipers will be piping in the morning, bugles sounding and 1,000 beacons lit across the UK in the evening; with1,000 towers ringing at 7.05pm on the day.

3.     Recruiting and training 1,400 new ringers in 2018, the same number as those who fell in the Great War, to take part in this ringing

Piers, Bo, Lina and Justina show that with intensive tuition it is quite feasible to train new bell ringers and have them ringing well enough to ring together on Sundays within a few months. Enquires from people wishing to learn in time for 2018 are already coming in as a result of today’s nationwide publicity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41957521

 

Packed tower at St Anne’s Limehouse

Some of the helpers (l to r) Naoko, Roger, Simon, Emma, Greg, Bo, Piers, Alan, JJ Andrew, Gillian, Lily.

People were queuing before mid-day to come and meet the ringers, see the bells and climb to the top of the tower at St Anne’s Limehouse at the tower open day on Sunday 10th September.

Advertised on the Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs Facebook Page and the Heritage Open Days website, and with a parish fun-day going on in the churchyard, we must have had over 120 members of the public come up the tower. At times, particularly in the first three hours, it was very hectic. There were almost too many people and the Rector and Churchwardens were very pleased and impressed with the response.

We were able to demonstrate the bells being rung, ringing some rounds and a few call changes on 6, 8 or 10 bells every 20 minutes or so. We then took people up to the top of the tower, past the bells and clock, where they could admire the view and listen to a brief talk about the history of the building.

On the way down, they were invited to have a go and talk to the ringers, whilst the next group went up. It was particularly pleasing that some of our newer ringers, who have only been ringing for a few months (even weeks) were able to take part and talk to members of the public about Learning the Ropes.

As a result of this event, we have several people’s contact details to follow up. With the other new ringers that we have at Greenwich, Isle of Dogs and Bermondsey, we are going to be busy teaching them to handle over the next few weeks, and hopefully they will be ringing rounds at practices and on Sundays by October.

Demonstrating ringing, with members of the public watching on

Demonstrating ringing, with members of the public watching on

 

 

JJ Explains ringing to some non ringers

The feather banners outside

The ten bells, viewed through the sound control floor from above

The Thomas More clock, installed in 1852 after the great fire

 

 

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.

Summer funday