New Method Rung and Named at Hornchurch

For a new method to be named, it has to be rung to a full peal.

At St Andrew’s we named a new method ‘Hornchurch Surprise Major’ after ringing it to a peal on Christmas Eve 1996.

On Saturday 8th October 2016, a new method (Vennington Alliance Royal) was rung and named by a visiting peal band from the Nottingham area:

Southwell and Nottingham Diocesan Guild
Hornchuch, Greater London

St. Andrew

Saturday, 8 October 2016 in 3h 4 (18–0–0)

5004 Vennington A Royal

Composed by Ian Butters

1. Ruth Curtis
2. Paul M Mason
3. Ian Butters (C)
4. Christopher N McCarthy
5. Susan E Marshall
6. Adrian P Sweeting
7. Peter S Lacy
8. Anthony P Cotton
9. Paul F Curtis
10. Brian G Meads

First peal in the method.
Vennington Alliance Royal
-30-1456-56-10-12-18-70-18-70, Group B.

A short 5 minute extract from the peal is available below:

Trainee Bell Ringers Perform Well

St Andrew’s and South Ockendon bell ringers entered 2 teams for a striking competition designed to encourage new bell ringers to take part.

Each team consisted of 6 ringers of which the majority were new recruits having never taken part in such a competition before.

The competition was held at Dagenham Parish Church with 4 teams from the SW District of Essex taking part. Each team had to ring for between 5 and 8 minutes whilst the conductor moved the bells to different positions (Call Changes).

Despite lots of nerves and apprehension, both of our teams successfully completed their test pieces and finished in 2^nd and 4^th places, losing out to Epping in 1^st place. All have resolved to take part again next year.

The photo shows some of the ringers who took part:
L – R: Rosemarie Edwards, Terry Thornhill, Rose Kaziro, Steve Sampson, Michelle Long, John Stephenson and Jane Harper.

Visit of Niue Return Services Association to St Andrew’s

During World War I, men from the New Zealand army were stationed at Grey Towers in Hornchurch where their hospital was based.

Among them were 150 men from the Pacific Island of Niue who fought in France, with the allies, in the Battle of the Somme. Four of them died in Hornchurch of illness during June 1916 and their graves are in St Andrew’s Churchyard.

As part of the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme commemorations, a party from the Niue Return Services Association came to St Andrew’s for a special service of Remembrance and to visit the graves of their fellow countrymen.

A quarter peal was rung prior to the service and a commemorative plaque, shown below, is to be installed inside St Andrew’s Church.

Hornchurch, Essex
St Andrew (18–0–0 in E♭)
Saturday, 17 September 2016

1. John W Stephenson
2. Ros C Skipper
3. Rebecca A Woolward
4. Gavin S Carpenter
5. Clive J Stephenson (C)
6. Anthony F Ammerlaan

Prior to a service commemorating the 100 years since soldiers from The Niue Islands fought alongside British troops on the Western Front in World War I.

Four such soldiers have graves in St Andrew’s churchyard, having died at a convalescent hospital based in Hornchurch at that time.

Click to enlarge

Bell Ringers Success in Striking Competition

On 9^th July 2016, St Andrew’s bell ringers took part in The Essex Association striking competition finals at Mistley (near Harwich).

There were 11 teams taking part from all over Essex and each team had to ring 240 changes of any method.

This means concentrating hard for about 8 or 9 minutes whilst the judges listen for any irregularities (faults) in the ringing, for example, when 2 bell ‘clash’ together.

Each team is then given a total number of faults and the team with the least faults wins.

Our team performed well, registering 51 faults out of a possible 240 and finished 7^th out of the 11 teams taking part.

The team was a mixture of youth and experience and included 2 young ringers from South Ockendon:

L–R: Clare Merivale, Jonathan Mills, Gavin Carpenter, Paul Bloomfield, Chris Pain and Clive Stephenson

Bell Ringing for The Queen’s 90th Bithday

On Saturday 11^th June, a largely Essex band successfully completed a peal of Plain Bob Royal as part of The Queen’s 90^th birthday celebrations.

All 10 bells were rung to Plain Bob Royal and the bells were ringing for 3 hours and 12 minutes.

The peal also marked the 95^th birthday of The Duke of Edinburgh.

Full details are as follows:

Essex Association

Hornchurch, Essex
St Andrew

Saturday, 11 June 2016 in 3 hr 12 min (18–0–0 in E♭)

5040 Plain Bob Royal

Composed by Daniel Brady

1. Paul J Bloomfield
2. M Louise Booth
3. Jillian Laken
4. Colin Friend
5. Colin G Wright
6. David E Rothera
7. Owen C R Webster
8. William J Stungo
9. Matthew E Rayner
10. Clive J Stephenson (C)

Rung as part of H M The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.

Also to mark the 95th birthday of The Duke of Edinburgh.

First of Royal – 4.

L-R Paul Bloomfield, Clive Stephenson, Louise Booth, Matthew Rayner, Jillian Laken, Will Stungo, Colin Friend, Owen Webster, Colin Wright, David Rothera