Following guidance received today the following towers have ceased all ringing until further notice in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID19:
Alton (All towers), Blackmoor, Bramshott, Buriton, Froxfield, Hawkley, Holybourne, Selborne, Steep, Warnford and West Meon
Other towers will be added once confirmation is received that they are also cancelling their ringing activities
Hope to see you all soon and stay well…
Steve
A&P Communications Officer
Category Archives: West Meon
Ringing cancellations due to COVID-19
Coronavirus: UK ringing should now be cancelled
The UK government has advised against all unnecessary social contact with immediate effect. The Prime Minister advised in a press conference of 16th March that now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.
The Central Council has released a statement in response to the UK government. They advise that If you haven’t already decided to cancel ringing activities, it seems that now is the time to do so.
The Ringing World agrees with this statement. It is hard to interpret the government’s guidance in any way other than that all planned ringing activities in the UK should now cease.
I have been made aware that ringing has been suspended at the following towers due to COVID-19 concerns:
Alton, St. Laurence, All Saints and Holybourne – all ringing suspended.
Alverstoke – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Basingstoke, St. Michael’s – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Blackmoor – all ringing suspended.
Bournemouth, St. John’s, St. Peters and Scared Heart – all ringing suspended.
Bramshott – all service and practice ringing until at least the end of March where the situation will be reviewed.
Brockenhurst – no ringing until further notice.
Buriton – all ringing suspended.
Catherington – ringing cancelled, but may be some limited Sunday ringing if services continue.
Christchurch Priory – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Eling – all ringing suspended.
Froxfield – all ringing suspended.
Havant – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Hawkley – all ringing suspended and the tied practices on 6-8-10th April postponed.
Hursley – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Newport – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Portsmouth Cathedral – all ringing suspended.
Purbrook – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Romsey – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Selborne – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Shanklin – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Shedfield – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Southampton (St. Mary’s, St. Michael’s and Bitterne Park) – all ringing suspended.
Steep – all ringing suspended.
Titchfield – all ringing suspended.
Upham – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Upton Grey – all ringing cancelled until further notice.
Warnford – all ringing suspended.
West Meon – all ringing suspended.
Wickham – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Winchester Cathedral – all ringing suspended until further notice.
Wonston – no practices until further notice.
Portsmouth District – all District events are cancelled including the April QDM.
Winchester District – all District events and the striking competition in May are cancelled until further notice.
Please let me know via wpbells@gmail.com of any other cancellations and I will add them to this list.
Thanks
Andrew Glover
W&P Guild Webmaster
January practice dates for Froxfield, Warnford and West Meon
Dear All
West Meon Practice – Monday 10th December

October practice dates for West Meon & Warnford
The practice dates and venues for West Meon and Warnford for October………
Monday 15th October – West Meon 7.30pm
Monday 29th October Warnford 7.30pm (if you haven’t been before or not a regular attendee, please phone first so that we can let you in the gate).
Teresa
07799 831426
September practice dates for Froxfield, West Meon and Warnford
Hi
The practices for Froxfield, West Meon & Warnford for September are as follows:-
FROXFIELD
Tuesday 11th September 7.30pm
Tuesday 25th September 7.30pm
WEST MEON/WARNFORD
Monday 10th September 7.30pm – WARNFORD
Monday 24th September – 7.30pm – WEST MEON
If you wish to come to Warnford and haven’t been before please contact me on 07799 831426 so that we can let you into the park.
Teresa
Practices in July for Froxfield, West Meon & Warnford
Practices in July for Froxfield, West Meon & Warnford as follows:-
WEST MEON & WARNFORD
Monday 9th July – West Meon
Monday 16th July – Warnford
Monday 23rd July – West Meon
FROXFIELD
Tuesday 17th July
If enough of us are available there may also be a practice at Froxfield on Tuesday 31st July – Watch this space.
All 7.30pm start – Visitors very welcome.
As you may be aware there is a coded gate at Warnford so please phone me on 07799 831426 if you haven’t been before.
Teresa
Practice dates confirmed for Froxfield, Warnford & West Meon during June
Practices dates for June
FROXFIELD – Tuesdays 5th & 19th June 7.30pm
WARNFORD – Monday 11th June 7.30pm (please phone 07799 831426 if you wish to join us – as the gated is coded)
WEST MEON – Monday 18th June 7.30pm
Visitors very welcome.
Teresa
April practice dates confirmed for Froxfield, Warnford & West Meon
Hi
April practices are as follows:-
Tuesday 3rd April & Tuesday 17th April – FROXFIELD
Monday 16th April – WARNFORD
Monday 30th April – WEST MEON
Visitors very welcome.
Teresa
West Meon no Christmas ringing
West Meon Ringing Times
Sundays: (contact tower sec)
Practices: Monday 2nd (contact tower sec.)
Training Places Available for Bellringers at West Meon
The Band at West Meon currently has capacity to take on new ringers. Tower Captain Gareth Higgins is an experienced teacher.
If you are interested, please email or phone the Tower Secretary:
A Brief Report on Our Executive Committee Meeting
STARTING WITH THE REALLY IMPORTANT BIT:
At the Guild AGM in Alresford on 2nd of July The Guild Committee needs a whole new team of officers to be elected.
This incredible Committee has steered the Guild into a new era. The Plans are in place, the signposts show the way and the commitment to improve, educate and modernise this vibrant and active community is stronger now than ever before. SO, Please think seriously about helping us to keep the Guild and ringing moving forward. If you have been a secretary or treasurer for a school committee, if you can take minutes or type them up from a Dictaphone recording, if you like collecting data or think ringing needs to have a different voice in the Central Council, now is the time to say ‘do you know what? I could give it a try’. The posts becoming vacant are:
- Master
- Vice-Master
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Librarian
- Peal recorder
- Report Editor
- Minutes Secretary
- CC reps (five of them)
- Child Protection Officer
- Independent Examiner
- BRF Trustees for the two dioceses
Other Noteworthy Items:
On a cold and sunny morning on 12th of March The Executive Committee Meeting was held in St Barnabas Church Hall in Southampton. 24 members were present with 8 apologies.
We all stood whilst the names of those who have passed away since November were read out.
- Roy Grayson (Purbrook)
- Roy Howard (Freshwater)
- Tom Metcalfe (Blackmoor)
- Ramon A Stone (life member, West Meon)
- David Yates (Arreton)
- Martin Routh (Former Tower Captain at Amport)
- Colin Nicholson (Formerly of St Peter Port)
With no matters arising from the last minutes the reports and accounts were accepted.
Interesting and noteworthy was that;
- Our Hon. Librarian and Archivist Bruce Purvis had asked for a budget increase to buy volumes of Order and Disorder which contain ringing extracts from 18th and 19th century newspapers.
- The Belfry Stewardship Committee planned on visiting and inspecting Droxford.
- The Bell Restoration Fund gave a report on the Trustees’ Meeting; David Mattingley said there were grants outstanding to All Saints’, Basingstoke augmented from 9 to 10 and awaiting sign-off by the Belfry Stewardship Committee, Houghton where work had started, and Ecchinswell where fundraising was continuing. At Wherwell higher priority work in the church had been identified and so the outstanding grant would be reduced to zero and the church asked to reapply when they were in a position to proceed with the bell restoration. A new grant application had been received from Northington where the plan was now to augment from 3 to 6 at a cost of £17,000 of which £13,500 had already been raised. The Trustees recommended a grant of £2,000. The Trustees agreed with Hugh Routh who pointed out that work on three clappers which was part of the original project specification had not been done and we should not pay grants towards the same work twice.
- Greg Jordan was elected onto the Striking Competition Committee
- These fine folks will be presented with Life Membership certificates at the AGM, after completing 50 years of membership! Congratulations to you all: John Croft (Winchester District Chairman), Alan Hoar of Odiham, Maureen Routh of Steep and Ronald Tipper of Buriton.
The Master reviewed The Guild Action Plan and suggested the setting up of 3 working groups:
- A small working group will be set up to consider the content, format and production costs of The Annual Guild Report. Discussions revolved around how many reports to print IE 1 per person or 1 per tower, sending it out digitally and if it could be produced in a more cost effective way.
- Interestingly, A working group to consider the compilation, presentation and costs of books, listing performances rung between 2014 and 2018 commemorating the WWI fallen, to be presented to Winchester and Portsmouth Cathedrals, and that the working group be authorised to register interest with the Heritage Lottery Fund.
-
Excitingly, A working group to consider the possibility of a centralised Ringing Training School for teaching new ringers.
The Committee were happy to support a funding request of £400 towards travel expenses of a joint team of young ringers from the Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Districts to represent the Guild in the competition at Epsom on Sat 2nd April 2016. The rest of the money would be found by the youngsters and their families by fund-raising. We wish them well.
After much discussion a rethink was agreed on the ‘welcome pack’ for new ringers. Whilst people though it (The ART Discover Ringing booklet and a contacts list) was a good idea, just who to give it to e.g. not many probationary members become ringers and how to get it to them was of concern.
The Communications Exec member gave a presentation on Social Media extolling its virtues and its pitfalls.
Future Dates worth noting are;
In the ‘Any Other Business’ section issues discussed were;-
- The arrangements for the Central Council (CCCBR) weekend at the end of May are well under way. There has been a good response to calls volunteers and Guild members are encouraged and welcome to attend the open meeting and Songs of Praise service both on Sunday afternoon.
- If a volunteer can be found the requests for Guild sweatshirt production can continue.
- If there was a form for making a bequest to the Guild. The answer was no it can be put into your Will.
- Ropley Church was expected to be rebuilt between 2016-2018.
- The Master promoted the Mid-Monthly Ringing Tours & the next one is on 13th April.
We were all done by 12:00 Then a long and very fast quarter peal of Grandsire Doubles ensued.
Firsts Fortnight Report from West Meon – Calling Call Changes
Janet Drever called her first call changes on eight bells Queens and back, at West Meon. Well done
Photo by David Forder
Alton and Petersfield District Practice 12th March 5.30pm
A&P Surprise Practice (Dec 19th) Moving Venue
Now at Holybourne time 5-30 to 7-00
Not at west meon as stated on notice
All welcome see you all on the 19th December
From graham
A&P District Surprise Major Practice Sat 19th Dec
Hello all
Just wanted to confirm a change to the advertised venue and time of the next Suprise Major practice. This will now be held at Holybourne from 5.30 to 7.00pm on Saturday 19th December,
not West Meon from 6.00 to 7.30 as shown on the poster.
Many thanks, Valerie
Funeral of Ramon (Ray) A Stone, Tuesday 1st December, West Meon
Forthcoming events in Alton and Petersfield
Contact Edwin Grimshaw
Telephone: 01730 829287
Address: 4 Knapps Hard, West Meon, Petersfield, GU32 1LE
Email: Use Form