All Saints Wokingham is a community focused church. As part of that, the ringers offer:
See also
This talk gives an overview of English-style bellringing, including how it evolved, what makes it special and how bells and bell music work. We can adapt the length to suit your needs – anything from a 15 minute after dinner speech to a full evening presentation with slides and sound. The talk can cover all aspects of bells and ringing, but will give more or less emphasis to different aspects, depending on the interests of your group. For example talks to history groups say much more about the historical aspects of ringing, talks to musical groups say more about the musical aspects, and talks to children include plenty of interaction. Let us know your needs, and we will adapt to them. We can offer talks during the day as well as in the evening. Contact us if you are interested.
This talk looks at the lives and times of ringers in Wokingham. It takes the same 300-year time-span as the book Living Heritage on which it is based – since the oldest bells were installed in 1704. The talk looks at the 18th century when ringing was a public sport, at Victorian reform of both the church and ringers, and at the 20th century, when the band evolved through the trials of two world wars and into the modern era. It looks at how the ringers related to both the community around them, and to the church whose bells they rang. The talk lifts the lid on the very special, fascinating, and largely hidden world of the men and women who kept alive an ancient art in this English market town. [Back to top]
There is no substitute for seeing the real thing. We can accommodate parties from around six up to about 20 fairly easily. Access is by spiral stairs, and you go right to the top of the tower, so all of your group need to be capable of doing this. Tower visits are normally in the evening, and most people prefer the summer months when it is light enough to get a good view from the tower roof. Daytime visits can some times be arranged too. A standard visit includes a brief introduction in the ringing room, to English style ringing and the unique way of hanging bells that makes it possible, with a demonstration of a bell being rung. That is followed by visits to:
If you would like a tower visit for your group, please contact us .
Talks given to date include the following groups: Westcott School, Inner Wheel, All Saints Mothers' Union, Wokingham Activity Group, Wokingham Rotarians, Wokingham History Group, Trefoil Guild, Bracknell Rotarians, Rose St Women's Fellowship, California Mothers Union, ProBus, Reading Association of Women Graduates, Salvation Army Friday Fellowship Club, Civil Service Retirement Fellowship, Wokingham U3A, Finchampstead Society History & Heritage Group, Winnersh History Group, Palmer School, National Women's Register, Farnborough & District U3A, Westende Junior School, Keephatch Primary School, Emmbrook Senior Citizens Club, Hawley Primary School, Frogmore Primary School, All Saints Junior Church, All Saints Primary School, St Crispins School.
Tower visits hosted to date include the following groups: 4th Wokingham Beavers, Ascot Ladies Circle, Winnersh History Group, Wokingham U3A, Wokingham Welsh Society, Wokingham Methodists,Woosehill Scouts, National Women's Register, Wokingham Beavers, Wokingham Cubs, Berkshire Family History Society, Bracknell Young Farmers Club, Wokingham Inner Wheel, Woodley Scouts, Wokingham Brownies, All Saints congregation.
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