Go to newer news 15-December-2023
| Date | Event |
| 27 November 2011 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles was rung before evening service on Advent Sunday. See d etails. |
| 30 October 2011 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung before evening service. Congratulations to Siân Haseldine on ringing her first quarter peal of Surprise on an inside bell. See details. |
| 29 October 2011 | A peal of 5088 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung for the Patronal Festival of All Saints. See details |
| 16 October 2011 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung before evening service. See details. |
| 18 September 2011 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor was rung before evening service. See details. |
| 11 September 2011 | Over 100 members of the public visited the tower, which was open for Heritage Weekend, see details. In keeping with this year's Wokingham theme of 'The 1950s' we showed posters about ringing in the 1950s . If you were one of the many people who took photographs of the action, would you like to share your pictures? Contact us. |
| 7 September 2011 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung as a farewell compliment to Mhairi Miller, going to St Andrews University. See details. |
| 12 June 2011 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung as a 90th birthday compliment to HRH Duke of Edinburgh. Congratulations to Jack Stanford on ringing his first quarter peal. See details. |
| 15 May 2011 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung before evening service. See details. |
| 29 April 2011 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung as a wedding compliment to Prince William & Kate Middleton. See details. |
| 16 April 2011 | All Saints entered two teams in the Sonning Deanery 6-bell striking competition at Waltham St Lawrence. They were placed 2nd and 4th out of 6. Congratulations to Oliver James and Jack Stanford on ringing in their first competition. |
| 20 February 2011 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung before evening service. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller on ringing her first quarter peal of Surprise on an inside bell. See details. |
| 29 January 2011 | A peal of 5056 changes of Plain Bob Major was rung on the morning of the ringers' annual dinner. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller on ringing her first peal on an inside bell. See details. |
| 1 January 2011 | A Date Touch of 2011 changes of spliced Plain and Middlesex Little Bob Major was rung to welcome the New Year. See details |
| 28 November 2010 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung before the Advent Carol Service . See details |
| 14 November 2010 | A quarter peal of 1288 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung half-muffled before evening service on Remembrance Sunday . See details |
| 31 October 2010 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Triples was rung before evening service on All Saints Sunday . See details |
| 17 October 2010 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung before evening service. See details |
| 2 October 2010 | An All Saints team represented Sonning Deanery in the Oxford Diocesan Guild 6-bell striking competition and was placed 6th out of 10. See picture |
| 26 September 2010 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung before evening service on Harvest Festival. See details |
| 18 September 2010 | A peal of 5040 changes of spliced Cambridge Surprise Major, Wokingham Surprise Major, Canada Delight Major, Trafalgar Square Surprise Major, Edmonton Bob Major was rung as a compliment to Andy and Cara Smith on the day of their wedding blessing at All Saints. Andy grew up in Wokingham, studied in Cambridge, proposed to Cara in Trafalgar Square and the happy couple now live near Edmonton, Canada. See details |
| 12 September 2010 | 80 members of the public visited the tower , which was open as part of Wokingham's contribution to National Heritage Day. See details The event triggered a burst of activity on the website, as many visitors obviously wanted to finmd out more about ringing. |
| 20 June 2010 | 40 members of All Saints congregation enjoyed a tour up the tower after morning service. It included demonstration of how a bell is rung, and visits to the upper levels of the tower to see the historic clock, the bells, and the spectacular view from the tower roof. |
| 23 April 2010 | All Saints bells rang out on St George's Day, as part of a nationwide initiative to 'Ring for England'. |
| 17 April 2010 | An All Saints team won the Sonning Deanery 6-bell striking competition. See details and pictures |
| 4 April 2010 | A quarter peal of 1264 changes of Plain Bob Major was rung before evening service on Easter Day. See details |
| 28 March 2010 | A quarter peal of 1376 changes of Plain Bob Major was rung before evening service on Palm Sunday. See details |
| 14 March 2010 | A quarter peal of 1280 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung before evening service on Mothering Sunday. See details |
| 20 February 2010 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Stedman Triples was rung by a local band in memory of Rev FE Robinson who was buried in this churcyhard on 19 February 1910. See details. |
| 16 February 2010 | A peal of 5040 changes of Stedman Triples was rung on the centenary of the death of Rev FE Robinson on 16 February 1910. See details. |
| 30 January 2010 | A peal of 5056 changes of Superlative Surprise Major was rung on the morning of the ringers' annual dinner. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller on ringing her first peal. See details. |
| 25 January 2010 | At the tower AGM, Nigel Mellor was elected to succeed Jon Tutcher, who had stood down as Ringing Master, and Mhairi Miller was elected to fill the vacant post of Steeple Keeper. Congratulations to Mhairi who is the youngest member ever to hold the office. |
| 5 January 2010 | Heavy snowfall during the night caused extensive damage to the large cedar tree in the churchyard. This tree is of special significance to the ringers, since next to it is the grave of Rev FE Robinson, founder and first master of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, and the first person ever to ring 1000 peals. One heavy branch fell across the top of Robinson's grave, and broke the adjacent grave where several members of his family are buried. Had the adjacent wall not taken the impact, his grave would probably have been broken also. See pictures. |
| 1 January 2010 | A Date Touch of 2010 changes of spliced Plain and Middlesex Little Bob Major was rung to welcome the New Year. See details |
| 13 December 2009 | A performance of 350 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung at 3pm as part of the World Council of Churches' call to world leaders at the Climate Change talks in Copenhagen. See details |
| 17 November 2009 | New pages added to this site to record historic artefacts from the tower, and a brief history of ringing at All Saints. |
| 15 November 2009 | A quarter peal of Cambridge Surprise Minor was rung before evening service, as an engagement compliment to Andrew Smith and Cara Polet. |
| 11 November 2009 | A half muffled quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Triples was rung on the evening of Remembrance Day. |
| 8 November 2009 | A half muffled quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung before evening service on Remembrance Sunday. |
| 4 November 2009 | A new book about ringing at All Saints has been published. The book Living Heritage – 300 years of bells, ringing and bellringers is the result of four years research by John Harrison, an All Saints ringer. For more details see here. |
| 31 October 2009 | A peal of 5056 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung on the eve of All Saints day. |
| 17 October 2009 | An All Saints team was placed a close 2nd in the Sonning Deanery 8-bell striking competition held at Sonning. |
| 3 October 2009 | An All Saints team represented Sonning Deanery in the Oxford Diocesan Guild 6-bell striking competition and was placed 3rd out of 8. |
| 20 July 2009 | A quarter peal of 1320 changes of Cambridge Surprise Minor was rung for evening service |
| 31 May 2009 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor was rung for evening service on Whit Sunday. |
| 17 May 2009 | For evensong |
| 9 May 2009 | An invited band rang a peal of 5088 changes of Kirkby-in-Ashfield Surprise Major to mark 50 years since John Harrison, All Saints longest serving ringer, learnt to ring at St Wilfrids, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, a small Nottinghamshire (ex) mining town. See picture of the band. |
| 18 April 2009 | An All Saints team won the Sonning Deanery 6-bell striking competition held at Binfield, ringing a test piece of 240 changes of Cambridge Surprise Minor |
| 12 April 2009 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung for Easter and remembering Joan and John Rance (parents of 3) who were married at this Church on 15th April 1939. |
| 5 April 2009 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung for evening service on Palm Sunday. Also for the marriage of Rebecca Woodward (daughter of 3) to Stephen Jones on 4th April, and 18th birthday complement to Emily Mellor, and 16th birthday complement to Mhairi Miller. |
| 22 March 2009 | A quarter peal of 1280 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung for evening service on Mothering Sunday. Congratulations to Liz Davanport ringing her first of Surprise Major. |
| 26 January 2009 | At the tower AGM, Jon Tutcher was elected as Ringing Master, to succeed Simon Farrar who stood down. Steve Smith was elected Deputy Foreman. Jon Tutcher, Mary Spence and John Harrison were re-elected as Treasurer, Secretary and Foreman respectively. The post of Steeple Keeper remains vacant, with the Foreman doing the job until a new appointment is made. |
| 17 January 2009 | A performance of 800 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major was rung to mark the 800th anniversary of Cambridge University. The ringers were all members of the Cambridge University Guild of Change Ringers, and included two current members of the All Saints band. This performance was part of a world-wide effort, with ringing in and around Cambridge, arcoss the UK, and as far afield as Australia and the USA. |
| 1 January 2009 | A Date Touch of 2009 changes of spliced Plain and Little Bob Major was rung to welcome the New Year. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller and Mary Spence on ringing their first dates touches. |
| 30 November 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung for evening service on Advent Sunday. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller ringing her first of Grandsire inside. |
| 9 November 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung for evensong on Remembrance Sunday. |
| 2 November 2008 | A quarter peal of 1344 changes of St Clements College Bob Major was rung for evensong. Congratulations to John Harrison on ringing 300 quarter peals at All Saints. |
| 1 November 2008 | A peal of 5088 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung for All Saints Day |
| 26 October 2008 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung for evensong |
| 20 September 2008 | An All Saints band won the Sonning Deanery Branch striking competition at Wargrave, ringing a course of Yorkshire Surprise Major. |
| 14 September 2008 | All Saints tower was open to the public, with conducted tours as part of Heritage Weekend. Over 100 visitors were shown round the tower. |
| 12 September 2008 | "400 years of Living Heritage: English Style Bells & Bellringing", a public lecture in Wokingham Town Hall by John Harrison, All Saints Tower Foreman, at the start of Heritage Weekend. |
| 31 August 2008 | A band from Reading (including two former All Saints ringers) rang a peal of 8 spliced Surprise Major. In the afternoon, they went on to ring a peal at St Paul's, thus repeating the feat of local ringers on 10 May (see below). The method they rang at St Paul's was Wokingham Surprise Major, first rung at All Saints for the 800th Anniversary of the church in 1990 |
| 13 July 2008 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung for evensong during the visit of Bishop Henry Parsley from Alabama. |
| 22 June 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples rung to celebrate the wedding of Rebecca Fox and Chris Eamen on 14th June |
| 10 May 2008 | A joint All Saints & St Paul's band rang two peals of Yorkshire Major, one at All Saints in the morning and at St Paul's in the afternoon, the first time this has been done since 1912, and the first time ever by local ringers. See picture and articles. |
| 19 April 2008 | An All Saints band was placed 3rd in the Sonning Deanery 6-bell striking competition held at Warfield |
| 23 March 2008 | A quarter peal of 1320 changes of spliced Surprise Minor was rung for evening service on Easter Day. |
| 16 March 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples rung for evening service on Palm Sunday. Congratulations to Mary Spence, ringing her first quarter peal of Triples inside. |
| 2 March 2008 | A quarter peal of 1280 changes of Plain Bob Major rung for evening service on Mothering Sunday. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller, ringing her first quarter peal inside. |
| 16 February 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor as a birthday compliment to Nigel Mellor. Congratilations to Emily Mellor ringing her first quarter peal inside. |
| 26th January 2008 | 27 members and guests attended the annual tower dinner. The enteretainment included a performance of change ringing on handbells. |
| 21 January 2008 | At the tower AGM, Simon Farrar was elected to the newly created post of Ringing Master. Richard Woodward stood down as Secretary, to be replaced by Mary Spence. Jon Tutcher will serve as Deputy Foreman, in addition to being Treasurer. The post of Steeple Keeper remains vacant, with the Foreman doing the job until a new appointment is made. |
| 19 January 2008 | Many current and former ringers at All Saints attended the memorial service in Fladbury, Worcestershire, so Stewart Gibson, a former Tower Forema, who rang at All Saints for 22 years. See tribute. |
| 13 January 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung to celebrate the life of Stewart Gibson, who rang at this tower for 22 years from 1978 to 1999, and who died on 3rd January. |
| 12 January 2008 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Doubles was rung half muffled before the funeral service of Rex Baldry |
| 1 January 2008 | A Date Touch of 2008 changes of spliced Plain and Little Bob Major was rung to welcome the New Year |
| 11 November 2007 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung half muffled before the evening service on Remembrance Sunday |
| 9 October 2007 | A quarter peal of 1287 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung half muffled before the memorial service of Michael John Nightingale, in tribute to his dedication to both the church and the community. |
| 22 September 2007 | All Saints ringers met members of the PCC for a friendly skittles match and meal. After an early lead, the PCC gradually caught up, and at one stage the scores were within a couple of points. The ringers finally won by 390 to 380 points, and thus retained the 'wooden spoon' . |
| 15 September 2007 | A joint Wokingham band with four ringers each from All Saints and St Paul's competed in the Sonning Deanery 8-bell Striking competition, and won by a clear margin. Congratulations to Mhairi Miller, who rang the Tenor, on taking part in her first striking competition. (See the trophy) |
| 7 July 2007 | A peal of 5056 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung as a Ruby Wedding compliment to John & Anne Harrison. (John rang in the peal, and is Tower Foreman at All Saints.) |
| 10 May 2007 | All Saints ringers were awarded a Gold Certificate in the Tower Maintenance Award scheme run by the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers. |
| 5 May 2007 | Friends of Julie Goodchild joined with her to ring a quarter peal of 1250 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major on her 40th birthday. |
| 29 April 2007 | Mhairi Miller, one of the band's youngest ringers reached a personal landmark by ringing the Treble to her first quarter peal: 1280 changes of Grandsire Doubles. Congratulations. |
| 21 April 2007 | An All Saints team came second in the Sonning Deanery Branch striking competition at Finchampstead. |
| 24 February | Emily Mellor, one of the band's youngest ringers reached a personal landmark by ringing the Treble to her first quarter peal: 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor, rung in 42 minutes. Congratulations. |
| 10 February 2007 | Two All Saints ringers took part in a peal at Twyford to mark the contribution to local ringing by Mike Dane, who is moving away after being tower captain at Twyford for nearly 35 years. |
| 28 January 2007 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung before evening service, to mark the birth of Joshua Thomas Smith, first nephew of the conductor, Andrew Smith. |
| 27 January 2007 | 30 members and guests attended the annual tower dinner. This year, for the first time, those present were enteretained by a performance of change ringing on handbells. Not to be out-done, the three teenagers present then rang Rounds on the handbells. |
| 22 Janury 2007 | At the tower AGM, Simon Farrar was elected to serve as Deputy Foreman. Simon is an experienced ringer who joined the band a year ago. He takes over from Steve Smith, a longstanding member who served as Deputy for four years. Arthur Moss stood down as Steeple Keeper, after doing the job for ten years. |
| 14 January 2007 | A quarter peal of 1250 changes of Pudsey Surprise Major was rung before evening service, to mark ten years ministry at All Saints by the Rector, Revd. David Hodgson. |
| 17 December 2006 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung before evening service. |
| 3 December 2006 | A quarter peal of 1344 changes of Rutland Surprise Major was rung before the Advent carol service. |
| 12 November 2006 | A half muffled quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples was rung for Evensong on Remembrance Sunday. The composition used was designed for half muffled ringing. (Rung during Sonning Deanery Branch quarter peal week.) |
| 12 November 2006 | A group of All Saints ringers rang a quarter peal of 1260 changes of Plain Bob Minor on handbells. (Rung during Sonning Deanery Branch quarter peal week.) |
| 8 November 2006 | An All Saints band rang a quarter peal of six spliced Surprise Major at St Nicholas church Hurst. Congratulations to Jonathan Goodchild who rang his first quarter of spliced Surprise Major. (Rung during Sonning Deanery Branch quarter peal week.) |
| 29 October 2006 | A quarter peal of Plain Bob Triples was rung for Evensong to mark All Saints tide. Congratulations to Mary Spence, on her first quarter peal ringing the method on an inside bell. |
| 1 October 2006 | A quarter peal was rung for Evensong on the first day that Emma Antoine (see below) was the celebrant at the morning communion service. |
| 24 September 2006 | A joint band of ringers from All Saints, St Paul's, and Shinfield parishes rang a quarter peal of Cambridge Surprise Major at St Mary, Reading, prior to the ordination service, at which Emma Antoine (All Saints) Jo Harrison (St Paul's) and Chris Leslie (Benefice of Loddon Reach) were ordained. |
| 16 September 2006 | All Saints band won the Sonning Deanery Branch 8-bell striking competition at Easthampstead by a clear margin, competing against teams from Sonning and Easthampstead. (See the trophy) |
| 16 September 2006 | A party of visitors toured the tower as part of the Parish 'Go Green Fun Day', held in the Cornerstone. |
| 10 September 2006 | The tower was open to the public as part of National Heritage Day. 130 members of the public, some coming from as far away as Australia and America, enjoyed conducted tours of the historic tower including demonstration of ringing, the bells, the clock mechanism and the magnificent views from the roof over Wokingham and the surrounding countryside. |
| 24 June 2006 | All Saints tower outing to Wiltshire. An enjoyable day for all concerned, ringing at six towers in the Marlborough area. See pictures. |
| 29 April 2006 | All Saints Tower Foreman is presented with a civic award for services to the community by the Mayor of Wokingham. See pictures. |
| 22 April 2006 | All Saints team competed in Sonning Deanery Branch 6-bell striking competition at White Waltham and came an extremely close 2nd to Sonning, who will represent the Deanery in the Oxford Diocesan Guild competition on 7th October. Picture of the band |
| 21 April 2006 | All Saints ringers joined with St Paul's ringers to ring at both churches on the evening of the Queen's 80th birthday |
| 20 February 2006 | All Saints ringers joined the ringers and congregation of St Paunch Wokingham for the rededication of their tower and bells, which were restored after being struck by lightning in January 2004 |
| 17 January 2006 | A date touch of 1881 changes to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Oxford Diocesan Guild on this day in 1881. Picture of the band |
| 6 December 2005 | The bells rang on Tuesday evening for the licensing service for Rev Michael Johnson, our new curate |
| 13 November 2005 | A quarter peal of 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples, rung half muffled for evensong on Remembrance Sunday |
| 5 November 2005 | The first peal was rung on the restored bells to mark All Saints tide (not Bonfire Night). 5058 changes of Yorkshire Surprise Major were rung in 2 hours 46 minutes. |
| 8 October 2005 | An All Saints team competed in the quiz at St Paunch, Wokingham, organised by Sonning Ringers. We didn't win :-( |
| 1 October 2005 | An All Saints team representing Sonning Deanery in the Oxford Diocesan Guild 6 bell competition was placed 3rd in the heat at Charlton on Otmoor, and went through to ring in the final at Kirtlington. An unfortunate slip in the final meant that we were not placed. Picture of the band |
| 17 September 2005 | An All Saints band competed in the Sonning Deanery 8 bell striking competition, hosted at All Saints, and was placed first. All Saints tower now holds both the 8-bell and 6-bell trophies . |
| 9 August 2005 | This day was exactly 100 years after FE Robinson, buried at All Saints, became the first person ever to ring 1000 peals. The event was marked by ringing a quarter peal of Stedman Triples (his favourite method). Picture of the band that rang |
| 10 July 2005 | The date touch of 1945 changes of Grandsire Triples was successfully completed in 1 hour and 7 minutes. The performance started at 5pm, synchronised with ringing in thousands of other towers around the country to mark 60 years since the end of World War II. |
| 23 January 2005 | Re-dedication of the restored ring of bells by Rt Rev Stephen Cotterell, Bishop of Reading. |
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