Dorset ringers and flag and our ringers with Dorset connections ringing for King Athelstan celebrations.
King Athelstan, the first King of England, was crowned King on 4 September 925 at Kingston upon Thames, perhaps due to its location on the border between Wessex and Mercia. He was crowned by Athelm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who organised a new order of service in which the king wore a crown for the first time instead of a helmet.
The good people of Kingston upon Thames decided to organise a series of events to celebrate this 1,100thanniversary, including a procession, Saxon encampment and tournament held on 26 July, unveiling of new tapestries on 4 September, a flotilla on 6 September and finishing with a carnival and Festival Choral Eucharist with the Bishop of Southwark on 7 September.
Some while ago, we were approached by Viv Endecott, a self-confessed King Athelstan fan, to see if she could bring a small group of ringers from Dorset to ring at Kingston on 26 July, during the Athelstan procession. Their ringers came from Lytchett Matravers, Lytchett Minster, Winterborne Kingston (Dorset!), Poole and Bournemouth. We readily agreed to this request and ringers from Kingston with Dorset connections came to help.
The Dorset ringers were unused to ringing on 10 bells so we kept to call changes and rang whilst the procession crossed Kingston bridge. They were delighted with their ring and after the ringing we were spoken to by a lady in the church who said the ringing could be heard by the bridge and really added to the occasion!
Wells was the venue for the Kingston ringers’ weekend outing held in stiflingly hot conditions in July. We didn’t ring at the Cathedral but some wonderful bells made up for this, starting with Ditcheat and magnificent Shepton Mallet on Friday afternoon. Fraser managed to get a ring at the Friday practice at St Cuthbert’s Wells before joining the rest of us for dinner.
On the Saturday, we rang at Wookey, where ringers were banished to the naughty corner on the 5th bell hidden by the clock case, Westbury sub Mendip and the challenging eight at Cheddar, where there was a lock in rather than a lock out, fortunately Charlotte had a mobile signal and we were able to get the local back to let her out! Ali and Willow were very relieved to see her!
We were joined by some old friends for the day – Philip Pratt and Anna Bayley, Chris Jenkins and locals Jack Pease (the Somerset one) and Paul Wotton and were very grateful for their help as some of the bells were quite heavy. We took the opportunity of giving Philip a rope to repair.
Driving up Cheddar Gorge was a challenge due to cyclists cycling up the Gorge at five miles per hour but whizzing back down the descent. It was worth the detour to get to the Somerset Wagon where we enjoyed a pleasant lunch.
We were joined at Chilcompton by locals Adrian and David, and this meant we were able to ring a passable course of Stedman Cinques on this lovely ground floor 12 in beautiful surroundings. We can see why Chilcompton was chosen as the venue for the National 12 Bell Competition in 2024.
At ground floor Binegar a little boy playing in his paddling pool heard the bells and demanded that his father take him to the church to watch us ring! He was very excited – a future recruit there I’m sure. We finished on the heavy and extremely loud six at Croscombe and earned a very enjoyable drink at the Full Moon pub and a good curry in Wells in the evening.
Sunday morning we had arranged to join the locals on the ground floor 12 at Midsomer Norton and between us did some quite acceptable ringing. The church goers were most interested and wondered who the visitors were. We also rang for a service on the gallery ring at Radstock and were given a round of applause by the congregation which was a very good end to our tour!
Next year’s outing will be a more local affair – any ideas or suggestions welcome but I’m thinking of Romsey Abbey and the towers in Southampton might be a good idea.
Saturday 3 May – Launch event for Kingston 2025, ringing from 11:00-12:00 noon. If you are about on Saturday in Kingston and would like to ring, get in touch with us.
Thursday 8 May –VE Day ringing, from 18:30-19:00, following the British Legion’s wreath-laying ceremony at 18:00 at the war memorial.
June
Saturday 8 June – Civic Service at 11:30.
July
Saturday 5 July – Ordination Service at 11:00.
(Friday 11-Sunday 13 July – Kingston tour so no ringing on Sunday 13 July)
September
Wednesday 3 September – no ringing practice.
Thursday 4 September ringing for the 18:30 Athelstan service.
Monday 29 September – Crown Court Service at 11:00.
2026
Monday 23 February –Thursday 12 March – Bells restoration works. No ringing.
We had a successful cake sale on Sunday 6 April. We managed to raise £350 for our bell restoration project on the day!
Thank you for all the generous donations and enthusiastic support of the bells and our ringing. It was great to meet the congregation and talk to them about our bells and the upcoming renovations. Link here if you’d like to donate.
Following our annual service and maintenance report on our magnificent bells, we have been advised that they need some work done on them. Did you know that they haven’t had much done since the great overhaul of 1972-3?
The Eleventh Bell (the 2nd biggest and nearly a tonne in weight) is the main concern and needs to be taken down off its frame and have the gudgeon replaced; luckily the work can be done on site so there is no need to get it out of the tower! All of the other bells need to be refurbished which involves replacing the bearings and having each of their clappers removed and taken off site to do the work. Additionally the main frame which holds all of the bells needs refurbishment. All in all, the work will take approximately 6 weeks and money is being raised to cover the costs of around £30,000.
If you would like to donate, please use the Donate button on the church’s website here or do a BAC transfer:
Account name: All Saints Kingston upon Thames
Account number: 80100447
Sort code: 40-26-12
Ref: Bells
If you are a taxpayer, please click on the “gift aid” button which enables us to claim a further 25% of your donation (at no further cost to you) from the exchequer. Email us for the gift aid form if you have used BAC to donate: kateflavell1@gmail.com
Thank you for your kind donation – and for helping us keep the bells ringing!
Kingston bell ringers were invited to take part in the special festive edition of 5 Live’s Breakfast show on Christmas Day, as guests and listeners shared how they were preparing to spend the day.
Naga Munchetty spoke to one of our young ringers, Max C about his first time ringing this Christmas.
We asked Max to reflect on his new found celebrity status and his first time Christmas ringing : “I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Naga on Christmas morning, as well as ringing the bells. It was a real privilege to represent our bell tower on BBC Radio 5 Live.
We had a very interesting conversation of the method of ringing as well as the splendour of Christmas.
Ringing on Christmas Day felt so special, waking everyone up with festive spirit. The bells can be heard for miles around, and knowing that people outside can hear us adds to the joy of spreading Christmas spirit. It’s a wonderful way to bring the community together and celebrate this magical time of year.”
Max C and another young ringer Ed also rang in the New Year with their first ring in the tower on New Year’s Eve at midnight.
Sunday 1 December – normal ringing morning and evening
Wednesday 4 December – no practice (carol service in church) – so we are going for Curry night – contact Kate C if you want to come or add your name to the list on the blackboard.
Sunday 8 December – normal ringing in the morning, quarter peal in the evening
Wednesday 11 December – normal practice
Saturday 14 December – Surrey Association quarter peal at Kingston in the morning
Sunday 15 December – normal ringing morning and evening
Wednesday 18 December – no practice – carol service in church
Sunday 22 December – normal ringing morning and evening
Tuesday 24 December – ringing for midnight mass 22:15–23:00
Wednesday 25 December – morning ringing 08:30 –09:30 followed by coffee/cake etc somewhere
Wednesday 25 December – no evening ringing and no practice
Sunday 29 December – normal ringing morning and evening
Tuesday 31 December – come to Kate & Paul F’s for 19:30 for food & drink. Let Kate know if you are coming.
Tuesday 31 December – ring in the New Year. Be at the church promptly at 23:40 so we can all go in together.
The annual Surrey Association’s Six and Eight Bell Striking Competitions were held at St Mary’s Caterham on a showery afternoon, Saturday 12 October 2024.
Many thanks to the Caterham on the Hill ringers for hosting the event and providing wonderful cakes and buns and to Nick Wilkins and Catherine Lewis from Kent for being our judges. The ringing was good throughout and the final results were as follows:
Six Bell Competition
1st Kingston 23 faults 2nd Caterham X 37 faults 3rd Merton Park 47 faults 4th= Caterham Y 75 faults 4th= Richmond 75 faults
Eight Bell Competition
1st Kingston 62 faults 2nd Caterham Z 86 faults
Congratulations to all teams that took part and congratulations to Kingston for winning the Taylor Trophy and the Pat Cannon Trophy.
The Six Bell team: l-r Kate, Zoe, Mary, Mike, Paul and DanielThe Eight Bell team: l-r back row Mike, Dylan, Paul and Daniel; front row Jackie, Kate, Zoe and Mary
Andrew Crea Bolton, 30 October 1940 – 23 August 2024
Andrew learned to ring in Newburn, Northumberland, and was a member of the College Youths. He rang extensively in the UK and abroad, including at St Paul’s, Melbourne, and was a founder of the Transvaal Society of Church Bell Ringers in South Africa. Most recently, he rang at All Saints, Kingston upon Thames.
Obituary by Paul Flavell (with thanks to the Bolton family and Chris Ridley)
Andrew’s family were evacuated from Hong Kong, where his father was working at the time, a few days before the Japanese invasion. As a consequence, Andrew was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1940 despite the family having its roots in the Northeast of England. They returned to the Newcastle area when Andrew was 13 years old, where he excelled in science and maths at school.
He studied electrical engineering at King’s College in Newcastle which then was a federal college of the University of Durham. This qualification led Andrew to a career in high voltage electrical engineering working on the design and building of power stations, high-power distribution networks and the electrification of railway lines. His work took him around the world working in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and Jordan as well as England and Wales, continuing to work well past retirement age due to his expertise. He very much enjoyed passing on his skills to a younger generation of engineers.
Andrew was a very practical chap (except we believe for gardening) and often made and repaired things. He also enjoyed puzzles and cryptic crosswords and listening to classical music.
Andrew and Shirley were married in snowy December 1963, enabling them to spend their honeymoon on a skiing holiday. Andrew was elected to the College Youths on 12 October 1965 while living in Melbourne Australia. This most probably was the result of him participating in a peal of Kent Treble Bob Maximus (first peal of Maximus rung outside the UK) with the band on the 2nd Great Adventure to Australia. His peal total rung between 1961 and 2015 was 48 peals in total – 40 on tower bells with 8 in hand. His working life resulted in him being a member of many societies around the world, ringing peals in a variety of countries.
He learnt to ring in the Newcastle area at a rounds and call change tower but was soon noticed by Ron Warford leading to him ringing his first peal at St George, Jesmond. Andrew was tower captain at both Newburn on Tyne and Jesmond and taught many ringers there, including Andrew Craddock. His sons remember that before the bells were installed in Johannesburg, ringing involved handbell peals and quarters rung in the living room at their home. Andrew and Shirley formed the Parktown Tune Ringers and arranged much of the music for the team. Andrew and Shirley were also members of the Universities Association.
They had recently celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary with their two sons and grandchildren and were pleased to receive a card from the King. Retirement saw him and Shirley living in Surbiton where he became a regular and much-loved member of the Kingston upon Thames band, ringing over 100 quarters there. He particularly enjoyed ringing the tenor to cover odd bell methods.
Andrew died on 23 August 2024 aged 83 after a period of poor health, although he continued to participate in Service ringing, last ringing for the King’s Coronation on 6 May 2023. His funeral was a celebration of his life and well attended by family, friends, members of the UA and local ringers.
Ringing on Coronation Day for King Charles Andrew and Shirley returned to the tower to Ring for the King in 2023
A quarter peal was rung in affectionate memory of Andrew Crea Bolton. Thomas recorded the quarter and you can view it on his YouTube channel.
Twas a sunny, mid-July morning, when I found myself on a trip to the Flavells’ house, due to me being kindly invited to go on the Kingston bell ringers’ annual expedition, this year – a fast-paced one day trip. Kate Corney was behind the organisation, with Paul Flavell overseeing the operation (most notably making sure the lunchtime menu contained Fish & Chips!). The base was the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, meaning all towers were grabs for me.
The highlight tower was the ring of 12 at Cirencester. The tower here contains a mid-weight ring, with an extremely boomy 27cwt tenor tuned to Db. Ringing here included several bursts of Rounds on 12, Plain Hunt on 9 & 11, Grandsire Caters & Little Bob Royal.
The pack then began its afternoon circuit getting closer to home as it went on. Our lunch venue was The Masons Arms, Meysey Hampton. We had the luxury of the longest table in the pub thanks to Kate C informing them of the numbers. Paul gave positive remarks about his Fish & Chips and I gave my positive remarks about the very sizeable burger! Depending on how exhausted we were after our lunch, we either walked or drove to the local ring of 6 in Meysey Hampton. Our method repertoire was exercised here with Grandsire & Stedman Doubles and even Surprise Minor on the menu.
The remaining towers included: Down Ampney, a tricky ring of 5 where we came across Mr Simon D G Webb, someone I’ve seen on the interwebs many times but never in real life! Paul was excited about ringing here as Down Ampney is also the name of a hymn tune, Mark Underwood gave us a jolly recital of it!
Cricklade were next, Ground floor 6 with the rope circle resembling more of a square, with ropes in the corners, complete with an excruciatingly long draught.
Our final stop was Rodbourne Cheney, a surprising coincidence as a recent name in the visitors book was Fred Mills, ex-Surrey Striker who lives in the area now. These were a true delight to ring, a pleasant course of Stedman Doubles was rung, amongst other things. During our visit we were serenaded by a guitarist downstairs! We all made us of the facilities at Rodbourne Cheney before heading home, via a rather wet M4!
My thanks to the Kingston Ringers, in particular Kate C for excellent organisation and to Paul & Kate Flavell for chauffeuring me around.
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