Harry Sear's band Astwood's bell frame Bletchley's bells in the churchyard Old Bradwell band Calverton's old church Thornborough re-hang Olney's bells Astwood church in the snow Downs Barn installation Newport sub-web
North Bucks Branch Archive Project

Main Branch site:

Branch site

The Branch web site contains up to date information about ringing in North Bucks. Much of the information formerly in this site can now be found there.

Latest on this site:

Web development - Jan 2021

A long needed review of table names in the dataase has prompted a complete check of the code behind this site. You probably won't see much difference, except in a few places where HTML5 coding has been introduced.

The Flash mp3 player in the tower and bell pages has been replaced with the HTML5 audio player..

For Little Horwood:

More detail from the Central Bucks towers that were formerly part of North Bucks are being included.
TowerDedicationBellsmp3
ShenleySt Mary6

Peals16
Quarters49
Members13

Fastest peal

TimeDate
2h, 50mFebruary 15, 1930
2h, 56mMarch 7, 1981

Longest peal(s)
New Bells in churchyard
Photo DescriptionNew Bells in churchyard
Approx Date1908
  
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Branch events here:

DateEventNotes
July 4, 2014Call Changes & Plain Hunt 
January 18, 2014Branch Practice 
June 7, 2013Call Changes & Plain Hunt Practice 
November 2, 2012Rounds and Call Change Practice 
November 2, 2012Rounds and Call Change Practice 
December 11, 2010Christmas Celebration 
September 13, 2008Autumn Meeting 
February 17, 2006Branch PracticeSpecial Method: Carlisle S Minor
August 15, 2003Branch Practice 
September 1, 2001Quarterly MeetingNote change of start time
12

Peals

Who has circled the tower to peals:

No-one has circled this tower

Who has rung the most peals here:

RingerPealsMost Recent
Cecil A Valentine4November 23, 1912
Walter W Bonham4November 23, 1912
Thomas C Tompkins3November 23, 1912
Albert J Green2August 5, 1912
Ernest G Willett2February 15, 1930
John R Mayne2January 23, 1971
Ronald J Sharp2July 13, 1957
George W Holland2May 20, 1961
Edwin A Yates2November 23, 1912
Harold Daniels1February 15, 1930
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Bell Frame

Bellframes Type 8.3.C - e
Cast iron "H" castings mounted on beams and braced at the top
Taylor of Loughborough 1889-1893 (wooden beams with wooden top bracing), 1893 (fabricated beams), 1894 (cast iron beams), and 1892 to date (girders)
Gillett & Johnston of Croydon 1907-1955
James Barwell of Birmingham 1910-1915
Mears & Stainbank (Whitechapel) c1920-1935
James Grove of Birmingham 1923

Classification from "Bellframes - A Practical Guide to Inspection and Recording - C J Pickford 1993"

The bells now

Tuning

The figures and diagram below show the difference, in cents, between each bell and what it should be to be in tune with the tenor.
A positive figure shows that the bell is sharp, a negative figure shows that it is flat. There are 100 cents between notes on the scale.

History of bells in this tower:

From 1400From 1593From 1610From 1615From 1616From 1908
     1 of 6 Gillett & Johnston
   1 of 5 Newcombe (generic) 2 of 6 Gillett & Johnston
    2 of 5 Newcombe (generic)3 of 6 Gillett & Johnston
 3 of 5 Bartholomew Atton   4 of 6 Gillett & Johnston
  4 of 5 Bartholomew Atton  5 of 6 Gillett & Johnston
5 of 5 Robert Burford    6 of 6 Robert Burford