ODG Guild Header
Established January 17 1881
   
Guild Home Page Guild Officers Diary of events in the Guild Branch details and contacts within the Guild Latest news and newsletters from the Guild and Branches Details of quarters and peals rung in the Guild The Guild Documentation Frequently Asked Questions Links to other ringing websites

Guild History Page
Search this website
St. Mary, Thatcham, Berks
Newbury branch of the ODG
St. Mary, Thatcham
St. Mary, Thatcham
Dedication: St. Mary, Thatcham

Service Ringing: Sun 9.15, 5.45(1)

Practice night: Tue 7.30pm

The Bells (10) 13-0-23

Access to ringing chamber: Spiral staircase, reached by an external door in the base of the tower, has 37 steps.

The following information is copied from F.Sharpe "The Church Bells of Berkshire" pages 266 and 363 where further details of the old bells may be found. He last visited in 1970.

Frame: Metal low-type.
Gear: Cast-iron headstocks, Fixed steel gudgeons, Self-aligning ball-bearings, Traditional English-type wheels, Hastings-type stays, Taylor 1929 with repositioning of all bells in 1970, except the tenor, to make room for the installation of the new trebles.

A ring of 10, tenor 13-0-23, diameter 43½ ", tuned to F
Bell Weight
cwt-qr-lb		 Strike
Note		 Date
cast		 Founder Foundry
location		 Inscription
Treble 3-2-0 A 1969 John Taylor & Co. Loughborough JOHN TAYLOR & CO. * FOUNDERS * LOUGHBOROUGH * 1969 *
143
IN MEMORY
OF
AUDREY A.BUTLER
1931-1969
2 4-0-3 G 1969 John Taylor & Co. Loughborough JOHN TAYLOR & CO. * FOUNDERS * LOUGHBOROUGH * 1969 *
212
IN MEMORY
OF
ARTHUR HENRY BROWN
1851-1958
3 4-3-1 F 1929 John Taylor & Co. Loughborough CAST 1929 [Border]
[Loughborough Foundry Mark]
L.CHAMBERLAINE * VICAR
W.ROWLES W.DRAPER H.H.BROOKS WARDENS
4 4-3-16 E 1929 John Taylor & Co. Loughborough CAST 1929 [Border]
[Loughborough Foundry Mark]
A.S.B.TULL
HIGH SHERIFF OF BERKS
A.H.C. FARGUS CHAPLAIN
5 5-2-10 D 1624 Ellis Knight I Reading X AS TREBXL BE GXN
6 6-0-4 C 1624 Ellis Knight I Reading X AS SECOND WXLL SXNG
VK GH RE
7 6-2-5 Bb 1624 Ellis Knight I Reading X AS THXRD WXLL RXNG
8 7-2-25 A 1624 Ellis Knight I Reading X AS FORTH XN MY PLACE
9 10-1-6 G 1624 Ellis Knight I Reading X AS FXFT WXL SOVND
Tenor 13-0-23 F 1821 Thomas Mears II Whitechapel T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1821 [F14] THE REVD. JOSEPH LOWTHIAN VICAR [F14]
JOHN BLAY
RICHARD TULL
Wm. NORTHWAY CHURCHWARDENS

Notes:

  1. Fn refers to F.Sharpe's Fig n in the 'Church Bells of Berkshire'
  2. 5,6,7 also have Matrice of letter "A", "E" and "S" after the inscription
  3. The initials on the 6th are those of Vincent Knight, Giles Hatt and Robert Emans, Church wardens in 1624
  4. The inscription on the old tenor, recast in 1821 was probably X AS TENOR HVM ALL ROVND
  5. The six largest bells have lost their canons. the others were cast without canons.
History of bells in Thatcham:

A framed certificate in the ringing chamber lists the dates associated with the bells.

THATCHAM BELLS

1345Lower part of the tower built
1497Upper part completed
1528First record of bells in David Maurice's will
1583A new bell frame made for the 4 bells
1588The 4 bells recast by a Reading founder
1592Treble bell recast
1598Tenor bell recast
1602A new treble bell added to make a ring of 5
1621Henry Knight recast 3 of the bells
1624Ellis Knight recast the old 5 into a lighter ring of 6 and added a new sanctus bell
1765Sanctus bell recast
1797All the bells rehung in a new wooden frame
1821The shattered tenor bell was taken to Whitechapel to be recast by Thomas Mears. The new tenor was one of the first cargoes brought to Thatcham along the newly opened Kennet & Avon Canal
1882Sanctus bell recast again
1929The Bells retuned on modern principles.Two new bells added to complete the octave. Sanctus bell recast for the third time. John Taylor & Co. Loughborough supplied a new cast iron frame and fittings
1970Two new bells and framework supplied by John Taylor to complete the fifth ring of 10 bells in Berkshire
1984Variable sound control shutters fitted
References:

Booklet bought in the church in 2003 'St. Mary's Church Thatcham', an illustrated guide
Curiosities of Berkshire
Dictionary of Scientists

Architecture

Originally a Saxon church, the oldest part is now the 12th century Norman arch in the South Porch.

The lower part of the tower was built in 1345; the upper part was added about 1500 using smaller stones.

In the early 16th century a chantry chapel was built by Lady Anne Danvers as a resting place for her husband Sir William Danvers, Lord of the Manor of Chamberhouse (on the south side of the Kennet at Thatcham), who died in 1504.

Sir William and Lady Anne are buried in the altar tomb between the chapel and the chancel.

The Danvers chapel also contains a memorial (shown on the left) to the Barrister Nicholas Fuller (1543 - 1620) who acquired Chamberhouse Manor.

 Fuller memorial
İKMC 12 Sep 2003
Bell kneeler
İKMC 12 Sep 2003
Church kneeler commemorating
100 years of the ODG 		Door hinges
İBB May 2004
Hinge on door to tower staircase

Some memorials in the church:

Baily memorial
Both images İBM May 2004
The memorial above is now in the Tower Room at the Western end of
the nave,sometimes used by the children’s play group.
The other image, right, shows the simple inscription on his grave,
in the Meeting Room of the church.		 Francis Baily
Born Newbury 28 April 1774 died London 30 August 1844.
Baily gravestone

He was educated at St. Bartholomew’s School in Newbury. After a seven year apprenticeship with a London haberdasher he sailed to America in search of adventure during 1796-98, before returning to London and taking up a lucrative career on the Stock Exchange. He published books on actuarial practice and retired a rich man in 1825 at the age of 51 to devote himself to astronomy. In 1820 he had became a founder member and Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society.

He was its President at the time of his death.

He was the first to see “Baily’s Beads”, a line of bright ellipses seen at the edge of the sun during an eclipse. They are thought to be gaseous particles in the corona of the sun, only visible for a short time. He also worked on the Nautical Almanac and did experiments to determine the mean density of the earth.

His family home, “The Poplars” still stands in the Bath Road.

Memorial Window in the Ringing Chamber:

Bell window
Both images İBill Butler		 Brer Bellringer
The window was installed in 2000, commemorating
Jennifer Butler and the former ringers of Thatcham.
During 1972 she drew a series of cartoons published in
The Ringing World on the life of Brer Bellringer.

We are grateful to Bill Butler for sending us both the image of this window in the ringing chamber in Thatcham and the scanned image of one of his wife's cartoons. For those who want to see more of them, here is a list of page numbers of The Ringing World in 1972, pages 388, 411, 426, 445, 471, 512, 532, 551, 572, 611, 614, 652, 671, 691, 732, 752, 918, 1036.

Points of interest in church

A wall tablet in the North aisle commemmorates 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Buller Turner V.C. who died 1 October 1915 aged 22 from wounds incurred during the battle of Loos.

His younger brother Lieutenant-colonel Victor Buller Turner won the V.C. in the 2nd World War. A rare honour, 2 V.C.s awarded to one family.

Church facilities: Toilet

Travel Details: OS Grid Ref: SU516673 - Parking restrictions in street; try nearby estate
Local points of interest for non ringers:

Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre, Muddy Lane, Lower Way, Thatcham. Closed Mondays. email: naturecentre@westberks.gov.uk
Return to the Newbury Branch listings page

Valid CSS!  Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional     © Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers 2009 - Site Map