Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers- Appleton St Laurence

Established January 17 1881

St. Laurence, Appleton, Oxon
Old North Berks branch of the ODG

St. Laurence, Appleton ©KMC 5 Jul 2001

The extra small roof on top of the tower was added
in 1861 to make room for the extra bells (7-10) which
hang on an upper frame.

Dedication: St. Laurence, Appleton

Service Ringing: Sun 9.30

Practice night: Fri 7.30 pm

The Bells (10) 13-0-10 last restored 1977

Draught: Short
Audibility: 3 - (On a scale of 1 to 5, 1=faint 5=very loud)

Access to ringing chamber:Through external door at base of the tower at Western end of the church, then up fixed inclined ladder about 8 steps up with trapdoor at top, closed while ringing. A spiral staircase leads up to the belfry.

Info taken from Andrew Bull . Inscriptions are from F. Sharpe The Church bells of Berkshire in which further historical details can be found.
Frame: 2 tier metal (7-10 above), F.White 1977
Gear:1977

Cast iron headstock
fixed steel gudgeons
self-aligning ball-bearings
traditional English wheels
traditional stays and sliders

A ring of 10, tenor 13-0-10, tuned to E

Bell	Weight cwt-qr-lb	Strike note	Date cast	Founder	Foundry location	Inscription
Treble	3-0-20	G^#	1875	Mears & Stainbank	Whitechapel	ALTHOUGH I AM BOTH LIGHT AND SMALL, I WILL BE HEARD ABOVE YOU ALL. RECAST BY MEARS & STAINBANK A.D. 1875. W. J. BUTLER, B.D. RECTOR.
2	2-3-5	F^#	1859	George Mears	Whitechapel	I AM THE SECOND OF THIS RING, THEREFORE NEXT TO THEE I'LL SING. THIS BELL AND THE NEXT FIVE GIVEN BY R. SOUTHBY 1817. RECAST BY G: MEARS OF LONDON 1859.
3	3-1-3	E	1859	George Mears	Whitechapel	I WITH MY FELLOWS DO AGREE, THEN LISTEN TO OUR HARMONIE. RECAST BY G. MEARS OF LONDON 1859. A. WHITE & SONS, BELLHANGERS.
4	3-3-0	D^#	1875	Mears & Stainbank	Whitechapel	YE PEOPLE ALL THAT HEAR ME RING, BE FAITHFUL TO YOUR GOD AND KING. RECAST BY MEARS & STAINBANK A.D. 1875. W. J. BUTLER, B.D., RECTOR. A. & F. WHITE, BELLHANGERS.
5	3-3-26	C^#	1875	Mears & Stainbank	Whitechapel	OUR VOICES SHALL WITH JOYFUL SOUND, MAKE HILLS AND VALLEYS ECHO ROUND. RECAST BY MEARS & STAINBANK, A.D. 1875, AT THE EXPENSE OF APPLETON CHANGE RINGERS.
6	5-1-10	B	1977	Whitechapel Bell foundry	London	+ LAVRENTI · VOCOR · ORE · MEO · SAEPE · ILLE · SONABIT · WILLIAM MOORE, M.A., RECTOR. CUTHBERT GEORGE WHITE, PARISH CLERK. MEARS & STAINBANK, LONDON, 1910. [M]
7	5-2-25	A	1817	Thomas Mears II	Whitechapel	THE GIFT OF ROBERT SOUTHBY ESQ^R LORD OF THE MANOR OF APPLETON, 1817. T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT.
8	7-2-7	G^#	1874	Mears & Stainbank	Whitechapel	WHILE THUS WE JOIN IN JOYFUL SOUND, MAY PEACE AND HOLINESS ABOUND. TO THE GLORY OF GOD RECAST BY SUBSCRIPTION A.D. 1874. REVD W. J. BUTLER, B.D., RECTOR. F. WHITE, PARISH CLERK. MEARS & STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON.
9	9-1-9	F^#	1861	George Mears	Whitechapel	PRAISED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD. THE GIFT OF FRANCIS EDWARD ROBINSON ESQ^RE OF THE OLD BANK, OXFORD. A.D. 1861. G. MEARS, FOUNDER, LONDON. W. J. BUTLER, B.D., RECTOR. W. HOLIFIELD, W. RICHARDS, CHURCHWARDENS.
Tenor	13-0-10	E	1861	George Mears	Whitechapel	PRAISE GOD WITH THE LOUD CYMBALS. THE GIFT OF FRANCIS EDWARD ROBINSON, ESQ^RE OF THE OLD BANK, OXFORD. A.D. 1861. G. MEARS, FOUNDER, LONDON. W. J. BUTLER, B.D., RECTOR. W. HOLIFIELD, W. RICHARDS, CHURCHWARDENS. I TOLL THE FUNERAL KNELL. I HAIL THE FESTAL DAY, THE FLEETING HOUR I TELL, I SUMMON ALL TO PRAY.

Notes

[M] is the Whitechapel Founder’s mark
+ is a cross on bell 6

Points of interest in church:

Norman font
Fettiplace monument
Modern Blackwell memorial window
In the ringing chamber area old peal boards, some of record length peals

Architecture:

Parts of the church date from Norman times; there have been many restorations since.

©KMC 14 Mar 2006 Fettiplace monument 1593
Fettiplaces were in possession of the manor of Appleton from 1564 to 1634. The inscription is in Latin, a translation into English stands nearby.

It is summarised on the right.

Other Fettiplace monuments may be found at Childrey and ST Mary's Church in Swinbrook.

John Fettiplace of Appleton Manor.

John Fettiplace married Elizabeth daughter of Anthony Hungerford, knight

4 sons Besels, Richard, Robert, Egidius
3 daughters Dorothy, Margaret, Jane

Married Jane daughter of John Covert

daughter Margaret died in infancy

died 28 December 1580

His eldest son Besels Fettiplace married Eleanor daughter of Richard Covert, esquire

6 sons Richard, Edward, Thomas, Michael, John, William
5 daughters Jane, Mary, Edith, Elizabeth, Cecily

Mary and Elizabeth died in infancy

His eldest son Richard Fettiplace married Eleanor daughter of Henry Poole

They had a son John.

This monument was erected by Besels Fettiplace in 1593, when his grandson John Fettiplace was aged 4 and the rest of Besels children and their Uncle Richard were still living. For me in Christ is gain both in life and death.

For happy times and length of days you cry.
Your hope is vain, as I can testify.

I have been what you are,
You will be what I am.

©KMC 14 Mar 2006
Bell Kneelers at the early 18th century communion rail

©KMC 14 Mar 2006
The base of the font is Norman with a spiral decoration and beaded bands. The bowl is 12th century, the octagonal cover 17th century.
The oak screen at the back surrounds the vestry, it was built in 1997

©KMC 14 Mar 2006
Memorial window given in memory of Sir Basil and Lady Christine Blackwell who lived in the village. The logo of the Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford can be seen at the bottom on the right. The two parts of the window depict scenes from the life of St. Laurence. 10 bells are painted at the top.

Gravestones with bells:

Before 1817 there were only 3 bells in Appleton tower; Squire Robert Southby of Appleton Manor paid for replacing the 3 with a ring of 6 in 1818, some say because he wanted to appease the villagers who had lost rights under his land enclosures. A new band of Appleton ringers was trained and by 1821 they were able to ring their 1st touch of 720 changes of New Treble Bob on the new bells. Their achievement is recorded on a tablet in the tower. Sadly Richard King died young according to the Parish Burial registers; Alfred raised money to fund 2 further bells in 1854 and founded the firm of bell hangers now known as 'Whites of Appleton'.

In 1861 the Rev. F.E.Robinson, curate to the Rev Butler in Appleton, gave 2 more bells to make a ring of 10; Alfred White added the 'lantern' to the top of the tower to make room for the extra two bells. Henry and Frederick White, other bell ringing family members who worked in the family business, are commemorated on the other side of Alfred's memorial, (below left).

Alfred White tombstone
©KMC 5 Jul 2001
Grave of Alfred White

Rang the 3rd in the 1st 720
of New Treble Bob in 1821

Richard King tombstone
©KMC 20 Jun 2001

Grave of Richard King

Rang the tenor in the 1st 720.

Information from 'The Changing faces of Cumnor and Farmoor with Appleton and Eaton'by Norman Dix and John Hanson, pub. 1966 by Robert Boyd publications. ISBN 1 899536 11 6 Peal Boards

The White family were great change ringers, they taught Rev. F.E.Robinson (1st Master of the Oxford Diocesan Guild) to ring. Many peal boards adorn the walls of the Appleton ringing chamber. here are a few of them.
Peals of 1869, 1874 follow, a record long length of 1969 and a peal of 1971.

Rung before the formation of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church bell ringers

©KMC 21 Aug 2004

The board reads:
RUNG ON THESE BELLS.
On Thursday October 21 1869 a complete Peal of Grandsire Triples containing 5040 changes in 2 Hours 56 minutes by the following members of the APPLETON SOCIETY of CHANGE RINGERS.

Jessie Avery	TREBLE	Henry White	5
Alfred White	2	Fred White	6
Noble White	3	Henr. Woodwards	7
Ben Barrell	4	Will Robins	TENOR

THIS PEAL CONTAINING 154 BOBS AND 86 SINGLES WAS
COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY
FREDERICK WHITE

©KMC 21 Aug 2004

The board reads:
RUNG ON THESE BELLS MARCH 4TH 1874 BY THE
Appleton Society of Change Ringers
A COMPLETE PEAL OF
COLLEGE SINGLE TRIPLES.
CONTAINING 5040 CHANGES,
in 2 hours 55 minutes
VIZ

Charles Harper	TREBLE.	Jesse Avery	5.
Alfred White	2.	Frederick White	6.
Benjamin Barrett	3.	Henry Woodwards	7.
Rev F.E.Robinson	4	Isaac Barrett	TENOR.

This was the first Peal ever rung in this method
and contained 210 bobs and 2 doubles.

CONDUCTED BY MR. F.WHITE.

A double peal board commemorates some notable peals.
Rung in the 20th century by the Appleton Society of Change Ringers
Composed by ALBERT M.TYLER
Conducted by BRIAN R.WHITE
PAUL TUCKWELL - RECTOR
S. FARRANT - F.A.WHITE - CHURCHWARDENS

THE OXFORD DIOCESAN GUILD
ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 10TH 1968
IN 9 HOURS & 10 MINUTES A PEAL OF

Grandsire Caters
16559 CHANGES

Andrew N. Stubbs	TREBLE.	John H. Napper	6.
John W.T. Hibbert	2.	Brian R. White	7.
Dennis Knox	3.	Tudor P. Edwards	8.
Frank D. Mack	4.	Steven J. Ivin	9.
Dennis A. Leslie	5.	Francis A. White	TENOR.

THIS IS THE LONGEST PEAL YET RUNG
IN THIS METHOD

THE OXFORD SOCIETY
ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 11^TH 1971
IN 5 HOURS & 29 MINUTES. A PEAL OF

Grandsire Caters
10,241 CHANGES

Norman H. Leslie	Treble.	Andrew N. Stubbs	6.
David C. Woodward	2.	Brian R. White	7.
Dennis A. Leslie	3.	Edward R. Venn	8.
Roger F. Overington	4.	Steven J. Ivin	9.
Frank White	5.	Francis A. White	Tenor.

RUNG TO COMMEMORATE A 10,080
IN 1871 AND A 10,040 IN 1921

Church facilities: play area

Toilet

Tea making and toilet facilities in the church, accessed from the North Porch added in 2002, enquire when booking as otherwise church may be locked.

Travel Details: OS Grid Ref: SP444016.

Car Parking: In the lane beside the school leading to the church, please avoid parking opposite garage doors in Church Road.

Pubs and Eating Places: nearest pubs ‘The Plough’ or‘The Thatched Tavern’

Local points of interest for non ringers:

Manor House behind the wall to the west of the churchyard, built in the reign of Henry II about 1190, thought to be the oldest of its kind left in England. Residence of the Fettiplace and later Southby families
Tombstones with bells, Richard King on East side, Alfred White and other family members on South.
Many interesting pealboards with names of ringers.
there is a 16th century pub, ‘The 8 bells'’ in the nearby village of Eaton.

Return to the Old North Berks Branch listings page