Site last updated 23 July 2026
Welcome
The Shropshire Association covers the towers in the Salop Archdeaconry of the Lichfield Diocese, and is roughly the area north of the River Severn, from near Wolverhampton in the southeast to Selattyn in the northwest. The rest of Shropshire is in the Hereford Diocese.
If you would like to know more about bellringing click here www.cccbr.org.uk/bellringing/what-is-bell-ringing/.
If you would like to learn to ring please contact our secretary [ ], or go along to a tower near you on a practice night.
If you would like to learn to ring but you don't live in this area, please visit https://bellringing.org/contact-us/find-a-teacher/.
Information about the towers in the Association, practice nights and Association events, and much else, can be found by following the links on the left or below.
Next Association events:
Saturday, 25 July 2026 - Quarterly meeting, practice, Centenary service, tea
1:45pm - 5:30pm (approx)
at Shrewsbury, St Chad
Why Do You Ring?
The Shropshire Magazine wants to cover the Centenary Service at St Chad's on Saturday 25th July. They are keen to include some quotes from our Shropshire ringers.
Please send me your name, age (optional) and tower with a sentence or two saying how you started ringing, why you enjoy it and what you like most about it.
[ ]
Centenary Tea
There are still a few tickets available for the Centenary Tea, to be held after the Centenary Service on Saturday 25 July, at St Chad's, Shrewsbury, The tea will be held in the church hall and the cost will be £10 per head.
Please book your tea by email to Vicki Sivess, [ ].
It is very important to let Gill Glover [ ] know of any special dietary requirements before 25 July.
CCCBR 2026 AGM Weekend
Information about the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR)
can be found here
cccbr.org.uk/about/annual-meetings/2026-annual-meeting/
On the Friday there will be three ringing routes into Rugby, from the north, south or west. All routes then merge at St Andrew’s, Rugby, where there is a unique opportunity to ring at two towers at the same church! There will also be an evening social.
Sunday offers opportunities to support local towers for service ringing, and a special bell ringing themed service at Coventry Cathedral with ringing before and after. There may also be a chance to support local quarter peal attempts later in the day.
July 2026 Newsletter
The July 2026 Newsletter (which can be read and downloaded here) includes a report of the Association's Striking Compretition (with pictures), and the most recent training morning. Some of the Association's future events (Centenary tea, Centenary outing) are also mentioned.
The June 2026 Newsletter can be read and downloaded here.
Association Striking Competition 2026
The centenary year striking competition was held at Upton Magna on a sunny but windy day. Twelve bands representing seven towers participated. Seven bands rang call changes and five bands rang a method. A splendid tea, supplied by various members of the committee and others, was laid out in the Upton Magna Village Hall and was available throughout the competition. Sue Dancey masterminded the afternoon, and thanks to her organisational skills all went according to plan.
Bill Deason was the judge once again. Before giving the score for each band Bill explained his marking scheme. The most common comment from Bill was that the ringing had minor rhythm errors.The Ernest Willcox Cup for the fewest faults was presented to Gill Glover for the Shrewsbury ‘A’ band.
Brian Rothera collected the Call Change Trophy for the Oswestry ‘B’ band.
The Charles Allmand Memorial Shield for the highest placed tower which had not won a trophy in the preceding two competitions, was presented to Mandie Lee for the Bicton band.
Newport 'B' (l-r)
Ian, Duncan, Oliver |
Meole Brace 'A' (l-r)
Vicki, Andy, John |
Dawley 'B' (l-r)
Penny, Amy, Julian |
Wellington (l-r)
Steve, Ella, Mark |
Oswestry 'A' (l-r)
Ann, Pete, Andrew |
Shrewsbury 'A' (l-r)
Sue, Alan, Paul |
Newport 'A' band (l-r)
Kathryn, Duncan, Alan |
Bicton band (l-r)
Greg, David, Paul |
Oswestry 'B' band (l-r)
Jennifer, Matt, Richard |
Dawley 'A' band (l-r)
Max, Si, Amanda |
Shrewsbury 'B' band (l-r)
Alastair, Dave, Alan |
Meole Brace 'B' band (l-r)
Dave, Josephine, Tom |
Bill presenting Gill with the
|
Bill presenting Brian with the |
Bill presenting Mandie with the |
| Team | Faults | Ringing | |
| Shrewsbury 'A' | 19 | Method | Ernest Willcox Trophy |
| Oswestry 'B' | 33 | Call Changes | Call Change Trophy |
| Newport 'A' | 38 | Method | |
| Newport 'B' | 46 | Call Changes | |
| Shrewsbury 'B' | 50 | Method | |
| Bicton | 70 | Call Changes | Charles Allmand Shield |
| Oswestry 'A' | 90 | Call Changes | |
| Meole Brace 'A' | 97 | Method | |
| Dawley 'A' | 116 | Call Changes | |
| Wellington | 116 | Call Changes | |
| Meole Brace 'B' | 135 | Call Changes | |
| Dawley 'B' | 187 | Call Changes |
Centenary Challenge
As part of the Association's centenary celebrations the membership is challenged to ring
100 'firsts'.
If you or your band has rung a first please email
the Newsletter editor []
and the webmaster [] with the details.
The list of 'firsts' achieved can be found here.
Lilleshall Bell Ringers Fundraising Challenge
The bells of St Michael and All Angels Church in Lilleshall have been a cherished part of our community for over 200 years. However, they are becoming increasingly difficult to ring and maintain. We are now raising funds to restore the bells, to ensure they continue to ring out for generations to come.
We’re aiming to raise around £60,000 and have already made an excellent start.
If you’d like to support us, please visit our JustGiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/lilleshall-bells?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015
Thank you for your support!
Support Your Association with SACBR Clothing
We can now offer members a range of items embroidered with the SACBR logo. These are embroidered to order: contact Biff Patterson [ ] for details or to place an order.
COLOUR: burgundy or navy, with embroidered logo and lettering in blue/white/black/gold
PRICES
Short sleeve polo shirt cost £15, long sleeve polo shirt cost £20. Both of these are lightweight
cotton pique with cuffed short sleeves, button placket and fold down collar.
Sweat shirt costs £20.
T-shirts (cost £10) are also available.
SIZES ARE UNISEX
| 12-13yr | S | M | L | XL | XXL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 32 - 34" | 34 - 36" | 38 - 40" | 42 - 44" | 46 - 48" | 50 - 52" |
| Length | 27" | 28" |
Photos by Biff Patterson, Edric Broom
About the Central Council
The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers has issued three documents about its work, volunteering with the Central Council, and what it means to be a Central Council Representative.
Those documents can be read and downloaded here:
What's the point of the Central Council.pdf,
Volunteering with the Central Council.pdf,
What does being a Central Council Rep mean?
Books For Bellringers
Are you looking for some practical, written help for yourself or your tower but don’t know what is out there? If so, Books for Bellringers may be what you need. It is a small collection of books aimed mostly at beginners but with some material for those learning methods. Towers can borrow the collection for a period of up to two months so that everyone has a chance to see what they might find useful. Individuals or towers can order copies of the books using the details in the catalogue supplied.
If you would like to borrow the collection please contact Gill Glover [] .
Committee Meeting
The next Association committee meeting will be held on Sunday, 6 September 2026.