Category: tower

New Bell Assembly

The assembly that will bear our new bells has been completed by specialist bell hangers Matthew Higby & Company of Radstock in Somerset. It will now be carefully taken apart again and transported to Hawkesbury, where it will be reassembled in our recently restored tower. The people in this photo by Ian Macfadyen show just how enormous the assembly is.

Meanwhile, the bells themselves are getting ever closer, due to arrive on Friday morning. (We’re not envying the lorry driver that has to bring 8 big bells down the lanes on his truck!)

If you’d like to view the bells on the ground, for the last time before they are hung aloft for centuries, come down to the church between 11 and 3 on Saturday 22nd, Sunday 23rd, Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th May, or at evensong at 6pm on Sunday. Exciting and historic times for Hawkesbury!

To find out more about the highly specialised craftsmanship of Matthew Higby & Company, visit their website: www.bellhangers.com.

The Arrival of Our New Bells

After extended and energetic fundraising, and thanks to the generosity of kind donors, grant-making bodies and individuals, St Mary’s Hawkesbury is about to take delivery of a new ring of eight bells, which will be installed in the newly restored and refurbished tower during the spring and summer.

The bells have been cast especially for us in Italy, are currently being tuned in Somerset, and will arrive at St Mary’s late May, where they will go on public display at ground level before they are installed in the tower.

INVITATION TO VIEW THE NEW BELLS ON THE GROUND (22nd-25th May)

This will be the only chance you have to see them on the ground for the next few centuries!

To enable as many people as possible to take advantage of this opportunity, the church will be open over four days at the following times:

  • Saturday 22nd May – 11am-3pm
  • Sunday 23rd May – 11am-3pm & 6pm for Evensong
  • Monday 24th May – 11am-3pm
  • Tuesday 25th May – 11am-3pm

WATCH THE BLESSING LIVE VIA YOUTUBE

On the evening of Saturday 22nd, there will also be a service for the bells to blessed by the Bishop. You are also welcome to view the blessing service via a live feed on Youtube via this link: https://youtu.be/ljxQwKbiv2Y

You can follow the Order of Service via the following link, and also print it as a downloadable pdf as a souvenir:

Order-of-ServiceDownload

April 2021 News

Lisa Overton, Secretary of the Friends of St Mary’s, provides our latest news round-up:

Eastertime, spring on its way and winter behind us, all the conservation work of the church completed, the new bells soon to be hung and start ringing, this is surely a time of hope and celebration for the Friends of St Mary’s.

We hope that the ending of the lockdown will allow us to plan events for the summer and autumn, including a performance by the Bristol Male Voice Choir, so please keep an eye on our website, our Facebook page and the Hawkesbury Parish News.

We hope to hold the Friends of St Mary’s AGM on Sunday 25th July in the church, followed by choral evensong, so please keep the date free.

THANK YOU TO DONORS AND GRANT-GIVERS

At the end of our successful project on the tower, we would like to thank the following for their wonderful financial support:

  • The Friends of St Mary’s, who raised and donated £55,000
  • The Enovert Trust (£20,000)
  • Gloucester Historic Churches Trust (£8,000)
  • The Sandra Trust (£8,000)
  • The Headley Trust (£5,000)
  • The Cottam Trust (£4,000)
  • The All Churches Trust (£2,300)
  • South Gloucestershire Council (£500)
  • The Renishaw Trust (£1,500)
  • The Langtree Trust (£500)
  • The Rausing Trust (£8,000)

I must add John and Stephanie Appleby and many other individuals who have been so generous. Many thanks too must go to the energetic fundraisers, especially Peter Setterfield, who organised the highly successful Waterloo Ball in 2015, to our Chairman Sir Ian Macfadyen and to Colin Dixon.

LIKE TO BECOME A FRIEND OF ST MARY’S?

The Friends of St Mary’s, founded in 1980, exists to raise funds for the fabric and preservation of St Mary’s church, and is open to anyone to join (you don’t have to be a church-goer, though you would be very welcome!)

We have members from far afield who have particular affection for this special building and its history, and who value its place in the fabric of our village and community.

For details of membership, click here. 

APRIL SERVICES

Due to lockdown, all services will be online this month, hosted on the Badminton Benefice’s YouTube account here.

4th – 10am – Easter Sunday (from Hawkesbury)
11h – 10am – Easter 2 (from Leighterton)
18th – 10am – Easter 3 (from Didmarton)
26th – 10am – St Mark the Evangelist (from Lasborough)

PLUS Midweek services on Zoom – every Wednesday at 9.30am
(Please contact the Vicar if you would like to attend)