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Church of St Teilo - The Bells & Bellringers.

The church bells bear the date 1709 and their frame rests on four large timber uprights all made from a single oak tree. For 30 years the bells of Llantilio Crossenny church were silent until 2012 when a team of ringers was re-established.

The Bells

The bells are sixty foot high and stand on four blocks of stone, one at each corner of the tower. This framework seems to have been put up for extra strength at the time the bells were installed, and the shingle spire rising a further 50 feet above the top of the tower was added at the same time.

The original 6 bells were cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1708-9, with a tenor weighing 10 cwts and 23lbs, (520 kgs). The present peal was cast from the metal of this earlier ring in 1978 by the White Chapell Bell Foundry of London, the bells being augmented to eight. The present tenor weighs 4 cwts 2qts and 4 lbs, (230 kgs) and is tuned in the key of D.

The Bellringers

During the 30 years when the bells were silent, dust and cobwebs collected in the bell chamber out of sight from the congregations below.  However, if you visit the bell chamber today you will find  it looks as clean as your front room thanks to the efforts of the ringers over the last few weeks. The reason behind the big clean up was a visit on Saturday 15 August by about 20 ringers from throughout the Diocese for a general ringing practice.  Make a note in your diary for August 2045 to remind the ringers it is time to clean the bell chamber again!

On Saturday 1st August members of Llantilio bellringers were particularly busy.  The day started at 11.30 when the bells were rung in Skenfrith Church for a midday wedding.  After ringing the bells at the end of the service they had to dash up to Grosmont to ring the bells for a 2.30 wedding.  At the end of the afternoon they retired to The Bell (an appropriate name) for a rest. Right is a view of the bride through a tiny slit in the bell tower at Grosmont.  That is all they saw of the wedding!

Following a request from the UK Government for bells to be rung to mark the 70th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day), Llantilio Bell ringers rang in four churches on Saturday 9 May.  The day started at 10.30 in Abbeydore followed by Ewyas Harold Church at 11.45.  Lunch was taken in the Temple public house in Ewyas Harold.  In the afternoon there was ringing in Llantilio Pertholey and then finally in Llantilio Crossenny.  The exhausted ringers finished at 4.30 and retired to Warwicks!

Bellringers
Bellringers

The above video shows ringing during a practice session in January 2019