The Bell tower - August 2026

What a joy it was to welcome the Year 6 leavers from Sharow Primary School and Nursery on 15th July. Bells were rung, poems written, quiz questions answered and chocolate eaten! This will definitely become an annual evert. I must thank everyone involved who helped with the activities and for members of Wonderful Wednesday, with whom we shared the church. We also had the Old Duffers visiting on 28th July. They told stories of times gone by and successfully rang a Quarter Peal on the simulator. 45 minutes of continuous ringing. What a great idea it was to ensure all 8 bells could be rung by visitors and for our Wednesday morning practices. On 15th August we have the Ladies Guild of Change Ringers visiting, again using the simulator. I asked Dawn, the organizer, to let me know about the Ladies Guild.
The Ladies Guild of Change Ringers exists to encourage women ringers to achieve their full potential in a friendly, supportive and developmental environment. We are a national organisation with members across the country, from Hampshire to Lancashire, and many places in between. But not yet Yorkshire!! We have therefore organised a ringing day for women ringers and are delighted to be ringing at Sharow on the afternoon of 15th August. The main purpose of the day is to get women ringers together to learn about the Guild and ring in a supportive and developmental environment. The ringers at Sharow tower are always highly supportive and welcoming and this make such a big difference.  We are ringing at Kirtlington in the morning and are grateful to both towers for hosting us.
On Friday 28th August from 11.00am till 12.30pm, Cambridge University Guild will be ringing a Quarter Peal, so expect to hear some very good ringing. John who is organising the visit wrote: The Cambridge University Guild was established in 1879, and rings regularly around the towers in Cambridge, as well as having an annual summer tour, which this year is coming to North Yorkshire. We were delighted to ring for the wedding on 18thAugust and pleased to be able to toll the bell for a funeral on 24th. 
I was asked recently how much we have raised for Sharow Bells Restoration and how much the project will cost. 5 of the bells are being sponsored by individuals or groups and we have money in the bank ring fenced in a restricted Sharow PCC fund. This totals about £60,000. The total cost of the project is about £260,000. As we are still awaiting the report from the Civil Engineers, final drawings and cost from the Architect and Taylor’s the bell specialists, we don’t have a total figure. Unfortunately, our application to Historic England was not successful. On 21st July, we had a meeting with Nicola Bell, no relation to David, who will help us evaluate the project as part of National Heritage Lottery Funding. She advised that we  apply for and gain the Diocese Full Faculty approval before applying for NHLF, so that is now our priority. In the meantime, Sharow Ringers continue to ring for Sunday Service, and practice on a Monday evening and Wednesday morning. We welcome ringers old and new to improve their ringing and join us in the joy of ringing the bells. Special mention this month must go to Greg, who has rung rounds and call changes on 6 bells for the first time. 
On Saturday 12th September 10am till 2pm, as part of National Heritage Open Days, there’s an ideal opportunity to take part in bellringing activities, with visits up the tower from 10am till 1pm, bell related activities and refreshments in church  till 2pm. Of course, cake will be eaten! I’m very excited that I’ll be attempting my fist Quarter Peal from 1pm to 2pm. The tower will be closed during that time, but the activities in church will still be happening.
For more information, please contact
Bridget Taylor-Connor
07752981346  
[email protected]  
https://justgiving.com/campaign/appealforapeal