Hurstpierpoint looking North East

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Quarter peals 1959-2024

Peals 1848-2019

Past events

Obituaries

Visitors in 2014
Visiting ringers in recent months have included ringers from Basingstoke and two groups from Sussex, who rang a quarter peal of Spliced Surprise Major on August 18th and Double Norwich Court Bob Major on September 30th.

Quarter Peal for Rachel
On October 29th David Kirkcaldy, who learnt to ring at Hurst and is now tower captain at Steyning, organised and conducted a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Hurst to give Rachel Mahoney, one of our new young ringers, the opportunity to ring her first quarter peal on eight bells:-

Sussex County Association
Wednesday 29th October in 45 minutes:
1260 Grandsire Triples
Treble: Rachel Mahoney
2: David House
3: Margaret Oram
4: Emma Gadd
5: Ian Vaughan
6: David Kirkcaldy (Conductor)
7: Mike Peate
Tenor: Nick Walsh
First quarter on 8 for the treble ringer

By all accounts Rachel rang very well. Well done Rachel.

Association Ringing Course, 2014
On 31st October & 1st November we were one of the host towers for the annual ringing course organised by the Sussex County Association of Change Ringers.

AGM, 2014
On 12th November we held our AGM, with the Revd. Jane Willis, our new priest in charge, in the chair. We thanked Sue Elrick, our retiring captain, for her years of dedicated service and elected John Norris to succeed her. Likening himself to a decaying bonfire John expressed that the hope that with a bit of poking and raking up of unburnt wood he might manage a brief stint of rekindled enthusiasm. In the medium and long term we need more ringers in their 30s or 40s able to take forward the leadership of the band.

Belfry Spring Clean, 2014
On 29th November we carried out a long overdue ‘spring clean’ of the tower, from the bell chamber to the ground floor. We collected 25lb (11kg) of stone dust and general grime.

At 8:00 AM on the 14th June the bell ringers left on a 1 hour 30 minute journey to the town of Headcorn in Kent. It was a beautiful Town and the church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, had a ring of 8 lovely bells. We then went on to the village of Charing, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury's old Palace. The Church there had one of the tallest spires I had ever seen for a Village church. The 6 bells there were not as nice as Headcorn but we still had a good ring. After that we arrived at the halfway point, the town of Tenterden, where the 8 bells there were some of the biggest ones I'd ever seen. The Tenor required 2 people to get it up and they had to stand on a box which was up to my shoulders. But the bells there were very nice though and afterwards I had a very nice lunch.

Next up was the isolated village of Wittersham; there weren't any tearooms but luckily the flower show was on, so the non-ringers had something to do. The ring of 8 bells there sounded very nice but were not as nice to handle. Last but not least was the town of Rye with its Church tower being open to the Public until 5:00pm allowing them to see the whole of Rye from the top of the Tower. The ring of 8 there was not half bad, they had a lovely tone.

After this last ring we all gathered together again - ringers and non-ringers and ate dinner all together before we went back home to Hurstpierpoint. I enjoyed that day a lot and I will be going on many outings in the Future!

William has been ringing at Holy Trinity for the past 2 years and is making very good progress. It was a pleasure to see him flourish and have the confidence to ring all the different bells on the Outing. Sue Elrick, Tower Captain

A GRAND DAY OUT (Ringing Outing 2010)
by Mel and Lindsay from Hurstpierpoint

Saturday the 19th of June 2010 was the date of our first bell ringing outing and as we are new ringers we had not had the pleasure of attending one before. It was beautifully arranged by our skip Dennis Elliott and was executed in the same calm organised manner in which he keeps us under control whist ringing the bells in our tower in Hurst. We were all told not to be late 7.45am was the allocated time of departure for ringers and non ringers who were joining us. The coach would wait for no one! It was clear that outing veterans arrive 30 minutes before the coach leaves, those of us who were on time appeared to be late!

Nigel was to be our coach driver for the day and he soon had us speeding up the M23 towards our first destination, St Mary Virgin at Chieveley, where we received a cup of coffee and a very warm welcome (we were all very warm, in fact, as the heating on the coach had gone into overdrive and roasted us - quite literally!). We were called to climb the wooden spiral staircase to the tower for the first of the day's ringing sessions. Dennis informed us that we were to be ringing rounds and all new bell ringers were to grab hold, we duly did and all eight bells rang with us new ringers feeling proud as the sound drifted from the tower to the surrounding countryside. Gone were all our nerves and we pulled together, new and old hands alike, to ring.

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We gingerly got back onto the coach having taken a few layers of clothing off. Luckily, nifty Nigel had rectified the dodgy air conditioning. St Mary Virgin at Kintbury was very pretty with a lovely painted ceiling. All non ringers got off the coach and had a look around the church and then found a baker's which sold Lardy Cake. This proved to be very popular and the bakers soon sold out! It become obvious when we were all seated back on the coach that one person in particular had managed to secure a large quantity of the said cake. We won't mention any names as I think this person knows who he is! Peter then proceeded to squirrel it away at the back of the luggage rack. Oops sorry Peter!

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Our final stop of the morning was to be our lunch break, in Hungerford, and the church of St Lawrence, nestled alongside the Kennet and Avon canal. These bells proved to be the nicest of the morning, and we all enjoyed ringing them very much. Our very competent band of professional ringers rang various methods and it sounded really rather lovely. Some of us naively thought that "make your own arrangements for lunch" meant bring a packed lunch. It soon became clear that to some of the old hands this in fact translated to head to the nearest pub. The rest of us sat by the canal with our sarnies and admired the passing narrow boats and swing bridge.

We were told to meet in Hungerford high street at 2pm sharp for our trip on the coach to St Michaels at Lambourn. This also proved to be another really lovely church and some excellent ringing was achieved by both novices and professionals alike. The ever efficient Dennis ushered all the ringers off the coach as the schedule was tight.

The penultimate stop was St Mary's at Speen, which had a complement of only six bells. These, however, were strangely spaced causing Mel to lead from the No.2 bell. An interesting an unexpected method followed. We were joined here by some more very good ringers who were all able to ring perfectly straight away, something us novices aspire to being able to do!

Our last church of the day was St Nicholas in Newbury, which had 10 bells. This was obviously a great thrill, and the experienced ringers amongst us became very animated. The less experienced looked pensive, their anxiety rising as Caters were mentioned. We all had a go at ringing rounds and Lindsay came into her own again being able to ring one of the heavy bells at the back. Then the professionals took over and treated us to Grandsire Caters which sounded wonderful and was a perfect end to our bell ringing.

Our day was not yet over as we motored onto The Spring for a lovely three course meal and a welcome drink or two. All now relaxed and exhausted from a very long, tiring, but enjoyable day, most of us fell into a sleepy state and let Nigel have some peace and quiet on our homeward journey.

All in all a splendid first outing for us new bell ringers and expertly organised by Dennis and Sue. A TRULY GRAND DAY OUT.

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Thank you to the following for their contributions to the day:-

Joyce and David for their words of encouragement, steadying influence and David's cheeky smile.
John for trying to show us women ringers at their best, only to be let down!
Maureen for having a go!
Michelle and Tony for their courage in ringing any bell offered to them.

Chris for his witty comments and comic timing.
Dennis for his kindness and unwavering confidence in his band.

Obituaries

Revd John Greene

Dennis Elliott

Harry Brown

Tony Humphrey

It is with great sadness that we report the death of our friend and fellow ringer, Revd John H Greene, on 16th February 2012, aged 89, following a long period of illness.

John first came to Sussex in 1962, when he was Vicar of Lodsworth and Rector of Selham. In 1969 he moved to Burwash as Rector and in1976 became Rural Dean of Petworth, Priest in charge of Egdean and subsequently Rector of Egdean.

John became a bellringer whilst he was at Lodsworth. During his time there, he instigated the augmentation from 4 to 6 bells and became an enthusiastic keen bell ringer. To his credit, he was elected to the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths in 1972 for whom he rang 3 peals. He also rang a further 25 peals and many quarter peals. John came to Hurstpierpoint from Petworth in 1988, following his retirement.

In Hurstpierpoint, he was much loved by Parishioners, for whom he was Assistant Priest; he also conducted services during several interregna.

He was a practical man and enjoyed creative woodwork amongst his various hobbies, making many fine articles, including church stools, chess sets and of course the handrail round the spiral staircase to the belfry. His presence and ringing skills were much appreciated in the belfry, where he rang 53 quarter peals, ranging from Plain Bob Doubles to Cambridge Surprise Major.

Although John had been ill for some time and unable to get out into the Village, his smiling face and sense of humour, his kind words and soothing voice, will be remembered by many. Our heartfelt sympathies go to his widow Lois and to his family. May he rest in peace.

The funeral service was held on Tuesday 28th February at 11.00am at Holy Trinity Hurstpierpoint with open ringing before and after the service.

A quarter peal in memory of our dear friend and fellow ringer the Revd John Howe Green, who died 16th February 2012. Formerly Vicar of Lodsworth, Rector of Selham and Burwash, Rural Dean of Petworth, and rector of Egdean, he retired to Hurstpierpoint in 1981.

Thursday 22 March 2012 in 47 minutes:
1250 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major

Treble: Susan M Elrick
2: David Kirkcaldy
3: P Jonathan Franklin
4: Hamish M MacNaughton
5: Geoffrey C Rix
6: John R Norris
7: Peter T Hurcombe
Tenor: Alan R Baldock (Conductor)

With the passing of Dennis Elliott on 24th November 2011, the village of Hurstpierpoint lost one of its most gifted and popular residents. Dennis excelled in a number of fields, any one of which could fill the space allocated to this tribute. It is therefore only possible to give but a brief outline in this obituary, but this in no way belittles his many achievements.

Dennis was born in Stratford Mortimer, Berkshire on 3rd February 1939. During his formative years, during which he attended Forest Grammar school, he joined a number of church activities including the choir and ringing with his family on the eight bells. He became a member of the Scout troop (eventually becoming a Queen‘s Scout), learned the piano, and taught himself to play the church organ, a pleasure which remained with him for the rest of his life. At this time also, he learned to play the cornet in the local Brass Band, and progressed in a number of bands before being called up. He joined the RAF and was posted to RAF Locking at Weston Super Mare, where in addition to his camp duties, he joined the RAF Military Band. Such was his ability that later in his musical career he played in the National Brass Band Area finals at The Royal Albert Hall with the Tadley Silver Band — and won!

On demob. from the RAF, Dennis rejoined the Trustee Savings Bank in Reading, and rose through the ranks to senior management. He showed a particular interest and aptitude in computers and when given the opportunity, he transferred to the developing IT section. He was promoted to a position in Crawley, and moved to Gossops Green. Whilst here, he continued with his musical interests, becoming a local organist and choirmaster for several years, (there being no bells in this church) and became the Musical Director of the Horsham Brass Band. Such was his commitment and enthusiasm that his wife Heather was heard to say (much later) ”I‘m fed up with the three Bs! Banking, Bellringing, and BlŒy Brass Bands!

In 1986, Dennis was promoted to head the new Computer Department at LloydsTSB in Brighton, and moved to Hurstpierpoint. He entered into village life with his usual enthusiasm, playing the organ for church services when required, helping with handbell ringing in the village, and accompanying and conducting several singing groups particularly at Christmas time. He became Treasurer of the Girl Guides for many years, and it was a particularly proud moment for him when he was presented with a County award for outstanding service a few weeks before his death.

He soon joined the local ringing band, steadily progressing to ring most methods up to and including Cambridge, and to develop a love of Stedman which he enjoyed calling. He helped to organise the annual Hurst Outing which became a firm village favourite, and took over this task in 2002 until earlier this year. He also became Deputy Tower Captain, and then Captain, a position which he held until his death. Dennis loved good striking, and would not tolerate sloppy ringing. He taught a number of new ringers recently, and they are progressing well — a credit to his memory.

Dennis was also a trains fanatic. He had model trains everywhere! He had a full size layout in his garage, for which he used another of his talents, model making, in creating a scale model of the old Mortimer station, and he mounted his collection of trains each in its own showcase.

But multi-talented as he was, Dennis was much more than this. He was first and foremost a family man. He was married to Heather for nearly 45 years, and had two children, and two grandchildren on whom he doted. His world fell apart when he lost firstly his daughter Sue, and then Heather both with cancer. It says so much for his faith that he was able to carry on so fully, and be such an inspiration to us all. Then, on top of this, he learned some two years ago that he too had abdominal cancer. In true Dennis fashion, he accepted the inevitable, continuing with his life as normal, and extending the prognosis by over a year. It was whilst on holiday with his cousins, Wendy and Chris Johnson that he became very ill, and was taken into the Royal Berkshire Hospital. He was transferred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, and eventually to the local hospitals here. He died peacefully in his sleep at the St Peter and St James Hospice, Wivelsfield.

Dennis was a warm and wonderful friend to many, myself in particular. We spent many happy hours together, and he helped me more than I can say in so many ways. Our sympathies go to Andy, Lisa, Lewis and Jamie, and to other members of his family.

May he rest in peace, and rise in Glory.

Peter T. Hurcombe

The following quarter peals were rung to commemorate his life

Treble: Sian L Maidment
2: Christopher E Pitt
3: Frances P Gilbert
4: Susan M Elrick
5: David Kircaldy
6: John R Norris
7: P Jonathan Franklin (Conductor)
Tenor: Christopher J Johnson (Ox. DG)

Treble: Sian L Maidment
2: Ann Langley
3: Susan M Elrick
4: Marisa Hayes
5: John R Norris (Conductor)
Tenor: Clare Boyling

Sunday 11 December 2011 in 44 minutes:
1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles

Treble: Melanie Broad
2: Clare Boyling *
3: Frances P Glibert
4: Susan M Elrick
5: John R Norris (Conductor)
Tenor: Christopher E Pitt
* First of Bob Doubles inside

Thursday 8 December 2011 in 43 minutes:
1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles

Treble: Lindsay A Smith
2: Sian L Maidment
3: Frances Gilbert
4: Susan M Elrick
5: John R Norris (Conductor)
Tenor: Clare Boyling

Thursday 19 January 2012 in 42 minutes:
1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles

Treble: Michelle A Green *
2: Sian L Maidment
3: Frances Gilbert
4: Susan M Elrick
5: John R Norris (Conductor)
Tenor: Clare Boyling
* First Quarter on tower bells

Thursday 16th February
1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles

Treble: Anthony J Kenyon *
2: Sian L Maidment
3: Frances Gilbert
4: Susan M Elrick
5: John R Norris (Conductor)
Tenor: Clare Boyling
* First Quarter, first attempt.

"I'm sorry, there's a waiting list". With these words Harry greeted the writer's offer to save the world when in a flush of enthusiasm almost fifty years ago he arrived uninvited on the doorstep and said "I want to learn to ring". Harry and the writer chuckled about the incident in later years, for many present day captains would think twice before saying anything to deter, however slightly, an apparently willing volunteer. Harry of course was absolutely right — a short delay would be no deterrent to genuine enthusiasm — and there was indeed a waiting list. Harry and his identical twin brother Stan had recently been appointed tower captains at Hurstpierpoint and the enthusiasm and commitment that they brought to everything they did was revitalising the band, as they had previously done at Aldrington and were later to do at Bolney.

Harry, and Stan who died in 1997, were born at Portslade on 11th October 1923 and joined the Post Office Engineering Department as Youths in Training on 30th December 1940. They were introduced to the mysteries of change ringing during their wartime RAF service as radar mechanics in Sri Lanka by another enthusiast, Peter 'Lofty' Bond, who explained methods to them by drawing the patterns in the sand. When they returned home to Aldrington they were soon at the tower door and had their first tied bell lesson, from tower captain George Steele, on 27th June 1946. They were apt pupils and Harry scored his first peal, Plain Bob Major on the back eight at St Peter's, Brighton, on 17th April 1948, some months ahead of Stan's first, as befits an older brother (albeit by just twenty minutes!). Harry long remembered the embarrassment caused by his much blistered hands when he went socialising that evening.

The twins were elected joint vice captains at Aldrington in 1948 and joint captains in 1950. They were by then Scoutmasters in the 3rd Hove Scout Group, which they had joined as Wolf Cubs at the age of 9. They had already persuaded the dubious elderly male members of the Aldrington band that their sister Mary might be allowed to learn to ring. Her success — she rang her first peal in 1953 and her first as conductor less than a year later — opened the door for others and Guides as well as Scouts were prominent among the ringers recruited by Harry and his brother. During their eight year joint captaincy of the band at Aldrington, 29 ringers were taught to handle a bell, 155 quarter peals were rung, 34 ringers rang their first quarter, nine rang their first quarter as conductor and 11 rang their first peal.

On 2nd August 1958 Harry married Joan (on the same day that Stan married Rosemary) and the happy couples moved to Hurstpierpoint as next door neighbours. Hary and Stan became joint captains at Hurst the following January and repeated the success story they had worked at Aldrington, laying the foundations for the fine Hurst band of the 1970s and early 80s. From 1960 to 1963 they were also joint tower captains at Bolney, recruiting and training a completely new band of ringers and being instrumental in getting the bells rehung. Harry and Stan stood down as captains at Hurst in 1969 but both later returned to office as sole captain, in Harry's case from 1975-77. His personal quarter peal total of 624 included 132 at Aldrington and 411 at Hurst, among the latter Bristol and London with all local bands, in 1973 and 1978 respectively. Of the 162 quarters Harry conducted, 85 had a 'first quarter peal' ringer in the band and there were many lesser 'firsts' as well. Altogether Harry and Stan taught nearly a hundred people to ring. As Harry himself observed "The part of our ringing career that we have enjoyed most is the recruitment of ringers and training them in the early stages of their ringing". They also taught many people tune ringing on handbells. Among hundreds of handbell engagements over the years, a regular function in the 1960s was the annual carol service at Telephone House in Brighton.

With the band at Hurst firmly established and in good hands, Harry and Stan had a little time to further their own ringing development and rang in many of the monthly peals arranged by Peter Hurcombe. Over 30 of Harry's total of 57 were rung in the 1970s. Among these he rated his pinnacle of achievement 4-Spliced all the work Surprise Major (Rutland, Cambridge, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) at Christ Church, Eastbourne on 5th May 1973. He would recall in later years that it was the only peal where he ever beat Peter Hurcombe into the pub afterwards!

Harry, and Stan too, were elected members of the Sussex County Association of Change Ringers in 1947 . They served the association in a variety of offices and were made Honorary Life Members in 1989. They were elected also to membership of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths, the Guildford Diocesan Guild, the Bedfordshire Association and the Guild of Post and Telecom Ringers — of which last they were founder members. Many of their pupils in turn went on to serve as officers in the Sussex County Association, including Jonathan Franklin, the present Master, while Harry's eldest son Andrew is currently Captain at St. Martin in the Fields in London.

When one thinks of Harry and his brother one remembers their warmth, their charm and enthusiasm, their encouragement and their wise counsel, the enjoyment of being part of a team with them and the pleasure they took in the achievements of others, particularly those they had taught. One remembers also ideals that today sometimes seem largely forgotten — like duty, commitment and service. These qualities too were an essential part of their success as captains, exemplified by themselves and expected of their ringers — this writer well remembers the disfavour accorded his request to skip ringing practice one evening in order to go skating on a local pond with fellow members of the church youth fellowship! Like all captains, they lost ringers they had trained but their successes were many and throughout the length and breadth of the Exercise are ringers able to say with gratitude and affection that they were taught by 'The Browns'.

There was of course much more to Harry than bell ringing and scouting. There was Harry the engineer — for on their return home after the war he and Stan had resumed their careers with Post Office Telephones, now British Telecom, rising in time to Executive Engineer rank and, ultimately, senior positions in London, where Harry's office overlooked St Paul's Cathedral. Then there was Harry the devout Christian, living his happy faith in the Lord by example throughout his life and as churchwarden, lay assistant at Holy Communion, founder member, with Stan, of the Mid Sussex Victim Support Scheme and driving force behind the planning and fundraising for the new Scout HQ in Hurst. In a fitting tribute to the contribution made by Harry and his twin brother to the local community, the road opposite the Scout Headquarters was named Brown Twins Road. Not least there was Harry the family man, devoted to his wife Joan, their children Andrew, Stuart and Duncan and their grandchildren Barney, Oliver and Leo. Sadly, Joan died in 2006 and Harry himself suffered increasingly from Alzheimer's. His lifelong habit of note-taking enabled him to cope well for a long time with increasing memory loss and although eventually the Harry we all knew and loved had largely disappeared he retained his warmth towards others almost to the end.

Harry died peacefully in his sleep on 18th January. His funeral took place at Holy Trinity Church, Hurstpierpoint on Thursday, 29th January. Among the 300 strong congregation were a former President of the Central Council, the current General Secretary, the Master of the Sussex Association, the General Secretary, the Peal Secretary, the Restoration Fund Secretary, five former masters and a good number of those taught to ring by Harry and his brother. It was an uplifting service of thanksgiving and Christian hope, proclaimed to the world at large by the ringing of the bells both before and afterwards.

John Norris

Tony Humphrey was born at Brighton in 1932; the family home was in Brigden Street and living next door was one of the ringers at St Nicholas’ church in the town. When the ban on ringing imposed during World War Two was lifted in 1943 Tony was taught to ring at St Nicholas by Frank Bennett, a nationally well known ringer and leader of the St Nicholas’ ringers. At this time there were still two separate bands in Brighton.

Progress must have been rapid as in early 1945 Tony rang his first peal, Plain Bob Major, at his home tower conducted by Frank. The band also included many other well known ringers from St Peter’s Brighton. More peals followed over the next few years including Stedman Caters, in fact Tony rang nine peals up until 1947. Evidently in his early ringing days friendly rivalry between Tony and Stella Wickens (now Knight) with their respective mentors pushing them on as they were the only young ringers in the area.

Tony completed his National Service in the RAF with various overseas postings. Returning to Brighton he trained as an engineering draughtsman and was employed by the firm of Allen West & Co. He then moved to a firm of consulting engineers, Preece, Cardew & Rider. His drawings were known to always be of the highest standard and it was said that if you used plans drawn by Tony they would always be exactly correct. In his later working life the firm merged with Ewbank & Partners to become Ewbank Preece.

In 1959 Tony married Angela Minton, sister of another ringer at St Nicholas' church, and in 1961 they moved to Hurstpierpoint This brought Tony into contact with the Brown twins and he became a stalwart member of the local band. Whilst a member of the band at Hurstpierpoint he held various offices over the years. As could be imagined his ringing was of a very high standard, reliable in methods and a good striker.

As with every tower there were highs and lows at Hurstpierpoint but when Peter Hurcombe moved to the village the band was definitely on the up. At practice nights Surprise Major was already on the menu but the repertoire increased and Tony was an integral member. One other thing that started at this time was going to the pub after ringing; Tony especially enjoyed this, having a chat over a pint of Harveys which was his favourite tipple. Through Peter Hurcombe’s influence Tony joined the Ancient Society of College Youths.

Aside from family, work, and ringing Tony had other interests; he played the piano and his musical skill found another outlet when he joined the Chanctonbury Morris Men which allowed his skill as an accordion player to find full expression. He kept bees until he discovered he was allergic to their sting, and at one time he had two allotments. For a number of years he and Angela ran the church Sunday School, they were both regular in attending Holy Trinity church.

In later years ill health prevented Tony from continuing with his ringing; this, however left more time for him to spend playing bowls. He did retain an interest in what was happening with ringing not only at Hurstpierpoint but in the wider area. Following a short spell in Hospital Tony sadly passed away on 3 July 2015.

His funeral service was well attended by family and friends reflecting all of his interests. All were encouraged to join Angela and family afterwards at The Sportsman in Goddards Green to enjoy a last pint of Harveys with Tony.

Angela wishes to thank everybody who helped her at a difficult time, with a special thank you to the ringers who rang the quarter peal at Hurstpierpoint in memory of Tony on the day of the funeral.

David Kirkcaldy
(reprinted from Soundbow, Autumn 2015)

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