News - Church says notices were on display (Warsop)

FOLK are demanding answers as to why they were not informed about the removal and destruction of an ancient font from a church.


Those living in Warsop are questioning why the 19th Century stone font was removed from St Peter and St Paul on Bishops Walk and broken up.

The Victorian Society recently inquired about its whereabouts and contacted the Southwell and Nottingham Diocese, which said its removal was agreed last October as part of a ‘minor re-ordering’.

In an email correspondence with the Victorian Society, a spokesman for the diocese said: “Although other areas of the church were considered for the font to be moved to, the parish felt in the end that nowhere was suitable.

“As happens in these cases the font was ordered by the chancellor to be broken up and buried in the churchyard.

“This was all done with the approval of the architect and archdeacon and the Diocesan Advisory Committee and the final judgement of the chancellor.”

The Victorian Society says it had no record of being consulted on the move and locals say they would have objected, had they known.

Resident Adrian Hardy said: “My concern is that they have demolished heritage which they have a responsibility to preserve for future generations.

“When they have the begging bowl out they contact everyone, but when they want to demolish our heritage its all done in a rather cloak and dagger manner.”

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/church-says-notices-were-on-display-1-4921791

Exhibition - Our city’s twin towers (Sheffield)

IT is the oldest building in Sheffield, one of the city’s most instantly recognisable landmarks and a place where thousands gather each year to worship, to pray and to attend the odd concert.

But here is Sheffield Cathedral as you have probably never seen it before.

Because this is how the nearly 600-year-old Grade I listed building was set to look if hugely ambitious plans drawn up in the 1910s had come to fruition.

A second spire, a massive new south-facing nave stretching across the courtyard to where the trams now run and a complete redevelopment of the north side with a modern chancel and sanctuary would have made the cathedral one of the largest in the UK.

These pictures – and more than 100 others from the building’s long past – are to go on display at a special exhibition celebrating its history this month.

“It’s difficult to imagine just how impressive the Cathedral would have looked if the plans had been made reality,” says Paul Sewell, cathedral verger and the man behind the exhibition.

“But these pictures certainly give a flavour of just how huge it would have been if those plans had gone ahead.”

Those plans, then, were drawn up in 1913 when the then parish church had just been granted Cathedral status.

Sheffield was a confident and newly rich city – with the growth of the steel industry – and the Cathedral was to reflect its growing importance.

Celebrated ecclesiastical architect Charles Nicholson drew up the plans which would have been funded by the church and the city.

But, while huge swathes of the development were completed, including the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, the Crypt Chapel of All Saints, the Chapel of St George and the Chapter House – all on the north side and worked on in the 1930s – perhaps the more impressive elements never happened.

Why?

“It took so long to complete the development on the north side,” says Paul, “by the time they were ready to work on other areas World War Two had started and the plans were abandoned.

“There just wasn’t the material or funding to carry on, so it never happened.”

Indeed, when the conflict ended in 1945, and with Britain suffering a period of austerity, new scaled back plans were drawn up.

Another architect, Arthur Bailey, was appointed and it was his vision which we today see on the south side – a narthex entrance leading to an extended west end with a lantern tower, completed in the 1960s.

Although the new Cathedral – officially called the Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul – was considerably smaller than it would have been, it still dwarfed the old church footprint.

“In a way it was perhaps a blessing because one of the things people really love about the Cathedral now is its open courtyard,” says Paul.

The exhibition of photos, including several newly discovered pictures from the 1920s - 1940s, is being held to celebrate the Cathedral’s Gateway Project, a scheme to make the building more visitor-friendly.

It runs there July 11 – August 19.

A brief history of Sheffield cathedral

900s: The Sheffield Cross, a Saxon religious monument now housed in the British Museum, is believed to have been sited where today’s Cathedral is.

1100s: William de Lovetot builds the first church here. Stones from this first building can still be seen in the east wall of the Cathedral’s sanctuary.

1266: The church is burned down during the Second Barons’ War but is rebuilt some 14 years later.

1430: A new church is built – it is this which forms the basis of the Cathedral we see today.

1520: The Shrewsbury Chapel is built – the first of several expansions over the next 500 years.

1805: A diarist records the church is ‘one of the most gloomy places of worship in the kingdom’ and the nave is later pulled down and rebuilt.

1913-14: The church is granted Cathedral status. There follows four decades of expansion and improvements.

2011: The £1.25 million Gateway Project is launched to make the Cathedral more visitor-friendly.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/community/the-diary/our_city_s_twin_towers_1_3547129

News - Famous bells to be replaced in historic Shelford church

ONE of them dates from as long ago as the 14th Century, the other from the late 1400s to early 1500s.

But after centuries of ringing, two of the county's oldest church bells are finally in need of replacement.

This is the task facing the staff of the venerable Church of St Peter and St Paul in Shelford, near Radcliffe-on-Trent.

The two bells, made of bronze, copper and tin, weigh more than half a ton between them. 

The large tenor bell was made by the Mellours family of Nottingham between 1472 and 1508 while the other, known to bell-ringers as a third, was forged in around 1350.

Both are inscribed with Latin letters and, so far as anyone can tell, have been hanging in the church's Western Tower since they were made.

They have been rung to mark Sunday services, weddings, funerals and other special occasions throughout the years.

Now, they will be replaced by two comparatively new bells, which were made in the 1950s.

"When the clapper strikes it makes an indentation, and although you can turn the bells every few years the indentations are affecting the tone of the bells," said church warden Christine Mills-Kennedy, who comes from a family of Notts church bell ringers.

"The third bell is now in danger of cracking and the tenor bell doesn't have a very good tone."

Although both of the old bells are being retained for lighter uses, they still have to be removed from the church tower so that the new ones can take over their role.

This difficult task is being handled for free by Mrs Mills-Kennedy's son Andrew, who works for one of Britain's few remaining bell foundries, John Taylor and Co, of Loughborough.

The plan is to use block-and-tackle gear to lower the bells, and the heavy metal headstocks they are bolted to, through a trapdoor in the floor of the bell room.

They will then be lowered through a second trapdoor in the floor beneath. At this point, the bells will be dangling over the church's polished French organ, but must somehow be safely diverted to the floor.

"I'm very happy for the church and the village," said the Reverend Graeme Anderson, priest in charge at St Peter and St Paul.

But will anybody in the village hear an improved sound when the two new bells are ringing out?

"If you have a musical ear you will notice a difference," said Mrs Mills-Kennedy.

As well as its ancient bells, Shelford's church is well known for many historical associations, including an incident in the English Civil War when Royalist soldiers who barricaded themselves in the bell tower were smoked out by Parliamentarians.

Arthur Mee described the church as beautiful and "rich in fame" in his King's England guide to Nottinghamshire.

The old bells will be coming out in the next month or so. They are staying in the tower but are being moved to the side for other duties. The small third bell will be used occasionally as a sanctus bell for special services while the tenor will be rigged up to the tower clock and used to sound the hour.

The new bells are costing about £10,000, met by parish fundraising and existing church funds.

The two new bells will both be inscribed with the names of former Shelford residents.

The tenor will be named Betty in honour of Betty Cheetham MBE, the former parish councillor who gave years of service to the community and died in 2009.

The smaller bell will be inscribed with the name of Mrs Mills-Kennedy's late husband Brian. He is buried in the church graveyard, just yards from the tower where he helped ring out sound across Shelford. His headstone is in the shape of a bell.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Ringing-changes/article-3233606-detail/article.html