Reading Branch,ODG - Goring-on-Thames

Goring-on-Thames

Bells:	Ring of 8 bells (8-0-21 / 416kg) in the key of A.
Dedication:	St Thomas of Canterbury.
Location:	OS map ref. SU 597807 (map 175) Click to view map.
Parking:	The church is next to the old Mill in Goring and very close to the River Thames. There is no public parking near to the church. Park in the side roads off the main street, or in the public car park some ¼ mile east of the church (for which a small charge is made).
Access/Height:	Enter by the west door of the church and turn left, ascend the spiral staircase, then turn left along a low corridor (mind your head). The ringing chamber has a skylight to give light from the window openings in the tower. Draught is average.
Service ringing:	Sunday mornings - 9.00 am to 9.30 am, Sunday evenings by arrangement.
Practice ringing:	Wednesday evenings - 7:45pm to 9:15pm The practice is held jointly with Streatley.
Facilities:	A Ringing Simulator is available on all 8 bells. There is a small kitchen area in the base of the tower and up a few steps, and also a toilet. There are also public toilets in the public car park ¼ mile away.
Belfry fittings:	The clappers are tied with ropes when the simulator is in use.
Ringers:
Picture: © 200 PB
Bell details:	No.	Weight cwt qr lb	Note	Date Cast	Founder	Inscription
	1	3-0-4	A	1929	Mears & Stainbank	CAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	2	3-1-4	G#	1929	Mears & Stainbank	CAST 1889. RECAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	3	3-3-9	F#	1929	Mears & Stainbank	THXS BELL WAS MADE X626 : RECAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	4	4-0-26	E	1929	Mears & Stainbank	CAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	5	4-3-16	D	1929	Mears & Stainbank	CAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	6	5-1-2	C#	1929	Mears & Stainbank	Sancte Blasi : RECAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	7	7-0-6	B	1929	Mears & Stainbank	PRAXES YE THE LORD X624 : RECAST 1929 : M & S. LONDON
	8	8-0-21	A	1929	Mears & Stainbank	CAST 1929. : MEARS & STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON.
History:	The current ring of 8 bells was recast and rehung by Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel in 1929. The service bell is hung for chiming; it was the 3rd of the ring of 6 which was replaced in 1929. It was cast by Ellis Knight I in 1630, and weighs approx. 3cwt-1qr. The inscription is 'LOVE GOD'. The 4th of the former ring was moved from the belfry in 1929 and hung in church above the tower arch. Around the shoulder of the bell above its inscription band is a narrow flat moulding of a type common in the 14th century. It is a maiden casting with a strike note of D natural, and weighs approx. 4cwt. It is 29" in diameter, and 23" high from lip to shoulder. It dates from c. 1290 and is one of the few surviving bells cast by Richard de Wymbish (there is another in Cholsey). The inscription reads: ORATE : PRO : PETRO : EXONIENSI : EPISCOPO : RICARD : DE ; VVYMBIS : ME : FIST 'FIST' is the Norman-French form of the Latin 'FECIT' found on later castings. This is a prayer for a Bishop, probably Peter de Quivil who held the See of Exeter from 1280 to 1291. The bell was originally a gift to the Goring Nunnery from its Patron, Edmund Lord of Wallingford. The prioress at the time was Sarah de Exeter (hence the connection with Exeter). The former 5th was cast by John Saunders in around 1556 and is dedicated at St Blaise.

Guidance for Tower Correspondent

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