St Michael & All Angels Church, Bishop's Cleeve
Encyclopedia
St Michael & All Angels is the Anglican church in the village of Bishop's Cleeve
, just north of Cheltenham
in Gloucestershire
. Informally the church is known simply as St Michael's.
Weights, notes and dates of the bells are shown in the table below:
Further details of the bells are available at the Dove's Guide entry for Bishop's Cleeve.
The overall benefice
of Bishop's Cleeve and Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton is made up of two ecclesiastical parishes
- Bishop's Cleeve, and Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton.
The parish of Bishop's Cleeve includes the villages of Bishop's Cleeve, Southam, Woodmancote and Cleeve Hill. Unusually it has two church buildings - St Michael & All Angels at Bishop's Cleeve and The Ascension at Southam. (The Ascension is strictly only a second 'worship centre', not a parish church - although it's known informally as Southam's church, legally the parish church of Southam is still St Michael's. Until 2008 there was also St Peter's at Cleeve Hill, but this building is now disused.)
The parish of Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton encompasses the tiny villages of Woolstone and Oxenton, and the larger one of Gotherington
. It also has two church buildings - St Martin de Tours at Woolstone, and St John the Baptist at Oxenton, but there is no Anglican church building at Gotherington even though most of the population live there.
Bishop's Cleeve
Bishop's Cleeve is an urbanised village in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, near Cheltenham. The village lies at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds.- History :...
, just north of Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Informally the church is known simply as St Michael's.
History
The church building is Grade 1 listed, with parts dating back over 900 years.Bells
There are 9 bells in the church tower: a full peal of 8 which are rung for services and special occasions, and a little 'sanctus' bell. (In the past the sanctus bell would be rung at various points in a Holy Communion service, but this practice is generally not followed nowadays.)Weights, notes and dates of the bells are shown in the table below:
| Bell | Weight | Nominal | Note | Diameter | Cast | Founder | Canons |
| 1 | 5-0-27 | 1280.0 | Eb | 28.38" | 1951 | John Taylor & Co | F |
| 2 | 5-3-1 | 1206.0 | D | 29.50" | 1951 | John Taylor & Co | F |
| 3 | 6-1-8 | 1073.0 | C | 32.13" | c1700 | Abraham I Rudhall | Y |
| 4 | 7-3-16 | 956.0 | Bb | 35.25" | 1758 | Abel Rudhall | Y |
| 5 | 8-2-11 | 853.0 | Ab | 36.88" | 1740 | Abel Rudhall | Y |
| 6 | 9-3-13 | 803.5 | G | 38.63" | 1854 | William Taylor | Y |
| 7 | 13-2-7 | 717.0 | F | 43.50" | 1700 | Abraham I Rudhall | R |
| 8 | 19-2-21 | 638.0 | Eb | 47.50" | 1933 | John Taylor & Co | F |
| Sanctus | 0-2-10 | 13.88" | 1695 | Abraham I Rudhall | Y |
Further details of the bells are available at the Dove's Guide entry for Bishop's Cleeve.
Benefice of Bishop's Cleeve and Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton
As is common in the Church of England, St Michael's is part of a complex structure of rural parishes.The overall benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
of Bishop's Cleeve and Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton is made up of two ecclesiastical parishes
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
- Bishop's Cleeve, and Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton.
The parish of Bishop's Cleeve includes the villages of Bishop's Cleeve, Southam, Woodmancote and Cleeve Hill. Unusually it has two church buildings - St Michael & All Angels at Bishop's Cleeve and The Ascension at Southam. (The Ascension is strictly only a second 'worship centre', not a parish church - although it's known informally as Southam's church, legally the parish church of Southam is still St Michael's. Until 2008 there was also St Peter's at Cleeve Hill, but this building is now disused.)
The parish of Woolstone with Gotherington and Oxenton encompasses the tiny villages of Woolstone and Oxenton, and the larger one of Gotherington
Gotherington
Gotherington is a village north of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. It is surrounded on the north by the villages of Woolstone and Oxenton, and to the south by Woodmancote and Bishop's Cleeve. It has a population of around 1,200.-History:...
. It also has two church buildings - St Martin de Tours at Woolstone, and St John the Baptist at Oxenton, but there is no Anglican church building at Gotherington even though most of the population live there.