Come and join the Branch Practice at Corton Denham on 7th March 2.30pm.
It is a lovely church with 5 bells, with some great history attached – 1569, 1694, 2x from 1724, and an 1869.
Corton Denham is also of particular interest for the ringers from the Bruton Benefice.
Abbot William Gilbert came from here. He became the prior of Bruton Priory with the sponsorship of the Fitzjames family of Redlynch, a daughter of whom had married into the Gilberts of Corton Denham/Whitcombe.
Sir Richard Fitzjames became the Bishop of London and his nephew, Sir John Fitzjames, the Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench for King Henry VIII.
William Gilbert visited the Pope Julius II in Rome and managed to get Bruton Priory upgraded to Bruton Abbey.
William Gilbert then went on a bit of a building spree and finished upgrading St. Mary’s and also the priory building to abbey standards.
Sir Richard and Sir John then provided him a feoffment of land to create what is now known as King’s Bruton School in 1519.
Sir Richard died and relations between Abbott Gilbert and Sir John started to deteriorate.
In 1528, Gilbert gave a feoffment of new school buildings and some land in Bruton for the school back to Sir John. At the same time, Bell No. 4 in St. Mary’s appeared.
Bell No. 4 is the oldest dated bell in the branch. Dedicated to St. Mary and St. Stephen it also carries the heraldic arms of Sir John (a dolphin), his wife Elizabeth (a coney/rabbit), and William Gilbert’s Abbey heraldry of the Mohuns.
It seems, perhaps, to have been an attempt to show unity at a time when the power of the church was about to be upended by the power of the realm.
Gilbert was dead by 1533. His successor, chosen by Sir John, surrendered the abbey.
Maurice Berkeley took over Bruton Abbey’s lands after the dissolution – no coincidence at all, Maurice was the stepson of Sir John.
The Berkeleys of Bruton were the dominant local family for the next couple of centuries and have played a role in the other bells of St. Mary’s Bruton.
So, for “history of Bruton” buffs, Corton Denham is a “must visit” 😄
Save the date: 17th May 2026
The Great Cary Branch Ring
17th May is the national “Bell Sunday” celebration.
To mark this event, we are discussing an attempt to ring in every Cary Branch tower that Sunday.
44 Towers. 237 Bells. 93 Tons of Heavy Metal. 700 Yards of Sound Bow.
So, we will need all the ringers we can find!
New ringers. Experienced ringers. Occasional ringers. Regular ringers. We will need YOU!
We will divide into teams to cover each area of the branch.
It will be a fantastic day out visiting multiple towers and a great way to celebrate our communities.
KEEP THIS DAY FREE AND LOOK OUT FOR MORE DETAILS 😃
Join the St. Peter’s Open Day at West Lydford on 21st March from 10.00-12.00.
There will be ringing from 10.00-10.45 and then the tower will be open to visitors.
Plus, from 10.30 there will be tea, coffee, and bacon butties!
It’s a beautiful spot with some heritage bells to ring too.
Donations will go towards some critical maintenance required on the bells – so a big turnout will be very much appreciated.
See you there!
Please note that Wincanton’s practice session has changed to Tues 7.00pm-8.30pm until further notice.
