The united benefice of Shiplake, Dunsden and Harpsden

23/01/2025

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde pleaded with the newly elected president after Trump promised an immigration crackdown

04/12/2024

The page for Shiplake, Dunsden and Harpsden is currently not being updated during the interregnum.
Please go to:
https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/27-442AP/
where all the church details/services/information etc is being updated.

We welcome you to explore our website and we look forward meeting you at one of our services and events. The United Benefice of Shiplake with Dunsden and Harpsden cm Bolney associates three churches in rural South Oxfordshire - St Peter and St Paul, Shiplake, All Saints, Dunsden and....

21/06/2024

My latest Icon in its Victorian frame

21/03/2024

One of our local churches - please do share this, it would be lovely if these items were recovered.

04/03/2024

Bellringer and Tower Captain Cyril Crouch has decided to step down from his role at Shiplake after almost 50 years of service!

He decided the year of his 90th birthday was a fitting moment to pass the leadership baton on, but remains determined to ring the bells as long as he is able.

Cyril joined the bellringing team at Shiplake in 1970, having learned his craft in Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire where he grew up. In that time Cyril has made a massive contribution to keeping the bells ringing and improving the facilities. He has taught countless people of all ages to ring over those years.

https://www.oxford.anglican.org/cyril-rings-the-changes-to-retire.php

18/02/2024

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, has announced with great sadness the unexpected death of his colleague, the Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham.

Paying tribute to Bishop Alan, Bishop Steven said: “Alan was a dear friend and colleague to many across the Diocese. Alan has deep friendships and pastoral relationships across both church and community in Bucks. He has offered remarkable leadership to our work in education and church schools over more than a decade. Alan has been a friend and advocate for survivors of abuse and a strong ally and supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community for many years.

“Alan had recently begun a well-earned sabbatical and was planning to use the time to plan and prepare for retirement in the next year. Alan loved God and loved God’s church with a rare passion. He was a bishop who prioritised the parishes and clergy in his care above everything else and served the people of Buckinghamshire with devotion over a long and demanding ministry.

“I will miss him as a friend and colleague. The Church has lost a wise, pastoral and prophetic bishop.”

https://www.oxford.anglican.org/death-announced-of-the-rt-rev-dr-alan-wilson-bishop-of-buckingham.php

13/02/2024

Cyril Crouch Retires as Tower Captain at Shiplake
At the AGM of Shiplake Bellringers on Sunday 11th February, Cyril Crouch retired as Tower Captain at Shiplake after nearly 50 years in the role. Cyril learned to ring at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire in 1949 and moved to Shiplake in 1970, where he joined the band at SS Peter & Paul, and was elected a member of the Oxford Diocesan Guild on 12th February 1972. He has rung regularly at Shiplake for over 50 years, many of them as Tower Captain.
In that time Cyril has made a massive contribution to keeping the bells ringing and improving the facilities. He has taught countless people of all ages to ring over those years and has always looked forward, never getting despondent when numbers were low, fully supported by his wife Mavis who was also a ringer. He was the instigator of the creation of the Shiplake Ringing Centre which is a nationally registered centre for the teaching and development of bellringing and which was awarded the 2006 Founders Prize for the best UK Ringing Centre.
He has ensured that the bells were rung for all main services, plus weddings and funerals as required and has welcomed visiting ringers with open arms. He has always been supportive of developing the facilities and was a very enthusiastic and active participant in the 2009-10 project to replace the old bells with a completely new ring hung in a new bell-frame, (now considered to be one of the finest rings of 8 in the Diocese).
Cyril was not a great ringer of 3 hour peals, his focus was very strongly on keeping the bells ringing for services and training new ringers. He did ring one peal at Shiplake, in 2009, the last on the old bells before the restoration. The picture shows Cyril in front of the tower door along with the rest of the peal band. Standing on Cyril’s right is Joanna Cresshull (nee Knight) whom Cyril taught to ring when she was at Shiplake Primary School. She is now a ringer at Oxford Cathedral and is organiser of the annual National Young Ringers Ringing Competition. In 2023, Jo conducted a peal at Shiplake to mark Cyril’s 90th Birthday.
Despite his heavy commitments with the ringing, Cyril also found time to be in the choir, on the PCC and to be involved with a lot of maintenance jobs around the Church. He started, and still runs, a handbell tune ringing group. Cyril intends to continue to ring at Shiplake as long as he can, but is standing down from the sometimes onerous role of Tower Captain. We owe Cyril a huge thank you for his dedication and hard work over half a century and look forward to him continuing to ring with us in the years to come.

06/02/2024

Candlemas is over and the Christmas trees at Dunsden and Shiplake have been turned into our Lent Cross.

04/02/2024

Some photographs of todays special service when we said farewell to Sarah. Thank you Sarah for all that you have done in this Benefice over the last 5 1/2 years.

25/01/2024

Half Term Activities are open for booking! Three free morning sessions with arts, crafts and food creativity exploring Lent and Easter.