At the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Chastleton, OXON (6, 6-3-8 in G), on Saturday 13th October 2012
| 2.15pm | Brazier Cup Striking Competition at St Mary the V's Church (6, 9cwt) |
| 3.00pm | Newing Shield Striking Competition, ditto |
| 4.45pm | Service in the Church (conducted by the Vicar) |
| 5.30pm | Annual General Meeting in the Church (Chairman: the Guild President) |
| Evening ringing: nothing arranged at this stage. See web-site for updates nearer time. |
Andrew Gunn, General Secretary
Light refreshments will be available in the Church from about 2.00pm. We're not quite sure of the domestic arrangements at the moment, as there is a rota of bodies involved with serving teas in the Church to the visitors of Chastleton House (there is no restaurant/café there). The date has been booked by one of these organisations, so we will endeavour to liaise with them before our event.
Teams intending to take part in the Striking Competitions should contact the Ringing Master (Sophia L-S) about their entry.
The National Trust is the major player at Chastleton. Because the Trust personnel there are being very accommodating in allowing us to use their facilities and are openly welcoming us, we mustn't cause problems to their operation. The Trust has its own car park for people visiting the House, to prevent associated vehicles clogging up the narrow roads. In the same way and for the same reasons, all our vehicles (that is, vehicles on FSG activity) must park in the car park that has been arranged for our use. This may mean a little walk to get to the Church, but most members won't find this difficult. If anyone cannot walk that distance, or if there's a need to transport anything to the Church, it probably won't affect the traffic there too much if somebody or something is dropped off before the vehicle is parked in the designated car park.
The area for parking our cars hasn't been confirmed at the time of printing this Newsletter (it is on private land). It is hoped the area will be close to the Church. When the area has been arranged, an update will appear on the web-site and in the October Newsletter (although this may not reach all members by the date of the AGM).
The area will be clearly signposted on the day.
Chastleton House is quite simply a jewel in the National Trust's crown. It's truly a glory. A Trust description states it 'exudes an informal and timeless atmosphere' - and so it does! It was built 1607-1612 and remained in the same family's ownership until it passed to the Trust in 1991. The interior is largely unchanged from its original period. The House will be open 1.00-4.00pm on October 13th, but do consider the following if you wish to visit that day. Entry is only by timed ticket (free if you are a Trust member, otherwise £8.25), which needs to be collected from the ticket office. This opens at 12.30pm, and tickets are issued on a first-come-first-served basis. There are associated gardens to view, too (not subject to timed entry). Of particular interest are the croquet lawns. The rules of the modern game of croquet were codified at Chastleton in 1866 and a plaque records this.