[Bell Historians] Close But Different

[Philip Denton]

North and South Ockendon are indeed approximately three miles apart. Both were originally villages in Essex. North is still quite a small place, but it was just within the Hornchurch Urban District, which became part of the London Borough of Havering in 1965. South remained in Essex, but was already a larger development than North by the early 1950s, when a large new estate was built; there has been further development since. Although still ceremonially in Essex, South became part of the Thurrock Unitary Authority in 1998.

St. Mary Magdalene, North Ockendon (ring of 6) is in a secluded location. Holy Cross (RC, ring of 8) is in the middle of the 1950s estate. Curiously, visitors complain that (for different reasons) both are difficult to find! St. Nicholas, the old village church of South Ockendon, has an unringable single bell.

Philip (parish priest of Holy Cross, 2003-2011!)

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Chester 
  To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 3:47 PM
  Subject: [Bell Historians] Close But Different


    
  Filling in a bit of time at the end of the day before I can leave for home, I looked at Dove online and noticed that the entry for North Ockendon had recently changed and that it is in situated Greater London. I knew that South Ockendon is in Essex and wondered how close they were - recommended driving route is 3.5 miles.

  Then I thought that we have something closer nearby. Mancetter and Witherley are not only in different counties, but also in different dioceses. The driving route here is 1.5 miles, but they are much closer as the crow flies.

  Are there closer examples? Perhaps there are two churches proudly standing opposite each other across a river that is a border?

  Mike



             
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ringingworld.co.uk/pipermail/bell-historians/attachments/20120627/680f3a16/attachment.html>