Bell ringers wanted!

The bells! The bells!

At Piddington Church we have six bells which we ring for weddings and other special occasions. We would like to ring them regularly for our eleven o’clock services each Sunday, but to do that we need more ringers.

The traditional English art of bell ringing (campanology) involves swinging the bells through just over a complete circle by pulling on their ropes.

Each bell sounds a different note. After the bells are cast they are individually tuned to notes so that the set will sound harmonious when rung. Actually, this is not a single tone for each bell but a group of tones making up a minor chord. This is why when one bell is rung on its own (tolled) it can sound sad. Have a look at this video to see the bells being rung and learn about how they are tuned.

To see how ringing works in more detail have a look and listen to one of Oxford’s towers.  You can hear that when they first begin to ring the bells, they are rung in “rounds” - the highest first note to the lowest. After a while this order changes as the ringers start on a “method”.  In a method, the order in which the bells are rung changes each time according to a pattern to make a special tune. Many of these tunes (methods) have been devised to suit from 3 to more than 12 bells. Ringers have to learn these methods by heart as there is no time to look things up once you start ringing!

Who can learn?  Anyone from around the age of 10 to upwards of 80 can consider training.  Anyone doing a Duke of Edinburgh award could include bell ringing as one of their skills – it’s included under Music in the Skills section.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to learn to ring, contact Ivor (phone 870162 or email). He will arrange for you to have a look at our bells being rung, tell you more about it and let you have a try. Alternatively you could attend the Northampton ringing centre training courses at All Saints church in Northampton on Saturday mornings.

With intensive training, a beginner would expect to complete the basics and be able to ring in “rounds” after around ten 1½ hr sessions.

Details of the Association of Ringing Teachers training scheme and much, much more can be found at http://www.ringingteachers.co.uk/http://www.ringingteachers.co.uk/

Ivor Wilde, Tower Captain, St John the Baptist, Piddington with Horton.