BELL-RINGING AT ALL SAINTS CHURCH

Bellringers

All Saints is very fortunate to have sufficient ringers for all the bells to be rung on most Sundays. Currently, there are ten ringers, most being members of the tower and of the ‘Lincoln Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers’. However, there are still not really enough and new recruits are very welcome; they would be taught by ringers who have been accredited by the ‘Association of Ringing Teachers’ and have completed the necessary safeguarding training.

The ringers practise regularly on Monday evenings, when they are joined by ringing friends from nearby churches. Visitors, both ringers and non-ringers, are always welcome. Please check in advance via the parish administrator that a normal practice is scheduled if you plan to attend.

Sunday service ringing is at 10 am.

Bells

The church tower has eight bells. The heaviest (always known as the “tenor”) weighs almost 1 ton, at 19½ hundred-weight, and the lightest, or “treble”, 5 hundred-weight. There have been bells in the tower since the 16^th century, when they would have been sounded for many reasons such as curfew, working hours, etc. Today they ring to proclaim the presence of the church at the centre of the community, for Sunday services, for weddings and funerals, and for State and Civic occasions.

Image (1) shows the treble bell with its wheel and fittings in its ‘down’ or resting position. The tenor is visible in the background, ‘raised’ and ready to ring. Image (2) is the same view, but shows the shocking state of the frame and fittings before the repairs and renovations done in 2025 by Blyth & Co. Compare the size of those two bells at the bottom of Image (4) (with apologies for the 120 years’ worth of dust on the inaccessible lifting beams!)

Image (4) is a view of all the bells from above with their mouths uppermost, i.e. ready to ring. This is the starting position for ringing bells in the traditional English art of change ringing, which dates back to the 17^th century. During this process the bells are rotated backwards and forwards through 360 degrees. (It is the time taken for each bell to rotate that prevents tunes being rung.) Controlling a bell requires skill on the part of the ringer rather than brute strength, the challenge being to get the rhythm as even as possible. In addition, each ringer has to memorise the pattern of the changes through which to navigate the bell.

As well as ringing for services, ringing has a social side including visiting other churches to ring on different bells. Also, there are ringing competitions, both local and national. A combination of physical and mental exercise makes bell-ringing a hobby that suits all ages and genders.

Come and join us!