Ringing the Changes at St Giles’
In most of the world church bells are just swung randomly, a pleasant sound, familiar I am sure to those who have travelled on the continent. However, in the British Isles, since about 1600 or so a new way of ringing developed. Our bells are rung 'full circle' meaning that we can control exactly when they strike and this leads to the familiar sound we are used to hearing in the UK.
We ring every week for Sunday services at 10.05 & 5.30 and for weddings and special occasions. Practice Night is Thursday evening. We also ring and socialise with other ringers in the area. It keeps us busy!
This photo shows the bells balanced in the ‘up’ position ready for ringing. At St Giles' we have 8 bells: the heaviest weighing about 13cwt / 660Kg.
Its much more about technique, timing and concentration than it is about strength. The hardest part is learning to ‘handle’ the bell. With a bell swinging full circle there is a lot of rope moving around pretty quickly! Once you can handle the bell then it is time to start ringing with others, and this is where the need for precise timing and concentration kicks in. We ring ‘changes’ by following ‘methods’ such as Grandsire and Plain Bob which we must learn. These enable us to ring the bells in constantly changing pre-determined combinations without clashing with each other. Our aim is to do this with a steady rhythm which should mean that it is enjoyable to listen to. We can challenge ourselves by ringing increasingly complex methods, there is always new stuff to learn – there is even a method called Ashtead Surprise Major!
We were delighted to welcome so many people up the tower on Heritage Sunday, they all got to see us ring, go up and see the bells and to have a heavily supervised quick go. If you missed out, would like to learn more, or join those who have signed-up to learn to ring then just get in touch with us. We’d be pleased to hear from you.
Richard: 07909 686223 RingingMaster@Ashteadparish.org
Sarah: 07790 605771 TowerSecretary@Ashteadparish.org