A Very Special Peal at St John the Baptist

If you heard the bells ringing out from St John the Baptist on Friday 6th March, there was a very special reason!

A talented team of bell ringers gathered to attempt a celebratory peal in honour of Roy’s 90th birthday. The occasion was particularly meaningful, as Roy himself rang the very first peal on these bells seventy years ago, after they were augmented to six. To mark this milestone with another peal on the same bells made it a truly special moment for everyone involved.

Bell ringing is an ancient and highly skilled tradition that continues to thrive in churches across the country. Around 5,000 church towers in England – and many more worldwide – practise the English style of change ringing. Using ropes and wheels, ringers carefully control the bells to produce intricate sequences of changes, creating the beautiful and distinctive sound many of us associate with church celebrations.

A peal is a particularly impressive achievement. It involves ringing a continuous sequence of at least 5,000 different changes without repetition – something that requires great concentration, teamwork and stamina. It is often described as the bell ringers’ equivalent of running a marathon!

For this special celebration, the band rang a fascinating combination of 14 different methods, with wonderful names such as Cambridge, Primrose, Hull, Ipswich and Norfolk. The attempt lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes – an impressive accomplishment for the six ringers involved. The peal has been reported on BellBoard (see: https://bellboard.uk/view.php?id=1945940), which is run by Ringing World, the weekly publication for bell ringers.

Full peals are not something we hear very often at St John the Baptist, which made this occasion even more memorable for those who were nearby to enjoy the sound of the bells.

If you would like to learn more about what ringing a peal involves, you can read more here:
https://cccbr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/what-is-a-peal.pdf

And if hearing the bells has inspired you to try bell ringing yourself, new ringers are always very welcome. The team practises every Thursday from 7:30pm to around 9:00pm at St John the Baptist Church, Great Amwell. For more information, please contact Frances Adams at fmadams750@gmail.com.