Bell Ringers

NEW FEATURE : We’ve added a new page – Bell Ringing Resources

Welcome from the Ashburnham Ringers!

Hello and a warm welcome from all the Ashburnham bell ringers. We hope you enjoy browsing the information here. If you’re not a bell ringer yourself, we’d encourage you to pop along to our practice at 7:30pm on a Thursday evening at St Peter’s Church and give it a go. It really is great fun, with a relaxed friendly bunch. Tempted? – read on….

A bit of background

The Ashburnham Ringers are a new band of Tower Bell Ringers who ring on the bells at St Peter’s Church Ashburnham. We are all novices – The majority of the band has been ringing for nearly 2 years although we have some beginners who have only been with us a couple of months. We do however enjoy the support of some very experienced bell ringers who provide expert support and tuition and come to help us from neighbouring towers.

We are a friendly welcoming bunch who are all bell ringers, but not necessarily all church goers.

We’re looking for anyone who is looking for a new hobby, or who is looking for an easy way to return to the hobby to come along and try it out with a view to joining our band for regular practice on a Thursday night.

If you’re interested either give us a call or pop along to one our regular practices at 7:30pm on Thursday evening at Ashburnham Church.

Tower Bell Ringing?

Bell ringing is a team activity that stimulates the brain and helps keep you fit … it also makes a glorious sound! Many consider ringing to be their contribution to church life, others do it for the pure pleasure and the company it brings.

Ringers come from all walks of life and range in age from fifteen to those in their eighties.

Could I become a ringer?

Ringing is well within the capabilities of most people. The initial learning takes several weeks, after which you can begin to ring with the rest of the band. The Ashburnham Ringers practice once a week on a Thursday evening at Ashburnham Church from 7:30pm

You don’t need to know anything about music to be a good bell ringer, you just need a sense of timing and a sense of humor!
There are no costs to getting involved, so really there is no reason not to give it a go!

Why learn to ring?

Learning to ring church bells has many benefits and is a great hobby:

Meet new, friendly people
Start a lifelong learning experience
Maintain a traditional skill
Perform a service to the church
Engage in a team activity
A great mental workout

Images

The Tower @ St Peters	The Ringing Chamber	The Ringing Chamber
The Ringing Chamber	Bell Ropes	Ashburnham Tower Bells
Teaching a Beginner	Bell Ringing	Bell Ringers
Bell Ringers

“The sound of bells ringing is deeply rooted in British culture. Almost everyone in Britain lives within hearing range of bells. They provide the grand soundtrack to our historic moments, call out for our celebrations and toll sadly in empathy with our grief.

The bitter-sweet sound of just one bell or the majesty of a whole peal, has become part of the English heritage and much of the country's history can be traced through the history of its bells.

They call us to wake, to pray, to work, to arms, to feast and, in times of crisis, to come together. Above all, bells are the sound of freedom and peace.”

Don't stop there! Take a meander over to some of these other pages:

Bell ringers looking for learning material take a look at the Bell Ringing Resources

View the records for peals rung at Ashburnham on the Ringing World Bellboard - Ashburnham

View the details of any bell tower with bells on Doves Guide. Useful for finding out other towers practice nights so you can pop along! If you have an iPhone or iPad you can also download the Doves Guide App!