Ripon 13-year-old becomes youngest qualified bell-ringer

Last updated Mar 3, 2024

Alice Barrett and her official bell ringing qualification

A 13-year-old girl has become the youngest qualified bell-ringer at Ripon Cathedral.

Alice Barrett began bell-ringing lessons at just 10 years old and has now been elected a member of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers.

She lives behind the cathedral with her family and was first introduced to the practice as her mum, Louise, had always listened to the bells and wanted to try her hand at ringing.

When Louise saw an advert on Facebook explaining the cathedral’s lack of bell-ringers for the 2020 New Year service she decided to give it a go. When she went along she told them Alice had expressed and interest and they insisted she was brought along.

Alice went for a look around and fell in love with the practice. She now rings in almost every Ripon Cathedral Sunday service and rings with the Yorkshire Tykes, an under-18s group who meet once a month at different locations across the county.

Louise added that Alice “loves the challenge” of the practice. She said:

“It’s not just the skill and technique but also learning the methods and being part of a diverse group. It’s complex to start with and then it becomes not easy but natural. Then you start to learn how to do call changes then methods and that’s when it starts to challenge your brain.”

After the hard work of bell-ringing at Ripon Cathedral’s Sunday service, she loves nothing more than the hot chocolate and cake that comes afterwards.

Alice completed a quarter peel, a longer performance to a specific composition, which has left her with some sizeable blisters, showing the determination she had to become qualified. Now she is officially qualified, Alice is, according to her mum, “extremely proud of herself and now feels accomplished”.

Canon Michael Gisbourne, Ripon Cathedral’s canon precentor, said:

“Alice should be really proud of her achievement of being elected a member of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers. She has worked hard and Ripon Cathedral is overjoyed to have such a young person as a member of its excellent bell-ringing team.”

Boroughbridge High School pupil Alice admits her friends at school think her hobby is “a bit weird” but her family support her unconventional pastime.

Kathryn Stephenson, headteacher at Boroughbridge High, said:

“We’re very proud of Alice. It’s been lovely to see her enthusiasm for her bell-ringing and we’re delighted that her hard work and commitment has been recognised. To be given this award is an amazing achievement.”

Mum Louise said:

“Our family are very proud of her dedication. I am incredibly proud of Alice, not only for her accomplishments but also for her resilience and determination. Learning to ring has been a challenge especially as a small 10-year-old, but she went back week after week with 100% effort and a positive outlook.

“We are forever grateful for the opportunity to ring in such a magnificent building and for the support and friendship so willingly shared by all of the team. If anyone has ever thought ‘I’d like to try that’, just go and do it. You’ll never look back.”

Both mother and daughter plan to continue ringing and Alice’s next step is this year’s youth competition held in London. She is looking forward to ringing at more towers, making progress with more bell-ringing methods and of course, more cake.