Villagers aged 10 and upwards in Kirkby Malzeard and Sharow are being invited to learn how to Ring for the King.
With the coronation of Charles III just three months away, Jonathan Couchman of the Two Dales ringers group, based in Wensleydale and Swaledale, is keen for new bellringers to be in place for the occasion.
Mr Couchman said:
“The online sessions will begin in mid-February and will be supplemented by hands-on training in the dales’ bell towers.
“All in the two dales are most welcome to attend but we are especially seeking new ringers for Sharow and Kirkby Malzeard.”
Bell ringers in action
Mr Couchman, added:
“The bell towers participating in this course include those at the churches of Askrigg, Aysgarth, Grinton, East Witton, Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and Sharow. People living within reach of those churches are particularly welcome to participate in the course.
The Wensleydale and Swaledale bell ringers first ran their introductory online course in 2021 and, following a successful launch, repeated the course in 2022.
For hundreds of years church bells have rung out, not only as a call to worship, but also to proclaim special events.
In June bell ringers celebrated the Queen’s platinum jubilee with the sound of bells and in September the bells rang as a mark of respect following her passing..
Mr Couchman said:
“Bell ringing is a team activity that keeps your brain active and your body agile. It does not require great strength and we have had children as young as 10 learning in Wensleydale. Many others learn in retirement.”
The online course comprises five interactive sessions that will include online ringing for all participants as well as an informative presentation. Attendees will be put in touch with a local bell tower where they will be taught hands-on bell ringing and invited to join the regular bell band.
For further information message the Wensleydale Ringers on Facebook or email David Scrutton at wensleydaleringers@gmail.com.
A marathon spell of bell ringing will take place tomorrow to mark the 1,350th anniversary of the consecration of Ripon Cathedral.
The cathedral’s bell ringers will attempt a peal to mark the consecration by St Wilfrid in the year 672.
Peals are traditionally rung to mark significant events in the history of both the cathedral and the city.
Over 160 peals have been rung at the cathedral since the first in 1764.
A post on the cathedral’s Facebook page said:
“A peal requires at least 5,040 changes to be rung continuously and without repetition or mistake and will take up to three-and-a-half hours to complete, so it poses a significant mental and physical challenge to the bell ringers.
“The attempt will be made by members of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers under the leadership of Martin Davies, the cathedral ringing master, and will start at around 9.30am. We wish them luck!”
Ripon’s Bank Holiday weekend of double celebration
The countdown has started to the Queen’s platinum jubilee festivities in Ripon, with decorations now in place on the town hall.
In a year of double celebration for the city, this Bank Holiday weekend also sees a packed programme of events marking the 1,350th anniversary of Ripon Cathedral.
The doors of the iconic building open this morning at 9.30 and, up until 12.30pm, Hazelsong Theatre, will be offering free activities for families, ranging from calligraphic bookmarks to showing how manuscripts were made.
From 10.30am, there will be a guided tour, on which an experienced guide will talk about the cathedral’s hidden history and between 11am and 11.30am there will be an opportunity to meet the organist and have a go at playing the cathedral’s historic organ.
The sound of mini-bells will be heard from 12.30pm, with an exhibition of campanology in the nave.
Art In Churches producer Chris Bailey will talk between 1.30pm and 2.30pm on the specially-commissioned art celebrating the work of Wilfrid, Ripon’s patron saint, who established the church in AD 672.
Ripon is getting dressed up in readiness for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The organist meeting will also take place at 3pm and between 3.30pm and 4.30pm, professor Joyce Hill will give a lecture on medieval manuscripts.
Following the evening prayer service between 5.30 and 6pm, at 8pm a Son et Lumiere themed on Sunday Wilfrid’s miracles will be held. Tickets can be obtained from Eventbrite
At 9pm, a hornblower will carry out the setting of the watch ceremony at the obelisk.
Tomorrow, the Festal Eucharist service from 10.30am until 12 noon, will be followed by a guided pilgrimage between 1.30pm and 3pm.
The opportunity to raise a toast, or two, to the Queen’s jubilee year and the start of the 1,350 programme and will come on Monday with the return of Ripon Cathedral’s famous beer festival, with drinks and food served in Dean John Dobson’s garden. Tickets can be purchased on line on this link.
Kirkby Malzeard’s bells could ring again for Queen’s jubilee
The bells of St Andrew’s in Kirkby Malzeard, which have been silent for several years, could ring again this year to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Jonathan Couchman of Two Dales Bell Ringers, which is an informal group that encourages and promotes bell ringing in Wensleydale and Swaledale, said:
“St Andrew’s church has six beautiful bells but nobody to ring them so in liaison with the church, we would like to mark the jubilee by establishing a bell band there.”
Last year, the Wensleydale ringers held a course of short, interactive online presentations on bell ringing, which resulted in nine new recruits.
The activity does not require great strength and children as young as 10 are able to participate.
This spring, a second course is planned, with hands-on training in local towers, including St Andrew’s, and other church towers in Askrigg, Aysgarth, Grinton and Richmond.
Training will be interspersed with online presentations. Times and dates of sessions will be arranged in agreement with participants and the aim is to hold the first session in late February.
Mr Couchman said:
“We invite everyone to join us, from those who have simply wondered about how the bells are rung through to those interested in whether bell ringing is for them.
“It is a team activity that keeps your brain active and your body agile. Some do it for the community of friends, some do it to contribute to church life, some to keep the glorious sound of bells alive, and some do it for the pure pleasure and feeling of wellbeing it brings.”
For more than 500 years church bells have resounded across Wensleydale and Swaledale, but for the first time since World War II, they fell silent because of social distancing requirements and covid lockdowns, which put bell ringing on hold.
Anybody wanting to find out more and how to participate, can email David Scrutton at wensleydaleringers@gmail.com.