Bell Ringing Basics

There are several ways in which a bell can be rung. Most bell towers in Britain use a method called change ringing. This method has the bell attached to a large wheel from which a bell rope hangs down. Before the bell can be rung normally it has to be rung up which is achieved by the bell ringer pulling rhythmically on the rope. The bell is considered to be rung up when the wheel is rotating forward from the bell mouth down position by just over 180 degree's and likewise backwards by just over 180 degrees. At the end of each rotation the bell mouth is pointing upwards, just past its dead vertical position. To stop the bell from continuing to rotate forward or backward after reaching the up position the bell assembly has a wooden stay (light green in the animation on the right) which holds the weight of the bell against a stop called a slider. It is possible to keep the bell in the up position by leaving the stay resting on the slider. The image below shows the parts of the bell assembly.

When you learn to ring the first skill to master and the most important is how to handle a bell. The bells are much heavier than the ringer so the use of brute force does not work and will result in the dangerous situation of the stay breaking. Generally it takes several months to learn to control the bell. From there you will move onto rounds.

Change ringing almost always starts off in rounds. This is simply where each bell is rung repeatedly in the order 1 (Treble), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Tenor). If there are more or less bells available then the sequence is adjusted.

Following on from rounds a bell ringer will progress onto call changes. Instead of each bell simply following the previous bell, which would become boring for the ringers and for those listening, we can alter the pattern by calling a change. For example, we may be in rounds where the sequence of ringing is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, ... . The call 4 to 2 could be called which instructs the ringer of the 4th bell in the sequence to move into 3rd's place creating a new sequence 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6, 1, 2, ... . Due to the nature in which the bells are rung it is physically only possible for only 1 bell at any 1 time to change position.

Once call change ringing is mastered the ringer can move onto much more advanced forms of ringing called method ringing. Method ringing is a way of ringing so the sound of the bells is constantly changing in a non repeating pattern. The ringers learn by heart the pattern of the changes they must make. This eventually will lead to the pinnacle of ringing a peal. A peal consists of ringers pulling their rope 5000 or more times, without stopping and never repeating the same sequences twice. This is a real endurance test as it last about three hours.

Glossary of Terms

Back- The last position in the ringing sequence.
Backstroke- The part of the bells cycle that is started by the ringer pulling on the tail end of the rope.
Ball - The heavy part at the end of the clapper, that strikes the bell to produce the sound.
Band- A group of ringers sufficient to ring the bells required.
BearingThe device on which the headstock (and hence the whole bell assembly) turns about its gudgeon pins.
Bell Chamber - The part of the tower containing the bells mounted in the bell frame.
Bell Frame - The frame holding the bells.
Box - A platform on which a ringer stands if they are not tall enough to reach the sally safely.
Call Changes - Ringing starting from (and usually ending in) rounds, in which each change is called individually by the conductor, either calling up or calling down. Changes are normally called only at the handstrokes.
Calling Down - Initiating call changes by calling the bell which moves down For example calling 4 to 2 from rounds (123456) creates the sequence 124356.
Calling Up - Initiating call changes by calling the bell which moves up For example calling 3 to 4 from rounds (123456) creates the sequence 124356.
"Catch and Hold" - At the end of ringing down, the bells are chimed for a few rounds, ending with an instruction such as "After three, miss and catch in rounds." meaning that after three more rounds of chiming, the bells are let swung freely for one swing, then caught (making a last note from each one) and held.
Chiming - Ringing a bell while it is down, with just a small movement causing the clapper to strike the bell on one side only.
Clapper - The metal rod with a ball on the end which strikes the soundbow of the bell to make the sound
Closed Leads - When ringing with closed leads, each handstroke change follows the preceding backstroke change without a gap. See also open leads.
Coil - When a bell is being rung up or rung down, the ringer has a lot of extra rope to handle; to stop it flapping around, it is coiled up. While ringing up, the ringer lets the coils out as needed, and while ringing down, takes in more coils.
Conductor - The ringer calling the bobs and singles in a touch, quarter, peal etc.
Crown - The top part of a bell (when it is in its down position).
Down - The safe resting position for a bell, mouth down, with the stay pointing up and not in contact with the slider. When a bell is down, pulling the rope will make it swing slightly, perhaps chiming it if pulled hard enough.
"Downwards" - The command to start ringing down.
Flight - Part of the clapper.
"Go" - The call to start ringing the method, from rounds, usually given with the name of the method, for example, "Go Plain Hunt". The call to finish is "That's All!".
Gudgeon (or Gudgeon Pin) - A peg protruding from the Headstock and reaching into the bearing.
Half-muffled - Muffled on one side of the clapper only, so that handstrokes ring normally and backstrokes ring quietly.
Handstroke - The part of a bell's cycle of movements that is started by pulling on the sally.
Headstock - A beam, of wood or metal, to which the bell is attached. It transmits the torque from the wheel to the bell itself, and turns on bearings to which it is attached by gudgeon pins.
Leading - Ringing first in a sequence.
"Look to, Treble's going, she's gone" - The sequence of calls made by the leading bell ringer when starting a round of ringing.
Method - An agreed (and usually named) sequence of changes
Muffle - A relatively soft object attached to the clapper of a bell to muffle it so as to make it quieter.
Odd-struck - A bell which sounds earlier in its movement at one stroke than the other is said to be odd-struck.
Open Leads - When ringing with open leads, there is an extra gap, equivalent to the time between two adjacent bells sounding, between the end of a backstroke change and the start of the following handstroke change.
Peal - A true touch of at least 5000 changes. This typically takes around three hours to ring.
Plain Hunt - Alternately running in and running out, that is, ringing from the front to the back then back again.
Pull off - To start ringing, from the bell in the standing position.
Ring Down - To take the bells from Up to Down, by ringing them through a decreasing angle of swing, taking in a coil of rope from time to time as the swing gets smaller.
Ring Up - To take the bells from Down to Up, by ringing them through an increasing angle of swing, starting with the rope coiled and letting out a coil of rope from time to time as the swing gets larger.
Ropesight - The facility by which you can tell which bell to follow.
Rounds - Ringing the bells in descending order of pitch, that is, from the treble to the tenor.
Sally - The tufted handgrip on the rope, used to pull at handstroke.
Set - To let the bell come to rest in an up position, with the stay resting against the slider.
Slider - A moving wooden bar pivoted at one end to the frame with the other end sliding between two stops. It is pushed from one position to the other by the stay, allowing the bell to turn just over a full circle and be set at either handstroke or backstroke.
Soundbow - The thick part of the bell that is struck by the ball of the clapper.
Sound Chamber - The room above the ringing room and below the bell chamber, through which the ropes pass.
Stand - To set the bell (at handstroke) at the end of a touch.
Stay - A wooden bar attached to the headstock and pointing away from the bell. When the bell is set, the stay rests against the slider.
Striking - Accuracy of timing while ringing.
Tail End - The end of the rope, usually doubled back on itself used to pull at backstroke.
Tenor - The lowest-pitched bell in a tower.
"That's All" - Finish ringing the method, as it comes round to rounds. .
Treble - The highest-pitched bell in a tower;.
Up - Balanced ready for ringing. The bell is mouth up, with the stay resting against the slider. The bell can be up and handstroke or backstroke.
Wheel - A large wheel attached to the Headstock and which the bell rope runs around the rim.

This Page was last updated on 03/04/06