23-11-2024 · 6 min read
The Bellringers of St Mary's: A Tradition Spanning Centuries
High within the tower of St Mary's hangs a ring of ten bells, and the people who ring them form one of the most enduring volunteer groups in Warwick. The bellringing band at St Mary's maintains a practice that connects the present day to centuries of musical tradition, sounding the bells for services, weddings, funerals, and national occasions with a skill that requires years of dedication to develop.
The bells themselves carry their own history. Three of the ten bells date from the original casting before the Great Fire of 1694, making them among the oldest surviving features of the church. When the tower was rebuilt in 1704, these bells were rehung alongside newer additions, creating the ring that continues to sound across Warwick today.
Four Ways of Sounding
The tower's bells can be sounded in four distinct ways, each serving a different purpose and creating a different character of sound. Full circle ringing, in the traditional English style, involves the complete rotation of each bell on its wheel and requires a team of experienced ringers working in precise coordination. This is the method used for Sunday services and special occasions, producing the cascading patterns of sound that have become synonymous with English church life.
The clock bells operate on a mechanical system installed in 1902 by John Smith and Sons of Derby. The clock strikes the hour on the tenth bell and sounds the Cambridge Quarters on the third, fourth, fifth, and ninth bells. The mechanism is housed in a glass-fronted case in the ringing chamber, connected to the four external clock dials by an arrangement of rods and universal joints.
The carillon plays a melody every three hours, with a different tune assigned to each day of the week. This automated system provides the regular musical punctuation that residents of Warwick have come to regard as part of the rhythm of daily life. Finally, the Ellacombe apparatus allows a single person to sound all the bells from the ground floor, using a system of ropes and hammers. This method is particularly useful when a full band of ringers is not available but the occasion calls for bells to be heard.
Learning to Ring
Bellringing is a skill that demands both physical coordination and mental focus. New ringers typically begin by learning to handle a single bell, mastering the technique of controlling the bell's rotation through the precise application of force to the rope. As competence grows, ringers progress to more complex methods that involve changing the order in which bells sound, creating the mathematical patterns known as "changes" that give English change ringing its distinctive character.
The band at St Mary's, like bellringing groups across the country, welcomes newcomers and provides training. The Church of England's guidance on church bells emphasises the importance of maintaining both the instruments and the skills needed to ring them, recognising bellringing as a living tradition that requires active participation to survive.
Bells and the Restoration
The tower restoration project has direct implications for the bells and the bellringing tradition. While the primary focus of the restoration is the stonework and structural integrity of the tower, the work also provides an opportunity to inspect and maintain the bell frame, the ropes, and the mechanical systems that support the clock and carillon. Ensuring that these elements remain in good working order is essential for the continuation of a tradition that has been part of Warwick's identity for generations.
The ringers themselves have been among the most committed supporters of Campaign 2023, understanding better than most the intimate connection between the tower's physical condition and the bells' ability to continue sounding. Their dedication to both the art of ringing and the preservation of the tower exemplifies the community spirit that underpins the entire campaign.