Bell ringing at Exeter Cathedral

A trip to Exeter Cathedral was organised recently to see the bell ringers in action. We were met at the West Door of the cathedral by Dr Ian Campbell, a member of the Exeter Cathedral bellringers. He gave us a tour of the roof space, and on the way showed us the beautiful nave, which boasts the longest unbroke Gothic ceiling in the world, and the famous sculpture of a lady who, if you look closely, actually has two left feet! We were warned about the number of steps up to the ringing chamber, but we all managed with no casualties. There are 14 ringing bells, the largest one (the Tenor) weighs in at 72cwt!

We were advised in advance to bring ear plugs, which turned out to be a timely warning ... Ian explained that the bells are all mounted to the belfry framework so that the bells may rotate - this is known as "full circle" ringing.

Before the bells are rung, they are "rung up" to lie just past the balance point and rest upside down against the stay, ready to be rung.

As we were walking around the chamber taking photographs and inspecting the bells, we were warned it was about to start. As it happened, there was a competition of local bell-ringing groups, so we were definitely there at the right time. The bells were "rung up", we duly inserted our ear plugs ... and it started! Ian was certainly right about the noise, by the end of the first session our ears were definitely ringing as well! After a while, we went downstairs to the ringing chamber to see the ringers in action and learn the ropes (!) of bell-ringing. The ringers stand in a circle, each one managing one rope. The sequence is usually clockwise, timing of striking is obviously importance. We were told that although a certain amount of physical force is necessary, precision and practised skill is more important - though even the smallest bell in the tower is usually heavier than the person ringing it. Most of the team used "call change ringing" which involved changing the sequence of the ropes being pulled to vary the pattern/sound produced, called out by a conductor. When you play the movie below, make sure it is not up too loud.

We watched several sessions, which certainly brought home the art of bell-ringing. All in all, it was a fascinating evening.