Winchester Bells
Our famous, world-renowned cathedral in Winchester has a peal of fourteen bells, plus two extra semi-tone bells to enable us to ring various combinations of six, eight and ten, as well as twelve and all fourteen bells.
Despite the stature of our magnificent cathedral city, there are no other ringable peals of bells in churches within Winchester’s historic boundaries, although there are a number of other towers with peals of bells in nearby communities.
Beginners are the lifeblood of every tradition and we wish to welcome you now to come and learn, although it’ll be some time before you’ll be ready to ring on all fourteen bells. To get you started and having fun, we work closely with other bands in the surrounding area, where you will find a friendly introduction into the bell ringing community.
St John’s Project
We have an ambitious project to provide a new ring of eight bells at St John’s church, a short walk from the cathedral, to act as a state-of-the-art training centre for new ringers.
St John’s has a ring of five bells dating from 1460 – 1654, hung at the top of the tower. We plan to leave them in situ and install the new bells immediately below them. An adjustable sound control system will prevent any disturbance to the neighbours, whilst allowing the new bells to sound out across the city on Sundays and for special occasions.
Visitors will be able to visit an exhibition explaining the history of the art of bell ringing and climb the tower to see the new bells and their historic predecessors. From the tower roof, eyes will take in a city panorama once known to John Keats and Jane Austen and over which the young bells of St Johns will soon proclaim their living tradition.
Young people and families will be at the forefront and heart of this project. We plan to work with local schools, holding regular open days and taster sessions. St John’s will also be a venue for regular courses on ringing on both tower bells and tune-ringing on handbells. Although It will take quite a while to complete the work at St Johns, the welcome and vibrant human resources are up and running now. We are already holding regular training sessions using the other towers in the surrounding area. If you would like to find out more, do subscribe to our newsletter, or contact us at Info@WinchesterBells.org.