CHURCH bells across North Yorkshire have continued to ring out, amid a nationwide call to recruit thousands of new bell ringers.
The nationwide call, ‘Ring for the King’, seeks to recruit 8,000 new church bell ringers this year to learn the skill.
In 2022 church bells rang out in celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, and later in mourning for her funeral.
It was also the year in which bell ringers returned to their posts to find there was a huge shortage of staff following the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the Scarborough and District Branch of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers said around 8,000 ringers were lost during the pandemic, adding how in many places in England “local church bells have fallen silent, perhaps forever”.
Bells continue to ring in North Yorkshire
This, however, has not been the case in North Yorkshire.
They said that from Norton, Hovingham and Helmsley to Scarborough, via Kirkbymoorside, Middleton, Pickering, Brompton, and down the coast from Whitby to Bridlington, there are 13 ring able towers of two or more bells each.
These towers, the spokesperson said, sound out for weddings and national events, toll for funerals and solemn occasions - and for many are the voice of their community, as well as the church's call to worship.
Bells continue to ring regularly at All Saints’ Church, in Kirkbymoorside.
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Twice a week at All Saints’ Church 92-year old, Michael Stephens negotiates the tower stairs for practice night and Sunday service ringing.
He learned to ring in 1945, aged 15, and rang for the late Queen’s wedding, Accession, and Coronation.
Seventy years on he is looking forward to adding a second Coronation to his list of celebratory ringing - with the Coronation of King Charles III to take place on May 6.
Following in Michael’s footsteps is new recruit, 14-year old Callum, who has been learning the skill for just over a year.
He too is excited about ringing for the Coronation.
“I like ringing,” he said.
“I’m not always good at getting up on Sunday mornings but it feels nice when you get the ringing right!”
As reported by the Gazette & Herald, the church is currently undergoing renovation work to uncover some features, which have not been seen for decades.
The work is being carried out at All Saints Church by Jonathan Graham, of J & C Graham Restorations and Designs and is almost complete.
It includes a combination of aesthetic preservation work and also a restoration of the church's ceiling, which Jonathan previously told the Gazette & Herald has not been viewed "in decades".
If you would like further information on the Ring for the King project, visit: cccbr.org.uk/bellringing/ring-for-the-king
To find your local branch of bell ringers contact Teresa on scarborough.secretary.yacr@gmail.com
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