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St Michaels Church Bells

Some brief details of Bells and Ringing

The granite-built tower, the top of which is 800 feet above sea-level (OBM on the bottom of the tower), houses a peal of 6 bells, the oldest dating back to 1650 and the heaviest (tenor) weighing 12 3/4 cwt. It was formerly a peal of 5 bells until 1927 when a 6th bell, the treble, was added. On November 20th of that year a peal of Grandsire Doubles of 5040 changes lasting 2hours 55minutes was rung by a team, none of them local. On a couple of occasions since then peals of that length have been rung by visiting teams.

To celebrate 50 years of that occasion 6 locals rang call changes continuously for 2hours 5minutes with an evening meal for all ringers at the Tom Cobley afterwards. 60 years was marked by 3 hours of non-stop ringing, with many ringers taking part by changing over while ringing. It was decided to remember 70 years with an invitation to welcome back all previous ringers and learners when many took part in a full peal of doubles, after which refreshments ended the occasion.

There is regular service ringing on 3 Sundays every month, but other commitments make it difficult to ring for the early morning service on the other Sunday. The ringers gather for practise throughout the year every Tuesday evening. These occasions have taught most of the present day ringers and 2 ladies are now learning and progressing well after just a few months of practise. There are currently 16 ringers, which has been achieved by a tradition of many years of teaching.

The ringers were all male until 1959 when ladies became part of the team and still are.

There are many other occasions when the bells are rung including festivals, weddings and funerals (if requested) and by visiting teams, some from outside the County.

For the past 39 years on the third Saturday in June ringers from many parts of Devon take part in a competition for the Viscount Lambert shield, in conjunction with the St Michaels Fayre. June 2003 will be the 40th anniversary of the event. The local team were the first winners of the shield and repeated that performance 8 years later. Many other shields and certificates have been won by the local team when entering competitions at other towers in the area. The end of year midnight ring is also an annual event, ringing out the old year and welcoming in the new year.

During the winter evenings for many years regular local competitions have been entered. From this year a new venture was started involving our local ringers and the Winkleigh team with a visit to a tower in the locality the first Tuesday of each month.

This is an opportunity for mixed peals and for the learners from both teams to gain experience on different bells.

Over the years many peals of double call changes have been rung, a method much favoured by the late captain, William Towell, who was very respected for his dedication to ringing and his ability to call changes. In his memory a shield has been provided for an evening competition consisting of a full peal of changes without rising or lowering. In 2002 10 teams competed with the local team being placed first.

There is another tradition adopted by the ringers and that is that the bells remain silent on the death of a parishioner until the burial. On the social side the annual Christmas Bingo is the ringers only fund raising event, and this helps with the occasional ringers outing or a ringers dinner for a social get-together.

There has always been a warm welcome for visitors to join in or for anyone with thoughts of learning. This method has been successful in the past and if continued would ensure that regular ringing would continue in the future.

Photo of Bellringers of the 1930^s