What We Do
Our ringers come from all walks of life and are involved in many village activities. We welcome anyone, older children and adults, to join our team to contribute to and enjoy this exciting and fascinating skill.
We practice every Thursday evening and ring for church services as well as for local and national events. We arrange visits to other churches to ring at their practices and usually have one or two outings every year to enjoy visiting and ringing in different locations.
The tower follows the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) – Learning the Ropes scheme which offers a structured approach to learning and is suitable for ringers at all levels. On Wednesdays we hold an improvers training session when we use the simulator to ring on silenced bells.
We welcome visiting ringers to our practices, meetings and for general ringing outings.
The ringers hold an annual general meeting when three officers are elected. We are an inclusive group and everyone is encouraged to contribute to ideas and to take on leadership roles. We usually hold a Christmas party and we join with members of the church choir during the summer for a Ringers and Singers social event. We occasionally go to the pub after practice ringing.
Tower Officers
Tower Officers
Tower Captain : Sheila George
Sheila liaises closely with the rector and churchwardens of the parish on ringing matters and has overall reponsibility for ringing in the tower ensuring that the bells are rung for church services and other village and national occasions as required. Sheila acts as ringing master for service and practice ringing.
Sheila is an acredited Learning the Ropes bell ringing trainer.
Deputy Tower Captain: David Prest
David deputizes for Sheila when necessary. He also assists the steeple keeper in maintaining the bells.
David helps organise ringing and social events.
Tower Secretary/Steeple Keeper: Phillip George
Phillip is responsible for managing the finance and administraion of the tower. He is also the steeple keeper, responsible for maintaining the clock and bells ensuring that they are in a safe and clean condition.
Phillip is an accredited Learning the Ropes bell ringing trainer
Our Link with the Community
The sound of church bells is a part of the community, not only announcing church services but proclaiming, celebrating or marking local and national events.
To help keep the parish informed about our ringing activities we regularly advertise on the local email distribution list and on social media. As a result we receive a lot of support from parishioners and are occasionally asked to talk at local organisations or ring for special events.
Bell ringing is an art and science which holds a fascination to ringers and listeners alike. Some ringers attend church services, others do not. Ringing is an inclusive and extensive hobby bringing pleasure and friendship to all who take part.
This document, Bells in the Community, illustrates the importance of our interaction and contribution to church and community, and in maintaining the art of change ringing.
Testimonials:
"Well done,it’s a special thing to have such an active bell ringing core in our midst. Keep ringing!" P&K "We certainly need to thank you all, as the sound of the bells “again” is a joy to us and makes living here so wonderful." T&J "Thank you to you and all the ringers for the pleasure you give week in week out." R "We are so blessed to have bell ringing alive and kicking in our village. Lucky enough to hear it in our back garden most of the time. Thank you." AD "Thanks for providing that melodious part of the villages" C
We have links with ringers in nearby towers and further afield. Our objective is to continually plan for succession so that the bells are maintained and rung by future generations through Recruitment, Retention and Training.
Our new promotional video showing our ringing activities for 2022 can be viewed here.
Great Gransden Bell Ringers 