By Matthew Hilling

For some time, I have considered attempting a double peal at Exeter Cathedral. Ringing a standard length peal of 5000 changes at Exeter is deemed to be a tough prospect. But in more recent times, since improvement work to the bells, frame and clappers has been completed, peal ringers are exiting the tower looking less and less tired.

The story starts a few years ago. 2025 would be the 800th anniversary of the Cathedral Chapter House – an integral part of the Cathedral's heritage and presence. Additionally, extensive restoration works were taking place in the nave and a new cloister gallery was being built, both of which were due to be completed in 2025. A plan was forming in my head! I approached the Dean & Chapter to suggest we could celebrate these big milestones by attempting a big peal in the tower. Without much hesitation the Dean readily agreed and said "to have the bells pealing out across the city for a whole day would be absolutely wonderful. Further, we could make an event out of it to advertise bell ringing and to bring people into the Cathedral. And raise some more money too!"

Ok. So we're on. Though, hang on... is a 10k on Exeter Cathedral's 72cwt bells even possible? Currently, the heaviest bells on which a double peal has been rung are at Pier Head on a somewhat smaller 41cwt. That is 30cwt less: quite a big difference. A 10k attempt at St Paul's Cathedral in London (60cwt) some years ago was unsuccessful. So this is definitely unchartered territory and will be pushing the physical capabilities of the ringers to the limit.

I started a conversation with Michael Wilby who has plenty of experience with big bells and long peals. After a few moments thought he said, "Well, there is only one way to find out!". I also chatted with a few members of the local band and received replies such as "you must be mad" and "definitely not me"!

Hmmm. Is this a good idea? Would I find enough people willing to try? First things first: what do we ring? Well it has to be Stedman Cinques. Turning in the tenor for 8+ hours would be crazy – and that's coming from me who has spent many hours on that box! But, would we have one person on the tenor? Or two with the strap rope? And what about the other back bells – can they be rung for 8 hours?

Fast forward to 2025. In May, 12 people met at Exeter Cathedral to attempt a peal-and-a-half (7.5k changes) of Stedman Cinques. These 12 people were the same as those who had agreed to attempt the 10k. We wanted to 'test the water' and get used to ringing together as a team. On that day we rang a true peal of just over 7000 changes in 5 hours 58 minutes. Whilst this was slightly shorter than planned, we learnt much about what we would need to do to be in with a chance of successfully ringing a double peal. The main discovery was the speed of ringing. With the tenor rung single-handed the ringing is relatively slow – the still heavy middle bells have to be held on the balance every stroke and this is exceedingly hard work. So, we need to ring faster and that means having two people on the tenor.

And here we are. It is now September and it has all come together. Later this month, on Saturday 27th September, 13 people will ascend the tower at 7.45am ready to start at 8 o'clock. Those that want drinks and food will have setup their table, or chair, or ladder to be able to take on refreshment during the day. Our conductor, the super-cool John Hughes-D'Aeth, has put together a composition of 10001 changes which contains a mixture of familiar music and some more exciting patches to keep us on our toes. All being well we will come back to rounds having successfully completed the double peal at about 4.15pm.

During the peal, the new cloister gallery will be alive to the sound of the Frank Mack mini-ring allowing visitors to have a go and see what in involved in ringing a bell full-circle. Members of the local band will be in attendance to explain the physical and mental feat of ringing the Cathedral's bells for over 8 hours. There will also be a live camera feed from the ringing room to a large screen in the cloisters for visitors to watch the ringers in action.

Exeter Cathedral is currently raising money for a new sound system for the nave, which will include an output in the ringing chamber. This will ensure the ringers know when to start and stop ringing for services & weddings and will save us running up the stairs (if you've been to Exeter you'll know how far that is) or just guessing! We are asking for sponsorship for the 10k peal with all monies given going towards the new sound system. If you are able, please do donate to encourage the 13 (mad?) peal ringers through to the end of this mammoth 10k task.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ec-double-appeal

Thank you.