Exeter Cathedral
When?
The ringing will start at about 8am and will finish, if successful, at about 4.15pm.
Why?
The bells are ringing as a special celebration to mark the 800th anniversary of the Chapter House and the completion of rennovation works in the Quire and East End. These are both major milestones in the continual development required at the Cathedral and so the bells are sounding out across the city to tell everyone and invite them in to explore and appreciate the history of this magnificent building.
What is being rung and who is doing it?
The bells are being rung to a "Double Peal". This is more than 10000 different rows, where a row contains each bell sounding once. The bells in the south tower are the second heaviest in the world, with the tenor weighing over 3.5 tonnes! Ringing a single peal (5000 rows) on these bells is a challenge: it is only successful if there is no hesitation, repitition or deviation and takes over 4 hours to complete. So a double peal will be a huge physical and mental challenge and has never previously been attempted on bells of this weight and will take over 8 hours, non-stop. There are thirteen ringers in the south tower, one for each bell but with two on the tenor. The method being rung is Stedman Cinques. The method "Stedman" defines the order in which the bells change places. "Cinques" specifies that there are 11 changing bells, with the tenor always being rung last.
An article "Doing the Double at Exeter" was written for the Ringing World which explains a little about how the idea of a double peal attempt came to fruition.
The expert ringers, drawn from towers across the UK, are:
| Treble | John Hughes-D'Aeth (Conductor) | 7 | Graham Bradshaw |
| 2 | Lucy Warren | 8 | Roy LeMarechal |
| 3 | Oliver Bates | 9 | Andrew Mills |
| 4 | Martin Whiteley | 10 | Robin Hall |
| 5 | Alistair Cherry | 11 | Matthew Hilling |
| 6 | Jonathan Agg | Tenor | Michael Wilby & Paul Pascoe |
Sponsorship
Further fundraising is required to provide a new sound system in the nave so that everyone can hear clearing, replacing an analogue system that is over 30 years old and is no longer fit for purpose. The new sound system will be used for events and talks, as well as services, and will include a link to the ringing chamber so that the bell ringers can hear when to start and stop!
Please visit this Justgiving page to find out more and, if you are able, donate as much as you can, to support and encourage the bell ringers to complete this huge physical challenge.
| https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ec-double-appeal |
Find out about ringing and have a go!
Throughout the day, in the cloister gallery (the area outside the Chapter House refectory) there will be display boards with information about bells and ringing and a mini-ring of bells (see below) for demonstration purposes which can also be tried by visitors. A video link up the tower will be available do you can see what is going on. Please come along to have a go and find out more!
