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Access to the Ringing Room

Every bell tower is different.

• In many churches a spiral stone staircase leads to the ringing room (e.g. Godstone).
• Some churches have the ringing room on the ground floor (e.g. Merstham).
• At St John's in the Valley the bells are rung from a gallery overlooking the nave.
• At Limpsfield Chart, the ringers climb up the outside of the tower to enter the ringing room!
• At Leigh, the ringers stand on pews to ring on a small balcony at the back of the church - some ringers do not like ringing the 3rd or 4th bell there, for fear of falling backwards!
• At Pershore Abbey, the ringing room is suspended from the ceiling high up - you can feel it move when you ring!
• At Southwark Cathedral, getting to the ringing room involves climbing a stone spiral staircase high up into the Cathedral; you then follow along a narrow open passage-way looking down into the nave before climbing up more steps to the ringing room.
• The belfry in Liverpool Cathedral is large enough to drive a double-decker bus around the circle of bells!

February 2004    - TOWER CAPTAIN

 

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St. Mary's Homepage   |   The Bells of St. Mary's   |   Last Ten Years   |   What is a Bell Tower like?   |   Interesting Facts   |   Site Index

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