St Matthew's Society of Bellringers – A MOTAT Society Excursion

In August, the MOTAT Society had the privilege to be hosted by the St Matthews Bellringer Society at St-Matthew-in-the-City.

Under the competent and enthusiastic guidance of Scott Pilkington we ascended the tightly wound spiral staircase to the bellringing floor halfway up the belltower. Here we were given an insight into the different call changes and method ringing routines, such as Plain Bob, and were given the opportunity to explore our own aptitude as potential bellringers. It turns out that it is not all about upper body strength, but more about being in tune with your fellow bellringing enthusiasts.

We were then led up to the floor housing the bells, where we got a close-up demonstration of the bells in action, while wearing suitable ear protection. To round off the evening, we enjoyed some tea and biscuits and learned more about the fascinating world of bells.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the St Matthews Bellringer Society for this engaging talk.    

- Melanie Wittwer

- Photos by Scott Pilkington