Bradford Group Ringers

Bradford Holy Trinity; Bradford Christ Church; St Peter, Monkton Farleigh; St Mary the Virgin, Westwood

Bradford Tower Captain: David Godwin
Westwood Tower Captain: Anne Willis

Practice Times: 7.30 to 9pm
Holy Trinity: 2nd and 4th Mondays
Christ Church: 1st, 3rd and 5th Mondays
Westwood: Thursdays

Sunday Service Ringing
Holy Trinity: 9.00 – 9.30am
Christ Church: 10.00 – 10.30am
Westwood: First and second Sundays, 10.45 – 11.15am

Other Sunday Service ringing and special occasion ringing by arrangement. Please contact David Godwin.

The Bells and the Church Clock

The bells at Holy Trinity are also used by the clock and carillon, and for this the bells are down, that is hanging with the mouth downwards. The chimes are struck by hammers; the quarters on the 2nd and 4th bells and the hour on the tenor. The carillon uses all eight bells.

Before the bells can be rung for Sunday services and other occasions they need to be raised, that is rung so that the mouths are pointing upwards. When the bells are up the clock chimes and carillon have to be switched off in order to prevent damage to the hammers and the bells.
Sometimes people comment that the clock is not striking. This is usually because the bells have been left up for some reason. The bells are normally raised on Sunday mornings at around 8.50am. They are lowered before the 9.30am service unless there is evening ringing or a practice the following day (2nd and 4th Mondays). If there is a wedding, or other special ringing, the bells with be raised on the morning of the event or the day before.

If this is done for a Friday or Saturday event the bells will be left up for Sunday service ringing, and practice on the Monday if required. This means that the clock will not be chiming during this time.

Mid-week visitors will raise and lower the bells unless they are needed for ringing within a day or two. The bells at Holy Trinity are heavy and the seventh and tenor bells need two strong people to raise them. Such people are not always available when most convenient, so raising may have to be done at other times, meaning that the clock will not chime during that period. There is a solution to this; a set of bells used only by the clock and carillon.
Anne Willis