Bell-ringing for the Royal Succession

Some of Audlem's bell-ringers

National Occasions

For hundreds of years, bells have been rung in the UK to mark national occasions. In 1736, when Audlem bells were cast, there was ringing each year to celebrate the anniversary of the King's coronation and succession, and Guy Fawkes night! Earlier this year, we rang Audlem bells to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

London Bridge

For a long time, there has been a national plan -- called London Bridge -- for when the Queen died. One small aspect of this concerns the ringing of bells. It says that all ringing between the announcement of the Queen's death and her funeral should be 'muffled' -- except for a day after the new King is proclaimed, when bells should be rung 'open' in celebration.

Muffled Bells

To muffle a bell, a thick leather pad is fixed to the clapper, which makes the sound quieter and more mournful. In Audlem, as in many other towers, we muffle only one side of the clapper, so that it alternates between a bright open sound and a mournful echo. It's called half-muffled.
London Bridge asked for muffled bells to be rung at noon on Friday, after the announcement of the Queen's death on Thursday evening. The BBC reported that this was done at St.Paul's and Westminster, as it was in thousands of other churches and here in Audlem, before the vicar led a short service in St. James's church.

Quarter Peals

The ringers are going to attempt to ring two 'quarter peals' to mark the royal succession. Each of these is a ringing performance lasting about 40 minutes, the bells continually changing their order in a strict pattern or 'method'. On Sunday before the morning service, we will attempt a quarter peal with the bells open to celebrate the proclamation of King Charles lll. On Thursday evening rather than the usual ringing practice, we will attempt a quarter peal with the bells half-muffled in memory of Queen Elizabeth ll. If successful, these will be published on Bell Board and in the Ringing World, the weekly journal for bellringers. We hope you will all enjoy this continuing tradition.