Aston Cantlow Church has an active group of bell ringers who ring for services on the second and fourth Sunday of the month and for special events and festivals. 
They get together in the bell tower of St John The Baptist’s Church in Aston Cantlow to practice on most Wednesday evenings. (Check practice dates with the Bell Captain – John Martin 01789 488376).
NB It is not possible to ring the bells during repairs to the tower.
This group are always looking for new members, so if you want to find out more about this gently active and socially friendly group contact the Tower Captain John Martin 01789 488376.
Our church has six bells, ranging in weight – the largest being 14 cwt., and therefore each producing a different tone.
The actual mechanics of ringing would take too long to explain in this piece, but the simplest method involves ringing the bells in sequence i.e. from 1 – 6. This, of course, becomes boring, so many years ago systems were devised which involves changing the position of each bell, and by a fairly complex system it is possible to change this order without repeating a sequence thousands of times. On our own bells one particular method (a full peal) lasts for just under three hours, without a break, this is the true meaning of the word peal where every possible combination of sequence for all bells is rung without any sequence being repeated. Full peals are very difficult to ring so are always recorded for posterity. Our current team doesn’t aspire to such great heights, content to practice relatively simple methods.
The group visits and rings at other towers and of course welcomes groups of ringers from other towers. Here is the group at its 2010 visit to Somerset. I’m not sure how the labrador or the cavalier manage the bells but they say anything is possible !!
