Tilehurst Ringers logoBell Ringers

The bells are rung for 30 minutes before the main Sunday morning service (normally from 09:25 until 09:55), and again for an hour before the Sunday evening service (normally from 17:30 until 18:25).

On some Sunday evenings, and for special services at other times during the week, Quarter Peals of up to 50 minutes duration may be rung.  Now and then, for very special occasions, a Full Peal lasting around three hours may be rung.

 

Ringing to celebrate the Coronation

'Ring for the King' logoA Quarter Peal was rung on St Michael's bells at 9:30am on Saturday 6th May 2023, followed by general ringing with all tower members and learners, immediately before the start of the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey.

A Full Peal was rung on St Michael's bells on Monday 8th May 2023, from 10am to 1pm.  See the 2023 Events and the Heritage - Bells webpages for further details.


New people, young or old, who are interested in ringing are always welcome.  There is a simulator facility whereby the bells can be silenced, so they can't be heard outside the church – but an electronically-generated equivalent of the sound can be heard by the ringers inside the bell-ringing chamber.  Learners need not fear that any mistakes will be heard across Tilehurst.

Weekly practices take place on Wednesday evenings, normally from 19:00 or 19:30 until 21:00.  Additional practices for learners are often arranged for Monday evenings for an hour or so, normally starting at 19:00  these extra practices use our simulator facility.

'Striking competitions' are held annually between individual towers or between branches of ringing organisations.  The ringers of St Michael's routinely enter 6-bell, 8-bell and 10-bell competitions, often very successfully.  They also enjoy an annual ringing outing to other parts of the country during the year. 

CompetitionsTrophies won and held by St Michael's Bellringers in 2024Here are some competition trophies won and held by the ringers of St Michael's in 2024 (left to right)...

  • The Oxford Diocesan Guild  Six-Bell Striking Competition;
  • The Reading Branch Six-Bell Striking Competition;
  • The Sonning Deanery Branch Eight-Bell Striking Competition;
  • The Oxford Diocesan Guild Ten-Bell Striking Competition.

There is a project to replace the current peal of eight heavily-worn bells with a more modern peal of ten bells which will be lighter and easier to ring.  Some funds have already been raised, and further fundraising will be publicised within the local community at a time to be confirmed.

Listen to the sound of the bells of St Michael's, Tilehurst, as rung by the local Tilehurst ringers.  The method being rung is called Stedman Triples, named after the 17th century inventor of English change-ringing, Fabian Stedman.  This recording is taken from a CD of the bells produced in 1997.

If you would like to know more about bell ringing or want to learn to ring, please contact the Tower Captain of the bell ringers, either directly (see the Contact Us web-page) or via the Parish Office (see foot of page).

For more information about the bells, go to the Bells web-page in the Heritage menu.