The Bell Ringers of St Giles were formed into the above Society in 1952 by the Rector of the day. This type of arrangement is common for churches around the country with peals of bells. The primary day-to-day objective of the Society is obviously to ring the bells for Sunday services and other special church and state ccasions. The objectives of the Society are however wider than this in that they place a responsibility on us to ensure the standard of ringing is kept high and that the continuity of the band is ensured through teaching new people to ring and progressing them to the stage whereby they can be an effective part of the Sunday service band. The Society has a formally adopted set of Rules by which we organise and manage ourselves so that these objectives are met.

 

Teaching new ringers and the furtherance and upholding of the skills needed to ring well are a major part of the responsibilites of the Ringing Master and his deputies.  

The Society also owns a magnificent set of handbells specifically donated to the Society by Mrs K B Bell in 1967 in memory of her husband, Col. Malcolm Bell, a ringer at St Giles for many years. The Society has funded the addition of extra handbells to the original set over the years. In addition to their primary purpose in supporting the goals of the Society, they have at various times been made available to groups, linked to the ringers, for the purpose of tune ringing.

 

See the Contacts sections for details of the current officers of the Society.