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Volunteers needed to chime the Bells at York Minster
Published: on 20th June 2006 by Eleanor Course in Press Releases
Volunteers are needed to help chime bells for Evensong at York Minster. The main ring of bells at the Minster is rung with ropes and wheels on Sundays and special occasions by The York Minster Society of Change Ringers, but the cathedral also has another set of chiming bells that is sounded by one person on weekdays and Saturdays when the team of ringers is not present. The Minster is looking to recruit a few more volunteers to chime these bells for the daily Evensong service.
Anyone willing to learn to chime the bells should be able to read music and be fit enough to climb the 100 steps to the ringing chamber in the south-west tower. The chiming for Evensong takes place for 20 minutes after 5.00pm for the 5.30pm service, and volunteers should be able to commit to one service per week.
The chiming bells are played by pressing down levers on a baton clavier. It is a simple machine and training will be given. Reasonable strength is needed, but the present group who chime the bells ranges in age from teenagers to senior citizens and it is not too onerous a task. This is a role that might suit someone who works in the city and finishes at 5.00pm, or is active and retired.
The chiming of the bells for daily services is a tradition that goes back centuries, and volunteers have recently reintroduced the ancient tradition of playing tunes as well as traditional bell ringing. The playing of tunes on the Minster's bells dates back to the building of the present cathedral, and the Cathedral's Fabric Rolls record the installation of a chiming machine as early as 1473. The inventory for that year reads, "And in pence to John Newbald, chimemaker, in part payment of his wages.. £1 & 3s & 4d."
The sound of the Minster's bells ringing across our city is part of our culture and heritage - would you like to make a contribution to it? Anyone interested should contact Canon Jeremy Fletcher, Church House, Ogleforth, York, YO10 3JN, telephone 01904 557205 or email precentor@yorkminster.org.