Church bells are rung to call people to worship, commemorate life events such as weddings and funerals and even for national commemorations such the Coronation of King Charles III. At St Wilfrid’s we have a full peal of eight bells which are rung by a team of bell ringers.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the original six bells on 14^th October 1973 by the Dean of Ripon. When the church was built in 1914, there was only one bell which now serves as the Sanctus bell which is rung at the consecration at Mass. It was always intended to have full peal of bells; but this took nearly sixty years to be realised. It was finally achieved under the direction of Ronald Dove, a renowned bell historian, who was a member of the congregation at that time. The bells were recast from the redundant bells from the now closed High Hoyland church, near Wakefield. Four years later the remaining two bells were added.

Over the years bell ringers have come and gone – there must have been over a hundred people who have learned to ring at St Wilfrid’s over the years! We had a strong band before the COVID pandemic, but after we were down to only a couple of ringers due to others retiring or moving away to university. This year we trained up a new band and we were able to ring for the Coronation. It is usual to hear five or six bells ringing every Sunday and different changes (tunes) are rung as the band develops. 

We are always keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in learning to ring our bells. You don’t need to be physically strong or musical; but are able to work as a team and enjoy taking on new challenges. If you wish to get in touch with us, please click the contact link at the top of the page.

For more information about the history of the bells, please visit the following pages
St Wilfrid’s Bells
St Wilfrid’s Bells – A prehistory
St Wilfrid’s Bells – 50 years in 50 pictures