The Latest information on the 2016 Bell Ringing for England on St Georges Day
At 11.30 on 23rd April, the bells of St. Mary’s will be rung to celebrate St. George’s Day as part of a nationwide “Ringing for England” rolling ringing challenge. Teams of ringers from across Hertfordshire will be aiming to ring as many of the county’s bells as possible on that day and it is hoped that this will generate some positive publicity for bell ringing.
The idea is to get the 44,000 bell ringers to ring the 208,000 bells in the 12,000 churches ringing across the country on St. George’s Day, England’s Day – April 23rd 2016.
Why? Because that was when St. George was martyred, his death decreed by Diocletian for refusing to give up Christianity. He was a brave young man and very worthy of being hailed a Patron Saint.
There will be people from all walks of life, all ages, even teenagers, who will be ringing out of every corner of the entire country. They will ring from towers that might have just one bell or some that have a stupendous 13, in small parish churches, priories, abbeys, minsters, cathedrals, universities and even a castle. Anyone can learn to ring no matter what age, so if you are interested in ringing in Redbourn, you are invited to come to St. Mary’s Church for any of our Tuesday evening practice sessions which begin at 7.45 pm. We would really like to train some new ringers to supplement our local band, so if it is something that you have always fancied trying, now is your chance! We have a couple of learners already and you will have plenty of encouragement and support from experienced bell ringers.