Early church bells were far more than timekeepers or calls to worship. They were widely believed to possess special properties: able to heal the sick, protect communities and ward off evil. One of the most obscure and fascinating historical customs associated with church bells was the medieval practice of placing a bell directly on the head of someone thought to be suffering from mental illness, in the belief that it could cure them.

The bell with the deepest sounding note in the U.K. is Great Paul at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was cast in 1881 and its note is E-flat. It weighs 16.75 imperial tons and is the largest bell in the U.K. in current use, and is the largest that is hung for ringing. It makes a low, deep humming tone when rung. All church bells make a humming note when they are rung.

Tring Tower has been unusually creative this month. We have been using modern technology to design a distinctive T-shirt logo — perhaps an anachronism in such ancient surroundings. It is now time to order our T-shirts and sweatshirts from our helpful local supplier. The logo features a golden bell with the zebra head, a bell rope including the sally — the coloured fluffy part of the rope — and the words: Tring Ringers, Sts Peter and Paul.

This article first appeared in the February 2026 edition of The Ringing World. It was published alongside an article by Matt Rabagliati on the UK’s ratification of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and what this could mean for bell ringing. For the past seven months, I have entered the world of bell ringing in my local tower in Tring, Hertfordshire. It began, as many good things do, by accident.

In May 2023 I climbed the ancient spiral staircase of the Tring tower for the first time and entered a new world beyond my imagining. Since then, it’s been a challenging journey, with a mixture of trepidation, fascination, enjoyment, and frustration. Overall, I’m pleased to be making steady progress. I’ve always found pleasure in hearing church bells. If driving past a ringing tower I would habitually lower the car window to hear better.

Ring for The King In Tring! was the enticing recruitment slogan put about by the Tower Captain of Tring tower in preparation for the Coronation of King Charles, I took the opportunity to commit myself to mastering that technique, as so many before me had, of that co-ordination of body and brain that seems so effortless when done by practiced ringers. All I knew then about church bells was hearing their impressive, sonorous sound calling out over the town with their rung messages.

Fifteen members of the 1st Halton (RAF) Red Kite ESU with their leaders climbed the 36 step circular stairs to be welcomed to the ringing room by eight enthusiastic Tring ringers. The fifteen split in to three smaller groups to visit the belfry in turn (more steps up!) where the concept of bells being ‘up’ or ‘down’ was explained, questions answered and, after donning ear defence, a bell was rung to demonstrate ‘full circle’ ringing (the bell rotates on its bearings through a full circle).

Proclamation - 10th Rung following the Proclamation of His Majesty, King Charles III Eve of funeral - 18th Rung fully muffled for a special Evensong on the eve of the funeral of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II Funeral day - 19th Tolling tenor half muffled an hour before the funeral service of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

The following ringing took place on Friday the 3rd of June. 70 of Queens Call changes Rounds and Call Changes Quarter peal attempt

The team were very happy to be able to return to the tower after an extended period of being unable to do so. Albeit with a cold breeze and masks!