Raising ‘Great George’

Before Christmas, I wrote a post, about the raising of the ‘Great George’ Bell, up to the Bell Tower, at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, on Saint James’s Mount / Liverpool. If you missed the post, you can read it here… Raising Great George.

Last Sunday, Ann & I had the opportunity, through one of our friends, to watch the Bell Ringers in the Cathedral for ourselves, and listen to the incredible bell tones within the tower itself. It also gave us a rare opportunity to meet, and question all the bell ringers, to gain an insight into this strange, secretive room high above the body of the building, and knowing that when walking in the cathedral, whilst the bells are ringing… and the Tower is closed to the public, that there are a group of highly trained ‘ringers’ way above your heads…

Above the light at the top of this image,
is where the enclosed bell ringers hall is situated

We arrived early at the cathedral, and had a short walk around the main body of this magnificent building overlooking the city, and met at the Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designed K6 Red Phone box (the designer is memorialised in the cathedral grounds), situated at the bottom entry to the lift. Here we met our guide, and made our way up to one of the tower floors, and a short walk to the next lift,which would take us to the ringers chamber…I wanted to see the room, before the main throng of bell ringers arrived as this gave me an opportunity, for some initial shots of the room…

The Bell Ringers Chamber and ringing circle.

A spare bell ringers rope… on the chamber frame

We were asked if we should like a close look at the bells… although I have seen the bells in the tower, on the occasions I have visited as a local ‘tourist’ and ‘historian’ upon making my way to the roof, the bells can be viewed from the stairs on the way up to the tower’s roof. So you don’t really get a chance to see them close up and personal…

The A flat ‘Tenor Bell’ (the 4 tonne… Emanuel)

Another of the bells.

I asked the Lead Bell-ringer and his wife, who incidentally married at the Cathedral, to a great peel of bells, performed by their fellow ringers on the day, with guest ringers from other areas. I was amazed to find that the lead-ringer, has rung bells all over the world and regularly rings all over the North-West, and indeed the Country as a whole as a guest ringer.

After our visit to the bells up close, we once again made our way down to the ringers chamber, by the narrow stone spiral staircase, leading between floors… I asked how the ringers train, in order to enhance their ringing skills on practice nights, and we were directed to an ingenious apparatus, to the side of the ringing chamber…

The ‘practice’ rig.

Those less experienced ringers, can ‘pull’ the bell ropes on this practice rig, which are configured with the tension and action of the real bell ropes, and subsequently attached to a computer, which mimic the tone of each bell, allowing the ringer to pick up the ‘changes’ as directed by the lead ringer, but without disturbing the locals who live around the vicinity of the cathedral itself.

The ‘BARTLETT’ bells

Thomas Bartlett, was a successful wine merchant in the city, and upon his death bequeathed a sum of money to the Cathedral, to provide a ring of bells for the Cathedral, which was in the process of being erected. Bartlett died in 1912, and it would be another 25 years before his ‘bequest’ was realised, and the bells cast, and another 15 years, before the bells first ringing. Thomas Bartlett’s cremated remains, are stored in a casket sited on a stone plinth, above a door in the ringing chamber, which leads to the actual bell chamber above…

Thomas Bartlett’s ashes

The ringer chamber, was now filling with bell ringers, and it was a real joy to watch and listen to the bells, in the sequence of the ringing… every now and then the lead ringer, would shout a change, so that the ringers could adjust the sequencing of the bells… to facilitate a different ring…

            

During the ringing we were asked if we should like to go up to the public stairwells above the Bartlett Bells to listen to them from above… We had to wear ear defenders, and were given a short Health & Safety induction, as to the procedures when listening to the bells safely. Ann stayed behind in the ringers chamber… so myself, and another guest, took the lift up to the ‘public’ stairways, which overlook the bell chamber itself…. Fantastic !!!

Listening to the bells…

 

What a superb visit… and such a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon… when Ann and I vacated the tower, Chris, the other guest, took us around an impromptu select guided walk, showing Ann & I, some less well known hidden facts in the cathedral… before we went into the cathedral cafe, for a coffee, and a chat…. a fitting end to such a relaxing day… a BIG thank you to everyone who made the day so special !!!