Church bell ringers travelled from all over the country to Wakefield Cathedral for the first round of this year’s National 12 bell striking contest.
Leeds Minster represented our diocese and competed against three bands from London and one each from Guildford, Oxford, Newcastle under Lyme – and the team, led this year by Dr Steve Ollerton, ma
naged to secure a place in the final which will be held in Norwich in June.
The all day competition was led by the Tower Master at Wakefield, Adrian Moreton. pictured here with his elder daughter,Alison, checking the results. He has been ringing bells since he was nine years old and took over the post when his father retired in 1986.
He explained the importance of the 12-bell strike.
“One of the aims in bellringing as practiced in England, is for each bell to sound accurately amongst the others, so there is a regular gap between each sound. We call this ‘good striking’, and it’s something all teams of ringers aspire to.
“The National 12 bell contest puts the quality of striking on 12 bells to the test,” he added.
This is the first time the contest has been hosted in Wakefield even for an eliminator round – thanks to the recent refurbishment of the nave that allows sufficient space for such a large gathering of ringers who come to listen to the ringing, to eat and drink and renew old friendships.Leeds has now qualified 8 finals, 7 in the last 8 years, only missing out when the final was held at Leeds.