Bell Ringing

Bell ringing is both a historic tradition and an important part of weekly life at TRINITY

Bells have rung out from TRINITY Church Southover for over five hundred years.

Click on the images below to find out more about the bells and the ringers.

The Bells

Ringers and Ringing

Socials

About the bells and the past

Bells have rung out from TRINITY Church Southover for over five hundred years. After its predecessor collapsed in 1698, the tower was rebuilt between 1714 and 1738 with a ring of eight bells, and they were recast in 1839 and augmented to ten in 1905. The church (now part of TRINITY Church, Lewes) is currently one of only six rings of ten bells in Sussex. CLICK HERE to view a pdf with bell weights and inscriptions.

Southover has for many years been at the forefront of ringing in Sussex. In the past, ringers here included John S. Goldsmith, who founded the “Ringing World” – the weekly national journal of church bell ringing – and George Elphick, who was an authority on bell founding and who wrote the books “Sussex Bells and Belfries” and “The Craft of the Bellfounder”.  Many peals and notable pieces of ringing have taken place at Southover over the years, including in 1893 a peal of Stedman Triples rung entirely by ringers named George!

About the Ringers and Ringing

In common with thousands of other towers in the UK and a few around the world, we ring the bells ‘full circle’ and so can perform ‘change ringing’. More general information can be found HERE

Today, Southover has a strong band of nearly thirty ringers. We practice on Tuesday evening from 7.00 to 9.00 and for Sunday services from 10.00 to 10.45. We have a strong teaching ethos and hold a beginners’ practice on Monday evenings from 6.00 to 7.00 using a ringing simulator, so that novices can learn the basics of bell handling.

Visitors are always welcome to the Tuesday practice and to service ringing, although we try to ring a quarter peal for evening service on the last Sunday of each month. Please check before you visit; email our secretary at southoverbellringers@gmail.com. And if you’re not a ringer but just curious, do come up and say hello!

Details of our regular ringing and any special events can be found on our calendar below.

UPCOMING BELL RINGING

Other Groups