Bell Ringing at Guildford Cathedral, Surrey

Описание: This was the final tower on the Guildford Guild Open Day, and the reason why many people came to the event in the first place.

Guildford Cathedral is an outstanding ring of 12. Being the only ring of 12 in the county of Surrey, there isn't much choice for people living there. With Croydon, South Croydon, Portsmouth, Kingston and East Grinstead being the closest other 12 Bell towers. It is probably the most notable landmark in Guildford, if not the whole of the county. It can be seen for miles, with truly marvellous views all around. You can even see the City of London from there, a clear sightline through the Mole Valley.

The Bells here are tuned to D major, weighing in at 30cwt. One would therefore expect a similar character to South Croydon as the weight and note are the exact same. But in fact, the front 8 bells actually remind you more of St Magnus-the-Martyr instead. The Back 4 bells are truly their own, though. Honestly, as soon as we heard the 12 together we were all blown away by the sound of the tenors!! It's almost just a continous hum when it comes to the back 4 - you can barely even hear a clapper strike! That may be the case because of the gigantic "Liverpool Style" Belfry, meaning the sound just resonates taking such a long time for there to be silence.

Ringing here was actually extended by around 20 minutes because of just how many people (50-60 approx) were there. It consisted of Rounds, Call Changes, Plant Hunt on 11, Grandsire Cinques and to my surprise.. even Stedman! In this video, we see one of the goes at Plain Hunt on 11, with me on the 9th. Many of the ringers here recorded the other bits of ringing as well. Thomas for example recorded the touch of Stedman Cinques. That can be found here:    • Bell Ringing at Guildford Cathedral, Surrey  

The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford is affiliated to the Guildford District of the Guildford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (GDG)