Liverpool Cathedral Bells

[bellminsterboy]

Since I Live in Dorset and it is very unlikely that I will come here, please could someone explain what is so scary about coming down?

[elafonisi08]

What's that big thing for in the middle?

[bellminsterboy]

@elafonisi08 That is for Great George

[Yodasstuff]

Thank you. We don't have this in the US. I always wondered how it was done.

[engelbertschoormans]

61000st!

[Defn28]

I really miss bellringing. I used to do it as a teenager then for a year as an adult buy never had time, shame really

[kernowoggie]

Actually NOT the heaviest ring of bells in the world! If you define that as being hung for full circle ringing then Verona Cathedral tops Liverpool with a tenor weighing 88-1-26 or 4495 kgs. The fact that they are do ring changes in the English fashion is irrelevant, they could be, that is the point. There's an excellent clip on You Tube showing them being rung full circle and demonstrating superb control.

[kernowoggie]

@kernowoggie oops! I intended to say they DO NOT ring changes in the English fashion. There are some other differences as well. Headstocks tend to be much bigger and heavier adding to the overall weight of what is being "rung". They don't use stays either.

[wandereruk44]

82-0-11 in A flat and I have rung it as well as James

[Q2SEEDSMAN]

ringading

[TheMightyKinkle]

it looks suprisingly easy to swing a bell that weighs many tons. But suppose that as they are stored upside down the momentum is easy to move

[Magicking788]

Wow!!!! I've always wondered what bells looked like inside a tower ringing more than one

[24308548]

wow, always wondered what these bells were like. Am I correct that the tenor is still the heaviest rung bell in the world at 84cwt?

Makes the tenor in my old place (Carrichfergus St Nicholas) at 13 1/2 cwt seem like a tiddler!

[ProfMoose]

It's actually 82cwt 11lbs but who's counting ;-)

Yes it's still the biggy.

[fartwell2000]

@ProfMoose The largest full circle ringing bell (in part of a ring) is the Tenor at Verona Cathedral-89cwt.

[ProfMoose]

@fartwell2000 Don't split hairs. You know exactly what is under discussion - ringing in the traditional English style.

[1BODGER95]

What a BEAUTIFUL noise!

[wandereruk44]

Yes, the acoustics were always poor. I preferred Pier Head

[darrowby1972]

Accoustics are truly WOEFUL though!

[pretorium]

nope...its not Paul Mounsey.....since when has he rushed handstroke leads??

[Whittingtons]

never said it was.

Said he looked like.

[kezzbag]

Hi, I`m the chicken cousin. I got the bit where the steps went straight and new if I went any higher I`d have HUGE problems coming down so am with you on that one Prof!

[evilednaface]

I've walked up those steps to the roof and bloody hell i freaked out, is very scary!

[ProfMoose]

LOL. Going up was scary. Coming down? I nearly didn't make it! I was absolutely terrified.

[evilednaface]

I'm usually good with heights but those stairs ..urgh! My cousin stayed at the bells level and i forced myself to run up to the roof but freaked out, ran back down crying and in full panic attack. LOL we're going back this week to do it all again!! :-D

[beetrootrat]

What a bonkers ringing chamber, and dangerous! I remember standing on blocks when I was 12. It would have been even scarier to have another 2-3 feet to fall!

[ProfMoose]

Not nearly as dangerous as having all that rope piling up on your feet.

[beetrootrat]

Ah I see. How did I miss that?

[rogiet3]

If you like church bells there is an interesting item on MONTV. which is internet TV for Monmouthshire. Go to Google ask for MONTV then click on Mon Faith then Ringing the changes. The bells of ST. Mary Caldicot.

[KayakFreak]

It must be glorious to be there and feel the sound in your body.

[1BODGER95]

Am I right in saying that the cathedral has just installed a set of new "Scarlet Sallied" bell ropes?

[Phantphan1993]

i hope so, i dont like Red ,White + Blue sallies... the white gets dirty quickly and goes grey.

[timmeh1507]

they're not scarlet they're a sort of maroon colour! nice but you get a mouthfull of fluff!

[ProfMoose]

Same colour as Buckfast. How are things at Liverpool? I hear there is a temporary suspension on ringing.

[timmeh1507]

I'm not really the best person to ask - I go to uni in North Wales and a few of us try to get there once a month to ring for Evensong or the Saturday practice. hopefully it won't be long though!

[jowannabee8]

I'd always believed that the holy sound of the church bells would drive away evil spirits.

[ProfMoose]

There used to be a tradition (maybe still is in some places) of ringing handbells around the grave at funerals for this purpose.

[sublimedub1983]

I think the sound of these bells would be enough to drive anything away really! its not just the bells its the chamber! lol it's a mixing engineers worst nightmare! so many hanging notes! There's definitely some nastiness around 100Hz EEEEEEK

[ProfMoose]

LOL. I want to hear them outside. From the snippets I've heard on YT, which were probably not best quality, they sound like a horror movie. I suspect the bells are really quite good but the tower torments the sound far too much.

[Whittingtons]

Looks like Paul Mounsey on the treble!

[ProfMoose]

Wrong! Try again :-)

[madaboutchocolate]

lol watching them ring is like watching them in slow motion!

[digitalrushdude2112]

hey i feel kinda dumb for asking, but what is that pit/hole in front of everyone? what is its purpose?

[1BODGER95]

No one knows, but we asume it is because the bells are very big, hence you therefore you have to deal with a lot of rope whilst ringing them, especially the back bells. It could become dangerous for the rope to be bouncing up and down near your feet, but even so there are boxes there anyway.

[ProfMoose]

Good answer. I think the ring also prevents a huge difference between the height trebles and tenors.

[Phantphan1993]

my guess is that its for ringing up the back bells up, as they are so heavy you would need to stand on the box with the sally, and jump down a good few feet.

[Volterrable]

I think the hole in the middle of the "Circus Ring" ('official' name for the raised platform) is to enable a strap (another ringer ringing the same bell at the same time) to ring alongside the heavier bell ringers without getting in the way: this would also be the reason for the longer sallies on the heaviest ones.

I am going there on Saturday and look forward to it! :)

[ItsAlexOmg]

Also, it reduces the rope draught by a few feet. The tenor now has a strap with a sally on it too i think.

[iowntheclough]

i was in liverpool cathdral and its massive!!! amazing building

[1BODGER95]

They sound soft and squidgy!

[pal05pmajor3]

blimey

[pal05pmajor3]

it's a cornish word for sally. sorry i just type what i usually say keep forgetting that some people might not know.

[ProfMoose]

It's longer than standard - I think Exeter tenor's longer (5ft 6in).

[pal05pmajor3]

i bet that tenor's some experiance to ring isn't it? whats it like? and oh my god look how long the fillet is.

[ProfMoose]

The tenor is different - It's slow, heavy and lots of rope. It's not particularly hard work but it's not a bell anyone could ring. Difficult to describe.

Not sure I know what you mean by 'fillet'.

[1BODGER95]

cornish saying. means Sally or Tuft

[formby2]

This brought back instant memories of being a regular ringer in Liverpool 20 odd years ago. I certainly remember how the cathedral bells became an indistinct rumble from inside once the first round or two had been rung. At the time I'm sure there was talk of putting another ceiling in somewhere between the bells and the ringing chamber to help prevent this, which I assume never happened. The names Ernie, Peter and Len 'ring bells' from those days (pardon the pun). Are they still in Liverpool?

[PiNInFarina18]

If rough tewlves are what you want Cripplegate in London are awful now. A shame as they used to be really nice i hear...

[countrysidelover]

wow!...so that's how church bells are rung. amazing. thanks for sharing this vid

[churchlad]

i heard these ringing from the vicarage garden in the parish of St Gabriel's close by, and they sounded heavenily

[kaldbaksbotnur]

Love it

[1BODGER95]

Whitechapel 1939 hehehe!

[ProfMoose]

I'll allow myself a little smirk at that one.....:-)

[amfalk]

that is one scary looking pit. how long are the ropes? how good do you have to be to be allowed to try to ring there?

[TotallyBursar]

Well, I've only been ringing for a few months,and I've been allowed to have a try round the front once or twice. Essentially, if you can stand a bell at each stroke everytime, then you can ring these ones.

[JamesLiverpool76]

One of the great priveleges of living in my home city of Liverpool, is to walk along the waterfront on a sunny Sunday morning, and to hear the magnificent sound of those bells ringing from that mighty tower - just wonderful! Thank you for your video.

[Sabre2010]

The 82cwt Tenor would B no problem 4 a strong,brute woman from USA,like me 2 ring!!!I luv the BIG GUYZ(heavy bells)!I like them b-cuz they're a great mental & physical challenge.I luv it when I meet my match!!!

[ProfMoose]

LOL. There are far worse than Liverpool tenor. St Edmunds Salisbury nearly killed me but I hear that's been rehung now. Anybody want to suggest some really rough bells?

[1BODGER95]

I can lol.

The 3cwt treble at my church is renound for pulling your glasses of your face. It's a troublesome bell that one.

[bagpiper2005]

What's the strike note and octave of the tenor (e.g. C-3, B-2, etc.)

I think I want to get back into ringing...it's been 2 years since I've touched a bell rope...and hopefully can find someplace that is willing to re-teach me as I was taught to ring the wrong way from the beginning :P

[ProfMoose]

Tenor is in Ab.

If you want to get back into ringing take a look at the CCCB site. It might help ;-)

[hbnt06]

Did you take footage of this yourself?

[ProfMoose]

In answer to both questions - Yes. But that might change with future vids....

[hbnt06]

do take all of your footage yourself?

[ProfMoose]

How did I approve this and not answer it? Bad Moose! Naughty Moose!

Yes, all shot by me.

[TotallyBursar]

They sound nicer when they're half muffled. You get lovely loud silences between the chimes.

[02wlander]

I just want to try ringing that tenor

[wexfordchoir]

Got to ring the Tenor in July 2006. Was good fun!

[cartoonyboy]

What is the pit for?

[ProfMoose]

Saves having lots of boxes?;-)

While we were waiting to ring we were stood looking into the pit and some wise guy asked "Where are the ponies?" Maybe they thought they could have a circus up there - it's big enough...

[NiallMS]

Perhaps they were looking for pit ponies!

[kernowoggie]

the two round back end struggle a bit to strike them well. I remember Peter Border and he was a legend at ringing monster bells.

[oxfordpj21]

I think they are rather nice, but then I ring for the Oxford Society and we had a brilliant band!

[Whittingtons]

The Tenor is so deep you can't hear it near the end.

[jona76]

They're a lovely ring but if you've not rung there before, don't rush around to the tenor as you'll drop it (like the chap did in the video). The sound is terrible because of the large space the bells are in and after ringing a couple of quarters on the middle six (28cwt), you start to get a headache as they just drone on and on ;o) Wouldn't swap em though.

[fartwell2000]

A fair amount of crashing around. Whats the crack with the treble ringer bouncing the bell against the stay before the pull off into rounds? You'd think it was 10 tons, not 10cwt!

[nightfire620]

the acoustics sound dreadful though

[Bellringer55]

our church is going on a tour and we are going to liverpool cathedral, it looks really exciting and i can't wait to get ther and ring

[ninogizeta]

beautiful!!!!!! nino gargnano garda lake

[belvedere261]

I rang there once on the 8th the next time I would like to try the tenor the heaviest Ive rung up to yet is the great bell of tong

[ProfMoose]

I've heard a lot about Tong but never rung there. Any change of a vid of it??

[Bellringer55]

It's quite hard work ringing in a relevantely normal-sized church, but in Liverpool! it looks very challenging work!

[mjgriff74]

Next time I go to 'pool, I shall have to brave the tower. I don't think I'll attempt to ring there for some years yet though... that pit looks quite scary! I can imagine I'd fall straight into it! lol

[Robster981]

I'd be worried about falling down the pit, especially if your ringing the tenor! That tower is just huge!

[ProfMoose]

LOL! I must admit the view downward did focus my mind ;-)

[clapperend]

I found them the same, I wouldn't turn the back bells in, I would leave that for the locals but a nice peal of Stedman Cinques would be nice.

[clapperend]

Was nice to ring on them to say that I have but I wouldn't be rushing back, because of the sheer size you have to ring soooo slow, tenor was a lovely bell to ring, only thing is I don't like lifts, and the 2 to the ringing room was bad!!! :-( but I thought It's not as bad as climbing it!

[ProfMoose]

Fortunately I don't have a problem with lifts :-) I'd love to go back in better health and really get to know the bells. I only rang the 11th & tenor. Stupid really considering how sick I was at the time.

Moose

[clapperend]

I went on them fine and came off them sick, although I do get ringing on alot of different types of bells the heaviest I had rung, prior to that was the tenor to the 16 in Christ Church, Dublin (45cwt) but I would ring on them again, a peal attempt on them would be fantastic!

[ProfMoose]

You can keep the peal:-) I have a lot of heavy bell experience and still found Liverpool different - not difficult or hard work, just very different. Almost an out of body experience.

Moose

[BeFrSc]

I would love to ring there, i have turned in the tenor at Exeter Cathedral (72cwt) so i don't see this being much more of a challenge, it's just my lack of method, i ring Plain Bob, Grandsire, Stedman, Erin, and some surprise, but i have discovered that i am able to ring absoleutly anything as long as the line is in front of me for the bell i am ringing, but that's only for some methods e.g. Avon Delight.

[24308548]

Have always wanted to see what the tower was like inside, that pit looks a bit dodgy! If I remember rioght the tenor is 83cwt, heaviest set of ringing bells in the world. Was in Liverpool the other week, working with Mersey Fire and rescue service, bells were ringing, sounds awesome!!

[ProfMoose]

Tenor is 82cwt 11lbs but at that weight the odd cwt is irrelevant;-)

I didn't get to hear them outside :-(

[emzy22bellz17]

I would love to ring at Liverpool cathedral one day but it would just be round the front for me... I doubt I could manage the heavy bells.

[Mankey52]

Such awful accoustics... im suprised they could hear what they were ringing in that method

[ProfMoose]

Yes the acoustics are ...erm...interesting! Having heard the sound track rather a lot I can sort of hear them. Just a general impression of the striking rather than accurately hearing individual bells. I think they are clearer on the vid than they were in real life but that might be me getting used to it.

[bagpiper2005]

At least now I've seen it's possible to ring that massive thing single-handedly...

[SrWilson]

Infact I could imagine it is quite managable since its own weight and momentum mainly take it round.

I couldnt imagine trying to raise it though.

[ProfMoose]

The total lack of tower or frame movement must help. Proplem is once you've rung it there's nothing left;-)

[SrWilson]

If I ever get to visit liverpool cathedral to ring sometime I'd like to have a go :)for sure just to say i've rung the heaviest change ringing bell in the world if nothing else.

[SrWilson]

you could drive a double decker bus round those bells.

I'd love to have a go on emmanuel just to feel it and how different it is.

Then return home and all my local towers bells will feel like feathers.

[ProfMoose]

I found a photo once taken in the 60's I guess, I think there was a dumper truck up there. Can anyone confirm this and if so how did they get it out?

Ringing Emmanuel is different. I was very ill when I rang it but was still found it quite managable. It's heavy but quite pradictable. Lots of rope and a long drop of the box were a bit off putting. Long drop but not at long as that 10m platform (see my other vids):-)