On sombre occasions – such as Remembrance Sunday and funerals – church bells re rung “half-muffled”. This means putting a leather cap – a bit like a small knee pad – over one side of the clapper to deaden the sound. You get a loud “bong” from one side of the bell, followed by a softer rumble from the other.
On the death of the Sovereign, the clappers are muffled on both sides, giving an even more distant sound to the bells. However, the bell with the deepest note is still left unmuffled (or “open”) on one side – though the opposite side to usual half-muffling. By ringing this bell at the final position in each sequence, this gives a wonderful sound of a heavy bell tolling in the midst of the changes of the other bells. Perhaps this symbolises the reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II, who was a constant through all the changes of the last 70 years.
Here is a clip of the bells of St Nicolas, North Stoneham being rung on Friday 9th September.
Tell me, were you one of the bellringers?
I was
Good to learn something new. That is a nice illustrative recording.
Thank you for sharing this, Chippy.