The Bell's of St Margaret's

St Margaret’s tower contains a fine old ring of ten bells, the heaviest of which weighs 25¾ cwt, and is tuned to C natural. They were cast specifically for the church in 1854 at the famous bellfoundry of John Taylor of Loughborough, Leics. All ten are still the original bells – despite being over 150 years old, none has cracked or needed to be recast during that time. The bells were rehung in a new frame and fittings in 1974, but the bells were deliberately not retuned, and still retain their original sound.

We have a very active band of bellringers, and we ring the bells regularly for Sunday service, for practice on Monday evenings, and for other events such as weddings and church open afternoons. The bells are also rung on occasion by visiting groups of bellringers from other churches and other parts of the country.

Our ringers also have regular trips out to ring on other rings of bells, both in the north-west, and up and down the country. The social aspects of bellringing make it a very enjoyable and rewarding pastime.

Anyone interested in finding out more about church bells and bellringing – the challenging Old English art of change ringing – would be very welcome if they ventured up the tower to visit us on a Monday evening between 7.30 and 9.00 pm.