The sound of church bells ringing is something we all love to hear, but anyone who has ever tried it will know that it takes a lot of skill, plenty of practice and also gives you a good workout! In Taunton, three members of the same family, Angela Henderson, Jackie Henderson and Harry Thorne-Henderson have just achieved something very impressive – they’ve all been awarded the Association of Ringing Teachers’ (ART) highest level of achievement for students.
Angela, Jackie and Harry all started ringing in 2017 after attending an open tower day at St Mary’s Church, Taunton, now Taunton Minster and we spoke to them about their experiences. Jackie told us about how they got started, saying ‘It was at the open day that we met Brenda Arscott, known as Tosh, now Deputy Ringing Master for the Association and the Tower Captain Rosemary Tuhey. This followed the installation of the new ring of 12 bells in 2016. We were lucky that Jill Hansford the Taunton Branch Ringing Master taught us all to ring, and along with many others helped, encouraged and supported us through our early ringing and achievements.’
Jackie continued, ‘We have had some lovely experiences ringing at different churches throughout the diocese and beyond. Harry was only 12 years old when we went with the Associations Young Ringers to Liverpool cathedral. The cathedral is one of the tallest cathedrals in England and houses the heaviest ring of bells in the world. Harry helped ring the tenor, the heaviest bell in the peal which weighs in at 4½ Tons, 9195lb or 4171kg and he also got to ring on all 12 bells. This was one of the highlights in our ringing journey. Harry who is now 18, has started to learn about bell maintenance - he thoroughly enjoys this area of ringing and loves crawling round bells and frames.’
Jackie concludes, ‘ringing as a family keeps us active and gives us good quality time together building confidence, developing new skills, learning new methods and overcoming challenges. It’s also a great way to socialise and meet people. In many ways we have just started our ringing journey, and we all look forward to the future with the help of the many friends we have made.’
Rosemary Tuhey who is the Deputy Tower Captain at Taunton Minster and was introduced to bellringing by her father, says, ‘It is a great volunteer pastime giving both a mental and physical workout. The serious side is that we have a commitment to ring for church services but I can think of few other activities that give the social opportunity to meet people of all ages and backgrounds in an enjoyable and challenging common activity’.