Bell ringing returns at Holy Trinity Church

There were smiles at Stratford’s iconic Holy Trinity Church on 2nd August as the sound of bell ringing filled the air for the first time in months.

The church bells have remained silent since Mothering Sunday on 22 March, but thanks to a piece of clever Victorian engineering, two bell ringers were able to make them sound again, whilst maintaining social distancing.

Charles Wilson, tower captain at Holy Trinity Church, said: “I’ve been tower captain for 35 years, but because of the Covid restrictions we’ve had to carry out a risk assessment. We can have up to three bells being rung at the same time, but because of their positioning, the bells that can be rung together wouldn’t have sounded that great.

“Our solution has been to use a chiming apparatus, a Victorian invention called an Ellacombe. It’s basically a frame which the ten ropes for the bells sit in, which allows just one person to ring them all by pulling each individual rope towards them, instead of each bell swinging, they are hit by a hammer instead.

“It’s quite strenuous and it’s easy to get your hands in a knot, but there were people turning up at the church who could recognise the hymns being played.

“We’re delighted to hear our bells ringing again and it’s great for the community too.”

The sound of bells is a welcome sign that Stratford is beginning to recover from the pandemic, and people are once again being allowed to visit Holy Trinity, a building synonymous with Shakespeare.

Rev Patrick Taylor, said: “I was delighted to hear the bells ringing out over Stratford again, they’ve not rung since Mothering Sunday. The reason they were rung was for our 4pm service, people have to book in advance to attend as we can only allow limited numbers, but it’s great to see services return.

“We are also now welcoming visitors to see Shakespeare’s grave again, the numbers are in their hundreds now, not the thousands who we get in a normal year, but it’s a first step.

“The community have really stepped forward to help Holy Trinity re-open, we’ve recruited a team of around 20-30 volunteers because our staff are furloughed at the moment, we’re so thankful for their support.”

Holy Trinity is now open to visitors from 11am-1pm Monday to Saturday and again on Fridays and Saturdays between 2-4pm.

Larger groups should book in advance if they intend to visit.