Judith and David from the Kingston band appear in the March 2023 issue of The Diocese of Southwark’s newspaper, The Bridge.
You can look at back issues here.
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On Sunday 13 February All Saints, Kingston was featured on ‘Love
Your Weekend’ with Alan Titchmarsh, exploring the traditional
sound of church bells, and the people who ring them on a Sunday.
As bell ringers across the country prepare to ‘Ring for the King’ to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on 6 May, there was a visit to All Saints, Kingston to discover more about the history behind bell ringing and meet The Revd Joe Moffatt, Pippa Joiner, Learning
and Engagement Officer, and the band of bell ringers. A segment of this was broadcast during the program.
Revd Joe Moffatt said: “This year is special because of the coronation of King Charles. It is something that we have a particular interest in because this is the site where seven Saxon Kings are known to have been crowned and Athelstan, one of those kings, was said to be the first king of all England and so this is where, we claim, England began.”
Pippa also shared a glimpse of history in talking about King Athelstan who was the first king to wear a crown and said “He had a special kind of coronation designed for him, which kind of formed the backbone of coronation services today.”
Change ringing – the rhythmic ringing of church bells in a coordinated sequence – is something that husband and wife, David and Judith, have been doing together since they met over 60 years ago and they have
both been part of the band of bell ringers at All Saints, Kingston for many years.
David, 90, said: “Well, the story for me started at the age of 18 when I went to university. I heard two of my fellow students talking about bell ringing. It sounded fascinating and I decided to learn. After several years, at the University of London Society of Change Ringers Annual Dinner, I met Judith.”
Judith, 83, said’ “I was about 15 and went to an all girls school. I came from an all girls family and I wanted to meet some boys. A request was put out for young people to come and learn bell ringing. I thought, ah, that might answer my question! I wasn’t part of a church, but it sounded fun. I first learned to handle a bell and then to ring methods. Then I went off to university and went to my first annual dinner and sat opposite me was this young man – David – and we had quite a lot of the same interests.”
Bell ringing requires a lot of skill and coordination. Judith describes bell ringing as “an art and a science, it’s physical and intellectual. You never stop learning: it requires coordination, listening, rhythm, and it’s very much about teamwork.” The band at All Saints practice once a week on Wednesdays and ring twice for services on Sundays. In the tower there is a peal of 12 bells, with the weight of the tenor bell at 900kg. The word ‘peal’ also refers to a length of continuous ringing which can last for about three hours non-stop and comprises upwards of 5,000 changes.
David likened bell ringing to riding a bicycle and said: “Once you can do it, you don’t understand quite why other people can’t.”
David and Judith now live in Cobham, but over the years they have rung and worshipped at churches in various parts of the country. For the last 30 years they have rung with the band at All Saints, Kingston.
Change ringing is an essentially English tradition, but it has spread to a number of places around the world and David has taken the opportunity to ring bells in America and South Africa. Bell ringing can be enjoyed by people of all ages and at All Saints there is a diverse band, with different levels of skill and experience in ringing and a group of people who have
formed lasting friendships.
In sharing a message to interested bell ringers, Judith said: “Find a tower near you, find out who the master is, make contact and just arrange a time to meet to see what it’s like”.
Watch ‘Love Your Weekend’ on ITVx where you can see All Saints, Kingston from 57 minutes into the program: https://bit.ly/3KyiR39.