Welcome to Ringing in Northampton

The town of Northampton has many beautiful and historic churches. This site has been set up to provide information on ringing at the four churches in the centre of the town with peals of bells, All Saints, St Giles, Holy Sepulchre and St Peter. Regular practices are held and Sunday service ringing takes place in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, and visitors are always welcome.

There is also information about the bells of other churches in Northampton.

All ringing towers mentioned on this site are in the area covered by the Northampton Branch of the Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. The branch holds ringing meetings which are usually on Saturdays and other social activities. See the guild website at www.pdg.org.uk for more information.

Ringing arrangements

Practices are on Wednesday evenings and rotate between the four churches with ringing generally taking place at a different church each week. The usual order is: 1st Wednesday All Saints, 2nd Wednesday Holy Sepulchre, 3rd Wednesday St Giles, and 4th Wednesday St Peter. On 5th Wednesdays a practice may take place at another church. Practices begin at 7.00 pm and continue to 9 pm and ringers of all abilities are welcome. The outside doors at All Saints and St Giles have to be kept locked after 7.00 pm for safety reasons and any visitor expecting to be late should contact the appropriate Tower Captain to arrange for access. See contacts page.

A ringing school under the auspices of the Association of Ringing Teachers takes place at All Saints on most Saturday mornings starting at 9.30 am and generally lasting for an hour and a half. These practices cater for all learners, from those starting to handle a bell to others tackling simple change ringing. A simulator is used with ringing taking place on bells 3 to 8 inclusive of the peal of ten.

Sunday service ringing at present takes place at All Saints on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, at St Giles on the third Sunday of each month and at Holy Sepulchre on the fourth Sunday each month. At All Saints ringing begins at 9.45 am for a 10.30 am service, at St Giles at 9.15 am for a 10 am service and at Holy Sepulchre at 10.30 am for an 11 am service.

Visitors thinking of joining a practice or service ringing and anyone thinking of learning to ring or simply wanting to know more about bell ringing should use the contact page for more information.

Help for anyone organising an outing to Northampton

Anyone considering organising an outing which will include ringing at the four Town Centre churches is invited in the first instance to contact Bridget Paul, All Saints Tower Captain. She will liaise with the other Tower Captains to determine any possible difficulties and also advise on timings, car parking etc.

Learning to Ring

If you are thinking of learning to ring or simply want more information about bell ringing please use the contact page to request more information.