Sheriff's Peal Appeal
Since the Middle Ages, church bells are perhaps the most constant and unchanged sound to be heard in the City of London. Bells have called people to worship, sounded the curfew, warned of fire, and celebrated national events.
The Peal Appeal
I am ringing the bells of 12 Livery linked City Churches in the Peal Appeal, a series of performances to raise money for the Sheriffs’ & Recorder’s Fund.
Coinciding with the 300th anniversary of the first ever 12 bell peal in the UK (at St Brides Church, Fleet St, 1725) over 100 ringers from London and across the UK are travelling to the City to support me and to raise funds.
The hope is that donors will match the ringers’ efforts with energetic donations.
To support me, please go to my Just Giving page:
Pealing Progress - the multi-marathon continues!
With several peals and quarter peals completed – most recently at St Mary le Bow – and with 7 more to come I am starting to feel it in those core muscles and shoulders!
And this current batch of quarter peals has coincided with the 3rd heatwave of the year. If it was less that 38 degrees in the ringing room at St Mary le Bow this week I wouldn’t be surprised!
But maybe the ‘sauna’ approach to sweating off a few pounds gained in the gourmandising over the last few months may not be such a bad idea.
This band of ringers is made up of members of the Ancient Society of College Youths https://www.ascy.org.uk/ (founded like a livery company on College Hill in the City in 1637). They are kind enough to give their time to support this fundraising appeal. Some are City-based, many others coming from as far afield as Lincolnshire.
Sincere thanks to all and in particular to the Master, Susan (Swaz) Apter, Secretary Simon Meyer, Ryan Noble, Euan Thomas and Richard Pullen.
A Quarter Peal at St Paul's
On Tuesday 8th September we rang the bells of St Paul’s Cathedral as part of my Peal Appeal in aid of the Sheriff’s and Recorder’s Fund.
This band of ringers (including me) are all members of the Ancient Society of College Youths, the preeminent ringing organisation worldwide, which was founded on College Hill in the City in 1637 and has historically provided the ringers for both St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. The Society is structured just like a Livery Company, with Master, Wardens, Secretary etc. The Society made a pledge at the Presentation of Addresses, immediately following the installation of the Lord Mayor at the Silent Ceremony, to organise a series of ringing performances during my year of office as Sheriff in support of the S&R Fund which does wonderful work in supporting prisoners and ex-offenders.
The method we rang is called Stedman Cinques on all the 12 bells of St Pauls. In this method, the tenor bell, which strikes the lowest note, is always at the end of each ‘change’ whilst the other eleven bells change position according to a defined pattern or method; in this case devised by Fabian Stedman who was Master of the Ancient Society of College Youths in 1682 a few years after the construction of St Pauls began. The performance - or quarter peal - took just over an hour to complete.
You can hear an except from the ringing here.
The Lord Mayor's visit to St Mary le Bow
On July 10th, The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alastair King and the Lady Mayoress, Florence King, visited the tower of St Mary le Bow church to hear and watch a short piece of demonstration ringing, see and learn about the bells, bellringing and meet some of the key people involved in ringing the City’s bells.
This was hosted by The Ancient Society of College Youths and included Masters of Livery Companies that are linked to the church.
Ahead of their arrival, a quarter peal was rung as part of this 'Peal Appeal’,
Peals are like marathons
Peals are the bell ringing equivalent of a marathon They are a trial of stamina, testing both physical and mental ability.
With up to 12 ringers and 5000 changes, peals can take between 3 and 4 hours non-stop. Quarter peals, a bit like 10k runs, take up to an hour to complete.
So these are a significant challenge and the performance can only be considered completed and achieved if there are no errors that bring it to a premature halt.
The planned performances include
| Dates | Church | Associated Livery Company |
|---|---|---|
| 10.00 21 June | St Michael, Cornhill | Drapers; Merchant Taylors; Upholders; Master Mariners; Air Pilots; Water Conservators |
| 17.00 10 July | St Mary le Bow | Mercers; Grocers; Scriveners; Furniture Makers; Arbitrators; Firefighters; International Bankers |
| 12.00 13 July | St Olave, Hart Street | Clothworkers; Environmental Cleaners |
| 15.30 13 July | St Bartholomew, Smithfield | Butchers; Fletchers; Founders; Feltmakers; Farmers; Information Technologists; Tax Advisers |
| 18.00 13 July | St Lawrence Jewry | Haberdashers; Girdlers; Loriners; Distillers; Tobacco Pipe Makers; Chartered Surveyors; Actuaries; Insurers; Chartered Architects; Constructors |
| 17.00 31 July | St James, Garlickhythe | Skinners; Vintners; Dyers; Painter-Stainers; Joiners & Ceilers; Weavers; Horners; Clockmakers; Needlemakers; Glass Sellers; Coachmakers; Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers; Fan Makers; Management Consultants; Educators; Parish Clerks |
| 19.00 31 July | St Giles, Cripplegate | Salters; Barbers; Gardeners |
| TBC 02 Sept | St Magnus the Martyr | Fishmongers; Plumbers |
| 14.00 06 Sept | St Vedast, Foster Lane | Goldsmiths; Pewterers; Wax Chandlers; Woolmen; Saddlers; Plaisterers; Engineers |
| 18.30 09 Sept | St Pauls Cathedral | City of London Corporation |
| 15.30 14 Sept | St Andrew's Holborn | Guild Church of Farringdon Without |
| TBC 21 Sept | Holy Sepulchre | Musicians |
| 12.30 23 Sept | St Katherine Cree | Joining in with ringing for City Giving Day: Insurers |