Worcester Cathedral

The ringing room in Worcester Cathedral is much larger than in the average church. There are 15 bells hung for change ringing and a Bourdon bell (82-3-24, 76" diameter) that is chimed. Twelve of the fifteen bells are in a diatonic scale with three semitone notes too. In the picture below, the twelve diatonic bells are being rung by a visiting band of ringers from all over the Midlands. Those waiting their turn to ring are sitting or standing to watch. The picture is built from a series of shots, all taken without flash and captures the movement of the ringers and their ropes.

The heaviest bell, the tenor, has the keynote of B in the Major Scale (488.8Hz) is being rung by the man standing on the large box just to the left of the centre table. To the right of the tenor, the treble (No.1) is being rung by the lady with the pink top. In comparison, the average church with bells hung for change ringing, usually has six bells and its tenor weighs around half a ton (500 Kg).

In this photograph taken from a viewing platform whilst the bells were ringing, the tenor can be seen in the centre of the photograph swinging towards the camera. It weighs 48-0-2 (5378 Pounds or 2439 Kg) and is 64 inches (1625mm) in diameter. To its right is the lightest bell, the Treble at 6-3-8 (764 Pounds or 347 Kg) and only 29 inches (736mm) in diameter.

The table shows the information about the bells as recorded in the Dove Guide. The table records the Bell number, Bell Founder who was John Taylor of Loughborough, the date 1928, the weight in Hundredweights-Quarters-Pounds, the diameter in inches and the musical note.

Diatonic Bells Semitone Bells
  • 1, John Taylor, 1928, 6-3-8, 29, F#
  • 2, John Taylor, 1928, 7-1-16, 30.5, E
  • 3, John Taylor, 1928, 7-2-20, 31, D#
  • 4, John Taylor, 1928, 7-3-25, 32.5, C#
  • 5, John Taylor, 1928, 8-2-19, 35, B
  • 6, John Taylor, 1928, 10-0-6, 36.5, A#
  • 7, John Taylor, 1928, 12-0-1, 39.5, G#
  • 8, John Taylor, 1928, 14-3-26, 43.5, F#
  • 9, John Taylor, 1928, 20-0-6, 48, E
  • 10, John Taylor, 1928, 25-2-10, 51,D#
  • 11, John Taylor, 1928, 34-3-4, 57, C#
  • 12, John Taylor, 1928, 48-0-2, 64, B
  • 5 sharp, John Taylor, 1928, 8-0-15, 33.5, C
  • 6 flat, John Taylor, 1928, 10-2-24, 38, A
  • 9 sharp, John Taylor, 1928, 16-1-16, 45, F

 

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