Gaining access to the ringing room in an Abbey or Cathedral is often not as easy due to the sheer size of the building and many have central towers. A central tower often means a convoluted path through the roof space of a transept. Whereas in the local parish church the bells may be rung from ground level or the first floor.
At Pershore Abbey the ringing room is at a level above the transept roof within the central tower. As you can see from the picture, the bells are rung from a cage suspended in the centre of the tower by thick wooden beams braced against the four walls. One beam has a narrow walkway over it.
Many ringers won't venture up the tower to ring at Pershore Abbey, due to this spiral staircase which leads to the walkway. Despite the poor quality of the picture, you can see it quite safe due to the surrounding cage and netting. People are put off because you can see straight down to the floor. In this picture you can see a person walking up the stairway. There are more interesting pictures on subsequent pages.
