Bells ring out all day in Peterborough to celebrate St George's Day

Bell ringer Terry Wright in the bell tower at St John the Baptist, Barnack EMN-180423-125630009

With a Royal birth and St George’s Day there was a mood of national celebration across the country.

So it was fitting that there were bells were ringing in and around Peterborough for almost the entire day as eight churches embraced a patriotic campaign to “celebrate a typically English hobby.”

The campaign from Ringing For England was started in 2010 to promote the celebration of St George, England’s patron saint, on April 23 every year, and to mark its ninth year a rolling ring was carried out with bells ringing from 8am in the morning until 6.30pm in the evening, with small breaks in between.

Andrew Christie and his bell-ringing team at St Mary's, New Road, Peterborough EMN-180423-125652009

The campaigners began at St Mary’s Church in New Road before moving to St Benedict’s in Glinton, St John the Baptist in Barnack and St Kyneburgha in Castor before lunch.

After the break it was onto St Mary the Virgin in Wansford, St Mary and All Saints in Nassington, St Andrew at Cotterstock (near Oundle) and St Mary the Virgin in Warmington.

The bells were ringing for 45 minutes at a time at each church.

Andrew Christie from the campaign said: “At each of the eight towers we are ringing what is called a quarter peal, with each one being 1.260 changes in length and each change not repeating itself until it comes back into the starting change.”