Our church bells were still able to ring out on Easter morning thanks to two of the Abbey’s bellringers being given special permission to use the Ellacombe Chime which enables all the bells to be chimed by a single person. The Abbey's Tower Master, Matthew Butler, and fellow Abbey ringer Tom Wareing (who are members of the same household) played rounds, changes and some Easter hymns including "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" on the Abbey bells.
Judging by the comments on social media, their efforts were greatly appreciated. Many who lived in the vicinity appreciated hearing the bells in celebration of Easter. Matthew and Tom were also interviewed on BBC Radio Somerset the next day. To listen to the interview click here and scroll to between 3hrs 36 mins and 3 hours 45 mins. (Available on 13 April 2020 for 29 days.)
When one Twitter user queried why they weren't ringing the Abbey bells by pulling the ropes, our Bath Abbey Bells Twitter account was quick to explain that "Don't worry! Usually when we can ring, we use the rope closer to the ones you're imagining (not in cassocks though!) but on this occasion we just used {the Ellacombe Chimes} to ensure that we were following guidelines."
For more information about Bath Abbey's bellringing team, please click here or follow @BathAbbeyBells on Twitter.
