St Mary and St Laurence Society of Change Ringers

Thanks for looking us up!

The St Mary and St Laurence Society of Bellringers is responsible (unsurprisingly) for the bell-ringing and bell-maintenance at the churches of the Minster Church of St Mary and the Parish Church of St Laurence in Reading. We are a friendly team of some 25 people (when everyone is there) and are keen to welcome both potential recruits and visitors to our practices and Sunday service ringing.

Whilst we aim to achieve high standards in ringing, anyone capable of handling a bell is most welcome to join in – learning is important for everyone however far up or down the curve they might be. At the time of writing, there are no absolute beginners in the band, but people can be taught from scratch if they wish – just contact one of the band and we’ll put some time aside. We ring most things between rounds-and-call-changes and Spliced S. Maximus so there’s plenty of scope for ‘fitting in’. It’s all about getting the balance right: just enough challenge to make people feel they’ve achieved something in their ringing without pushing them too close to the edge….. We quite often ring quarter-peals for further practice and many of the band ring peals together, particularly for special occasions such as births, marriages and jubilees.

If you’re moving in or passing through, come and see us at one of the advertised times and we’ll be there to welcome you.