PDGCBR
LightNews LightNews
banner
pdgcbr.bsky.social
PDGCBR
@pdgcbr.bsky.social
220 followers 430 following 750 posts
Local charity providing information & support to members and friends of the Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers. Covering towers and ringing in Northamptonshire, Rutland and Peterborough.
www.pdg.org.uk
Posts Replies Media Videos
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Event
The Guild is holding a quiz and chippy tea on Saturday 14th February, at 7pm in Nether Heyford Village Hall.
Tickets £15 each, including supper. There's a choice of meals.
Teams of up to 6, come as a team, or we can make one up on the night.
Tickets in advance from [email protected]
Social event ad.
January 5, 2026 at 9:26 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
Hannah rang her first peal on 12 bells at Towcester on Saturday. The band rang Cambridge Surprise Maximus. We're told the girl done good, Well done, Hannah!
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Towcester
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Towcester, an ironstone tower with some limestone banding either side of the West window. The tower is partially obscured by the large evergreen bushes in the vicarage garden. The tower has 4 stages, a clock in the 3rd and the louvres in the 4th. There are crenelations. The church is behind the tower, the north aisle is partially visible. The sky is a uniform grey and it looks a bit chilly. Photo Hannah Baker A band of 12 people in 2 rows of six, with an array of happy faces.
January 4, 2026 at 3:42 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
The band at Peterborough St Mary's wished Caitlin well as she heads back to Durham for her MA studies.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Peterborough
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
A modern church in light brown brick against a blue sky, just a few puffy white clouds. The church has a tower and about 2/3rds of the way up a set of lighter bands in brick, where the louvres are. To the left of the tower is the church entrance, with a high canopy over it. In front is a road and some cones and to the right what appears to be 2 people working, maybe dealing with the bushes that are between the church and the road, they have a green piece of machinery that I can't identify!
January 4, 2026 at 3:29 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
There was a quarter peal of Yorkshire Surprise Major at Wicken. It was Noah's first of the method and Sophie's first of treble bob, well done!
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Wicken
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Wicken church is viewed from the chancel end. A large East window faces us, with a cruciform church layout evident. The tower is at the West end, and emerges above the chancel roof. The whole is form a neatly cut beige stone. The tower has several stages that taper and a parapet. The church is viewed across a raised churchyard, the grass is almost at eyelevel nearest to the photographer. It is neatly trimmed and there are a number of columnar evergreens. The sky is mostly blue, with light, high cloud and puffy white clouds. It feels like a summer evening.
January 4, 2026 at 3:07 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
Joe Rollings celebrates his 93rd birthday today (3rd January) Yesterday he rang with fellow ringers at Pytchley as an early celebration.
Happy Birthday Joe.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Birthday
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Pytchley tower stands behind the churchyard wall. From a mottled brown/grey stone, the porch is infront of the tower form this angle. Tghe tower rises above the church roof. In the stages that are visible, there seem to be blind arches.There's then a decorative course below the pairs of louvres visible in each of the 2 sides we can see. There are tall pinnacles and some crenelations on the tower top. The sky is blue above a large mass of white to greying clouds. The tree to the right of the porch is bare.
January 3, 2026 at 5:42 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
The regular first Friday peal was scored at Rothwell yesterday. This was despite several last minute band changes due to the colds that are making the rounds. Hope everyone's feeling better.
#bells #BellRinging #ringing #northamptonshire #rothwell
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Against a deep blue sky, with white puffy clouds, we see Rothwell's tower. This is mostly ironstone, with some banding in different shades of cream to russet. The tower has 4 levels. The lowest has the door and 4/5 sets of columns & arches carved into it. The second is banded, but plain. The third has the clock and a window (the ringing room) and the 4th has the double louvres. There are pinnacles on the corners of the tower and a flag pole/weather vane thing sticking up from the middle of the tower. The tower is viewed up a slope and appears to be leaning away from us. The remainder of the church is hidden from view by a wall and bushes to the right and by trees to the left.
January 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Christmas Ringing
A peal was rung at Higham Ferrers for Christmas. They rang London no. 3 Surprise Royal. The number matters, there are 5 different London methods. Important to get the right one.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Christmas
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
The church looks low, but only because the spire is so tall. The nave & clerestory are visible, in local sandstone with ironstone banding. 2 large windows are visible in the nave wall. Above, the tower is extended by the spire, with is buttressed at its base and has 3 sets of lights moving up to the top. The sky is almost entirely blue and the tree visible to the right has bare branches.
January 2, 2026 at 4:22 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A peal was rung at Raunds in Twixmas. This was Bob's 5,600th peal. That's A LOT of ringing!
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #northamptonshire #Raunds
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Photo by Melanie Plumley. Raunds tower is an ornate item. In this view, we can see 4 layers of the sandstone tower, and the broached spire above. The lower later is fairly plain, The second layer has vertical columns dividing the wall into 4, with lancet tops. The 3rd layer is similar, but in 5 sections and shorter and has a window in the middle section.
January 2, 2026 at 4:16 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A quarter peal was rung at Orlingbury in Twixmas. It was in the most number of methods for Ricky.
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #northamptonshire #Orlingbury
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Orlingbury is a cruciform church, with a central tower. We see the church from the east end, the nave towards us, porch and transept to the right. There's a large tracery window on the East end. There's a window, porch and window before the transept. The tower stands tall in the centre, with a clock and then tall louvres before a crenelated top and tall pinnacles. The church is ironstone with cream stone facings and tracery. The sky is cloudy, and the grass is green. There is a clump of bright yellow daffs in the middle of the image. Photo by David Rose
January 2, 2026 at 4:11 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
There was a quarter at Cold Ashby, of Norwich Surprise Minor in Twixmas. It was first in the method for Liz & Terry and as conductor for Alistair.
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
January 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A peal was rung at Burton Latimer in Twixmas, Turns out to have been Tuesday, but, frankly, who knows!
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
January 2, 2026 at 3:54 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A band rang a quart5er peal at Whilton on New Year's day. From the band photo, we're wondering if the hat was worn to ring!
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamtonshire
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Whilton is a rather odd looking church! Working from the left there's the tower, the nave and the chancel. The chancel ridge line is higher and has a steeper roof line than the nave, the chancel is tiled, while the nave is a verdigris copper. The church is of an iron stone, while the tower is rougher and a paler stone. Looks like someones taken 3 entirely disparate parts and stuck them together! The churchyard is mown neatly and the sky has puffy clouds in front of a blue sky. 6 people standing in a church, with bell ropes. all wearing jumpers/long sleeved tops and one bobble hat!
January 2, 2026 at 3:28 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A quarter peal was ring at Uppingham on New Year's Day. They rang Bristol and it was first in the method for Liz and first conducting the method for Chris.
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Rutland
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Uppingham church is hemmed in by buildings and trees, making it very difficult to get a good view of it. This is taken from almost the base of the tower, looking up at it. The tower is of a ruddy stone, and is square with corner buttresses. It is topped with a slender spire which is piercing the bright blue sky. Photo by Judith Osborne
January 2, 2026 at 3:16 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
The band at Peterborough St Mary's saw in the New Year with a quarter peal.
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Peterborough
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
A modern church in light brown brick against a blue sky, just a few puffy white clouds. The church has a tower and about 2/3rds of the way up a set of lighter bands in brick, where the louvres are. To the left of the tower is the church entrance, with a high canopy over it. In front is a road and some cones and to the right what appears to be 2 people working, maybe dealing with the bushes that are between the church and the road, they have a green piece of machinery that I can't identify!
January 2, 2026 at 3:07 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A quarter peal was rung at Crick in New Year's day. They rang plain bob minor.
#bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Crick
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
January 2, 2026 at 2:51 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
The band at Castor ring in the new year with a date touch. This is a piece of ringing that is the same length as the digits of the year, so they get longer each year.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
January 2, 2026 at 2:42 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
A quarter peal was rung at Brooke on New Year's Day, in memory of John Beadman, who died on Christmas day. John was tower captain at Brooke for 26 years.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Rutland
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
January 2, 2026 at 2:24 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Happy new year. And to start the year we launch our new Guild logo.
It uses the bell and headstock motif of the previous logo, removes some of the prior ornamentation and introduces colours.
We look forward to seeing this used across the Guild in years to come.
A gold bell, with blue fittings and Founded 1924 in text. Surrounded by a gold band with The Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church BellRingers, further surrounded by a striped band of blue and gold in a 2:1 ratio.
January 1, 2026 at 1:05 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Tower of the day
Great Addington has a ring of 6 bells, all cast in 1899 by John Taylor & Co. The heaviest bell weighs 513 kg. They are rung from the ground floor of the tower. Practice night is Monday. It doesn't always have snow this perfect.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Tower #northamptonshire
A snowy day, in which the snow in on this side of the church is in shade and is almost as blue as the sky. Great Addington church has a relatively small tower, to the left of the image. It is square and has a hefty corner buttress. There is a window in the 2nd stage and the louvres in the third stage before a crenelated parapet that is marked with crosses (and we're assuming aren't actually arrow slits!). The church is to the middle of the image with the chancel disappearing off to the right. The church has a nave with 3 clerestory window above a side aisle. The nave and tower are of a darker grey stone than the side aisle, which is lighter and has some ironstone banding. There is a porch with a pitched roof facing us and has a carved round arched entrance. The snow appears pristine, the sky is a bright clear blue, it is the perfect winter's day. Photo by shiploveruk on Instagram.
December 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
The band at St Mary's Peterborough rang in memory of Sonia Goate, a faithful member of St Mary's.
It was Steve's first quarter peal on an inside bell.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Peterborough
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
A modern church in light brown brick against a blue sky, just a few puffy white clouds. The church has a tower and about 2/3rds of the way up a set of lighter bands in brick, where the louvres are. To the left of the tower is the church entrance, with a high canopy over it. In front is a road and some cones and to the right what appears to be 2 people working, maybe dealing with the bushes that are between the church and the road, they have a green piece of machinery that I can't identify!
December 29, 2025 at 5:27 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Christmas Ringing
A quarter peal was rung at Middleton Cheney for Christmas on Boxing Day. They rang Cambridge Minor. It's the first quarter peal here in 3 years.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire #Christmas
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Yes, this is taken on an angle, no the church is not on a 45 degree slope! We're looking at Middleton Cheney tower. behind the porch and with the church visible to the left of the image. The whole is constructed of ironstone, with some paler stone for the mouldings. The porch is pointed and has a sundial above the arched entrance. The tower is beyond and is square. There is a carved and crenelated parapet with number of tall carved pinnacles. The tower is slender and pierces a clear blue sky. Picture taken by Michael Wilby.
December 27, 2025 at 8:21 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Christmas Ringing
A quarter peal was rung at Raunds ahead of the candlelit Carol Service on Christmas Eve. Happy Christmas to all.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Christmas #Northamptonshire
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Photo by Melanie Plumley. Raunds tower is an ornate item. In this view, we can see 4 layers of the sandstone tower, and the broached spire above. The lower later is fairly plain, The second layer has vertical columns dividing the wall into 4, with lancet tops. The 3rd layer is similar, but in 5 sections and shorter and has a window in the middle section.
December 25, 2025 at 11:22 AM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Christmas Ringing
The Cathedral band rang a quarter peal ahead of the Cathedral Carol Service on Christmas Eve. Happy Christmas to all.
#BellRinging #bells #ringing #Christmas #peterborough
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
Image is of Peterborough Cathedral. A broad frontage with 3 arches and 2 towers either side. Ornately carved and with a projecting porch in the lower portion of the middle arch. The green in front is covered with a thin blanket of snow and the sky is that pale winter blue.
December 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Tower of the Day
Grafton Underwood church has a ring of 5 bells, rung from the ground floor of the tower. The heaviest weighs 361 kg. The 4th & 5th date from 1682, the others from 1923. There is no regular practice night. Each Good Friday there is a peal on half muffled bells.
#Bells #BellRinging
On a bright winter's day, Grafton Underwood church stands out against a blue sky scudded with white clouds. The grass of the churchyard is neat and lush, and a bare tree frames the left hand side of the image. The photo is taken from the chancel end and we can see the 4 light window in the end wall. There's a nave of a lower ridge line and shallower pitch, which has a side aisle (This is the USAF memorial window). The tower is at the West end and is square with a spire in top. The church is mostly constructed from coarse cut stone, with the mottle appearance that produces. The sun is on the side of the church we can see, and it is glowing gold. In a shallow arched frame there is a 3 light window. At the top are the flags of the US & UK. The body of the window is a large American bomber in a pale blue against a slightly deeper blue ground, all in stained glass. There is a red banner with the dedication to the USAF personnel at USAF Grafton Underwood in WW2. photo by fierceflaggy on instagram.
December 23, 2025 at 4:42 PM
pdgcbr.bsky.social
Recent Ringing
West Haddon church has moved the ringers to an upstairs ringing room. This creates space in the tower for facilities. A peal was rung for Christmas and this was the first in the new ringing room.
#Bells #BellRinging #Ringing #Northamptonshire
bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=...
In a wide angle photo, West Haddon church looks quite compact. It has a raised churchyard and we are opposite the entrance, flanked by gate posts and a set of stairs leading to the porch. The tower is to the left, of ironstone and with substantial corner buttress visible. The body of the church has an ironstone clerestory and a more variegated side aisle wall. The chancel is partly hidden by a tree to the right. The sky is blue, with some massed white clouds coming in from the right, the sun is currently shining from the left.
December 22, 2025 at 4:39 PM