Calling the changes at All Saints Church, Radford - St Peter's Church, Nottingham, England on-line magazine

Calling the Changes at All Saints'

All Saints' Church, Nottingham You will have heard bells rung to “Changes”, be it at St Peter’s, All Saints’ or elsewhere in Britain. However, for the band of bellringers at All Saints’ Nottingham the cycle of changes has been somewhat more literal.

The bells at All Saints’ are rung by The Nottingham University Society of Change Ringers (NUSCR) and our tenure there will reach thirty years next March. However, as our parishes consider the benefits of a future together, it is interesting to note that NUSCR began in the late 1950s at St Peter’s, where several students rang with the local band. They decided to form their own society in 1958 and the Rector kindly agreed for NUSCR to hold a separate practice night.

The students were keen to run their own tower, so in 1960 they moved to ring briefly at All Saints’ where the bells were in a poor state of repair having never had a regular band of ringers. The state of the bells at All Saints’ led to another move to Beeston until the formation of a local band there in the 1970s. So NUSCR returned to All Saints’ in 1972.

The bells and their fittings at All Saints’ were gradually restored, culminating in the installation of a new bellframe in 1999; the £14,400 cost being largely raised by the students. The bells are rung for both Sunday and festival services and several of us regularly attend church. We also serve in various capacities, including the PCC.

As our parishes consider the benefits of a future together, there is a sense in which NUSCR has come full circle. We look forward to positive collaborations between the St Peter’s band of bellringers and ourselves. We both have an important role to play in making those around us aware that the church is here and alive.

Andrew Cairns

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