Though Bradford Cathedral doesn’t have its own regular team of bell ringers, Tower Captain Dale Barton and the team invite ringers throughout the year, and this particular ringing day coincides with this year’s Yorkshire Churches Day.

We spoke to Maurice Calvert, Ringing Master for the Western Branch of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers, to find out more about what they’re doing on the day and how bell ringers can get involved.

What is happening on the day?

"The people ringing will be members of the Western Branch of the YACR (covering Bradford, Halifax, Calderdale and the Yorkshire Dales). We’ve combined things this year into what we call a ‘Quarter Peal’ day, so those members who wish to take part can ring quarter peals together.

"A quarter peal takes about 45-minutes of continuous ringing, and we're running four time slots on the day, with two in the morning - then a lunch break - then two in the afternoon, and one of those slots will be open ringing at Bradford Cathedral.

"The day will start with a quarter peal attempt at St. Andrew, Gargrave before heading to St Michael & All Angels, Haworth alongside a concurrent ring at All Saints, Bingley. After that it’s over to Bradford Cathedral and then we finish the day at Holy Trinity, Idle.

"If there are visiting ringers in the area, they are welcome to come and join at Bradford Cathedral from 2:30pm. Last month we were ringing at Holy Trinity, Holmfirth and two bell-ringers who just happened to hear the bells ringing came and joined us.

"For those looking to learn to ring church bells, you can express your interest at https://cccbr.org.uk/bellringing/learn/ - I don’t think any churches will turn away people eager to learn! It's a wonderful, centuries-old hobby, exercising both mind and body and suitable for learners between 10 and 70."

Listen out for the bells ringing at Bradford Cathedral on Saturday 14th September from 2:30pm. You can find out more about the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers at https://www.yacr.org.uk/ and Yorkshire Churches Day at https://www.yhct.org.uk/yorkshire-churches-day/. You can also find out more about what bell ringing involves in a video recorded at Bradford Cathedral on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJGSdn6KNk

You can also join us from 12noon - 3pm for our Heritage Open Day - you can find out more details about this on Eventbrite.