Bell Ringing
Tower Bell Ringing at St Peter’s
The bells are rung on Sunday 9.15 - 10.00am, before Morning Prayer and 5.45 – 6.15 pm before Evensong
Practice Night: Monday 7.00 – 9.00 pm
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We are a popular tower and cater for ringers at all levels. Practice nights will usually include ringing from Rounds and Call-Changes to Surprise Major and every station in between. We are affiliated to the St Martin’s Guild of Church Bell Ringers. We have a good relationship with several other local towers (Northfield, Smethwick, Shirley, Birmingham Cathedral, Edgbaston) and many of our ringers overlap.
It isn’t just the ringing though; we are a very sociable tower and regularly hold events that don’t involve ringing or extra extended teaching sessions, using our simulator so that we don’t annoy the neighbours. |
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| Clare McArdle - Ringing Master |
You will hear the bells ringing on Saturdays, especially through the summer months, for weddings. We are happy to ring for any special occasion if requested. In return a donation for our Tower Fund, for the upkeep of the bells, would be gratefully accepted.
The only limits we put on ringing is that not more than one Peal attempt is allowed each calendar month, bearing in mind a Peal can take 3 hours. Outside of these Peal attempts and the usual Sunday and Monday ringing, the only extra ringing that occurs is at weddings, visiting ringers ringing the bells for not more than an hour and also Quarter peals (taking about 45 minutes to ring), usually before Sunday service ringing, so starting at about 4.45pm.
Quarter peals can be used to commemorate any event. If members of the congregation have a family member or important event that they would like to remember - please, let us know. If requested we can provide a framed memento of the Quarter peal. At the moment we are ringing Quarter peals in memory of those servicemen who gave their lives during the First World War (see below).
Please contact: Clare McArdle, 0121 6800355, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
, if you would like a Quarter peal dedicated to a special person or event.
Honouring the soldiers of The Great War
From 2014-2018, the bell ringers of St. Peter’s Harborne are going to commemorate the lives of the servicemen who gave their lives during the First World War. We plan to ring for those soldiers from Harborne parish listed in the book of remembrance. We will also be including those who were bell ringers in Birmingham.
Our project, in memory of the soldiers, is to ring“quarter peals” on the Sunday closest to 100th anniversary of their passing. Quarter peals are an extended piece of ringing that lasts around 45 minutes.
Our first quarter peal, commemorating the life of Francis F Lediard. Francis Lediard died on 26 August 1914 at the age of 45. A Private in the Royal Scots’ Second Battalion, his name can be found on the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial in France.
The second quarter peal remembers Stoker 1st Class H Plaskett, Royal Navy. Died 20 September1914.
The third remembers Private George Henry Bolton, Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Died 21 October1914, age 33.
The fourth remembers Corporal Henry Walter Deeley, King’s Royal Rifle Corps.Died 28/10/1914, age 28.
The fifth remembers both Rifleman Arthur Austin, Rifle Brigade. Died 31/10/1914 and Telegraphist George Clarence King, Royal Navy. Died 03/11/1914, age 21.
The sixth remembers Private Harry Weston, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd Bn. Died 7/11/1914, age 23.
The seventh remembers Private William George Stanley, Worcestershire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 1/12/1914, age 37.
The eighth remembers Private Harry Walter Walker, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 07/04/1915.
The ninth remembers Private Ernest Ballard, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 25/04/1915
and Corporal. T Joiner, Royal Fusiliers, 4th Bn. Died 25/04/1915.
The tenth remembers Rifleman William Robinson, Rifle Brigade, 2nd Bn. Died 09/05/1915, age 20 and Corporal. Albert Edward Stockhall, 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales’ Own) Died 13/05/1915, age 38.
The eleventh remembers Cpl Samuel Perry, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 1st Bn. Died 16/5/1915, age 30.
The twelfth remembers Pte Arthur Bolton Warr, Australian Infantry AIF, 2nd Bn. Died 29/07/1915, age 28.
The thirteenth remembers Private Robert James Woodward, Worcestershire Regiment, 4th Bn. Died 06/08/1915, age 34.
The fourteenth remembers Private Tom Turner, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 9th Bn. Died 10/08/1915, age 24. Member of St Martin’s Guild and bell ringer at Solihull.
The fifteenth remembers Rifleman William Henry Banner, Rifle Brigade, 11th Bn. Died 17/08/1915 and Private Frederick Harld Chatwin, Dorsetshire Regiment, 5th Bn. Died 19/08/1915.
The seventeenth remembers Rifleman William Tombs, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 9th Bn. Died 25/09/1915, age 30 and Lance Corporal Alfred Woodcock, Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1st Bn. Died 25/09/1915.
The eighteenth remembers Cpl. Samuel Stanley, Worcestershire Regiment, 1st/8th Bn. Died 03/01/1916 and Private Wallace Hewertson, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 5th Bn. Died 18/01/1916, aged 19.
The twentieth remembers Private Leonard Hicks, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 16th Bn. Died 10/04/1916 aged 26 and Private Harry Archibald Hawkins James, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 9th Bn. Died 13/04/1916 aged 19.
The twenty-first remembers Private Ernest Cooper, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own), 2nd Bn. Died 18/04/1916 and Private Frederick Thomas Holbrook, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, “C” Coy. 15th Bn. Died 18/04/1916 aged 20.
The twenty-second remembers Private Edward Eames, Hertfordshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 21/04/1916, aged 26.
The twenty-third remembers Private Harry Austin, Worcestershire Regiment, C Coy. 3rd Bn. Died 28/04/1916, aged 28.
The twenty-fourth remembers Gunner George Henry Jackson, Royal Garrison Artillery, 2nd Siege Bty. Died 13/05/1916, aged 21 and Private John Henry Broadfield, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own), 12th Bn. Died 17/05/1916.
The twenty- fifth remembers Private Herbert Avery Brown, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, “D” Coy. 1st Bn. Died 23/05/1916, aged 20.
The twenty-sixth remembers Stoker 1st Class Walter William Sweatman, Royal Navy, HMS Queen Mary. Died 31/05/1916, aged 21, Ordinary Signalman George Harold Thompson, Royal Navy, HMS Invincible. Died 31/05/1916, aged 18, Lance Corporal Ernest Gordon Bennitt, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 15th Bn. Died 04/06/1916, aged 43, Private Philip Gordon Jinks, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 15th Bn. Died 04/06/1916, aged 20, Lance Corporal Wallace Robert Thomson, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, “B” Coy. 15th Bn. Died 04/06/1916, aged 24 and Lance Corporal Leslie Frank Bromwich, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 15th Bn. Died 04/06/1916, aged 19.
The twenty-seventh remembers Private Harry Gordon Hopkins, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, “A” Coy. 15th Bn. Died 15/06/1916, aged 23.
The twenty-eigth remembers Private Alfred William Lawrence, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/6th Bn. Died 25/06/1916, aged 24 and Second Lieutenant Charles Victor While, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 8th Bn. Died 26/06/1916, aged 25.
The twenty-ninth remembers a number of brave soldiers who died in the first few days of the Battle of the Somme:
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Arthur Innes, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/8th Bn. Died 01/07/1916,
Private Richard Murray, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/6th Bn. Died 01/07/1916,
Private Alfred Sargent, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/6th Bn. Died 01/07/1916, aged 27,
Private William Edward Sargent, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/8th Bn. Died 01/07/1916,
Private Arthur Cuttriss Hostler, Royal Army Medical Corps, 1st South Midland Field Amb. Died 03/07/1916 and
Lance Corporal William Herbert Born, South Staffordshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 06/07/1916 aged 29.
The thirtieth remembers Corporal John Herbert Green, South Staffordshire Regiment, 8th Bn. Died 10/07/1916 aged 26.
The thirty-first remembers Second Lieutenant Frank Richard While, Middlesex Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 15/07/1916, aged 26,
Private Robert Ellesmere Jones, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd/6th Bn. Died 19/07/1916, aged 25,
The thirty-second remembers Private William Henry Badham, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,14th Bn. Died 23/07/1916, aged 20,
Private Frederic Alan Field, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,14th Bn. Died 23/07/1916, aged 22,
Private Harold Frederick Mills, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,“B” Coy. 14th Bn. Died 23/07/1916, aged 20,
Private Ernest Tasker, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,14th Bn. Died 23/07/1916, aged 22,
Private Thomas Williams, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,14th Bn. Died 23/07/1916, aged 18 and
Private Arthur Briggs, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/5th Bn. Died 24/07/1916.
The thirthy-third remembers Private Samuel Huntley, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 16th Bn. Died 27/07/1916,
Second Lieutenant Thomas David Fitzgerald, Gloucestershire Regiment, 8th Bn. Died 30/07/1916,
The thirty-fourth remembers Rifleman William Robert Hemming, Rifle Brigade, 1st Bn. Died 08/08/1916, aged 25.
The thirty-fifth remembers Second Lieutenant William Edward Curtis, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 5th Bn.
Died 18/08/1916.
The thirty-sixth remembers Private William Best, Royal Warwickshire Regiment,14th Bn. Died 20/08/1916, aged 34.
The thirty- seventh remembers Private Roland George Rose, Worcestershire Regiment, 3rd Bn. Died 24/08/1916, aged 20 and Private R Reeves, Worcester Regiment, 3rd Bn. Died 24/08/1916.
The thirty-ninth remembers Private William Ernest Tew, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd/6th Bn. Died 13/09/1916, aged 26.
The fortieth remembers Lance Corporal William Oliver Carthorn, Coldstream Guards, 4th Bn. Died 15/09/1916, Private Charles Leonard Hill, Royal Fusiliers, 26th Bn. Died 15/09/1916, aged 30 and Rifleman William Thomas Witts, Rifle Brigade, 9th Bn. Died 15/09/1916, aged 22.
The forty-first remembers Private John Randolph Brame, Royal Fusiliers, 26th Bn. Died 28/09/1916, aged 32.
The forty-second remembers Private George Parsons, London Regiment, 1st/20th Bn. Died 01/10/1916, aged 33. Bell ringer at SS Thomas and Edmund Erdington and member of St Martin’s Guild. Also Private Harry Francis Rigby, Royal Fusiliers, 26th Bn. Died 04/10/1916, aged 19.
The forty-third remembers Rifleman Bert Warburton, Rifle Brigade, 2nd Bn. Died 22/10/1916, aged 21, Ordinary Telegraphist Wilfred Woodward, Royal Navy, H.M.S. “Genista”. Died 23/10/1916, aged 18 and Private WH Stevenson, Canadian Infantry, 10th Bn. Died 24/10/1916.
The forty-third remembers Private Charlie Wilcox, Royal Warwickshire Regiment “C” Coy. 15th Bn. Died 26/10/1916, aged 22 and Private Frank Foster Weston, Dorsetshire Regiment, 6th Bn. Died 31/10/1916, aged 21.
The forty-fourth, rung half muffled on Remembrance Sunday, remembers Private A Connop, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 1st/4th Bn. Died12/11/1916,
Private Horace Howell, Service No.23964. South Staffordshire Regiment "B" Coy. 2nd Bn. Died 13/11/1916 age 25. Commemorated at Serre Road Cemetery No.1, France, Grave I G 18. Born 07/04/1891. Son of Joseph and Jane Howell of Smethwick, husband of Mary Howell. He worked as a stonemason before enlisting. Bell ringer at Smethwick and St Bartholomew Edgbaston and member of St Martin’s Guild, and
Private Frank Parker, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 11th Bn. Died 14/11/1916, aged 40.
The forty-fifth remembers Private Arthur Charles Mann, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/8th Bn. Died 29/11/1916, aged 19, Private William Newland, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 1st/4th Bn. Died 01/12/1916, aged 31 and Private Percy Sears, Army Service Corps, 2nd/1st Field Ambulance. Died 02/12/1916.
The forty-sixth remembers Gunner Frederick Jones, Royal Field Artillery. Died 31/12/1916, aged 26.
The forty-seventh remembers Pantry Boy Arthur John Williams, Mercantile Marine “SS Yola”, Died 28/01/1917, aged 17 and
Private Francis William Veal, Somerset Light Infantry, 1st Bn. Died 29/01/1917, aged 30.
The forty-eighth remembers Private William Winnitt, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st/6th Bn. Died 12/02/1917, aged 20 and Lance Corporal William Arthur Boswell, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 10th Bn. Died 13/02/1917.
The forty-ninth remembers Private H Dodd, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died18/02/1917, aged 28.
The fiftieth remembers Quartermaster Serjeant W Walker, Royal Field Artillery, 81st Bty. 5th Bde. Died 23/02/1917, aged 32, Acting Bombadier William Henry Daniels, Royal Field Artillery, C Bty. 66th Bde. Died 25/02/1917 and Private Richard Percy Poole, Worcestershire Regiment, 11th Bn. Died 26/02/1917.
The fifty-first remembers Lieutenant Geoffrey Ewing Orton-Smith, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 6th Bn. attd. 1st/5th Bn. Died 01/03/1917, aged 25, Gunner Fred Parkes, Royal Field Artillery, 337th Bde. Died 04/03/1917, aged 38, Lance Serjeant Leonard William Smith, South Staffordshire Regiment, 1st/5th Bn. Died 14/03/1917, aged 21 and Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Alfred Russell, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Foyle. Died 15/03/1917, aged 26.
The fifty-second remembers Private Roland Harry Perry, South Staffordshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 28/03/1917.
The fifty-third remembers Corporal Harry Saunders, Royal Engineers, No. 2 Special Coy. Died 07/04/1917, aged 22, Gunner William F Hunt, Royal Field Artillery, C Bty. 170th Bde. Died 09/04/1917, aged 20, Corporal Archibald Pestridge, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 6th Bn. Died 09/04/1917, aged 34 and Lance Corporal Sydney Arthur Ford, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, 6th Bn. Died 10/04/1917, aged 21.
The fifty-fourth remembers Private Henry Morris, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1st Bn. Died 17/04/1917, aged 28.
The fifty-fifth remembers Private Edward Winwood, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 10th Bn. Died 28/04/1917, Private Alfred Jordan, Worcestershire Regiment, 11th Bn. Died 28/04/1917, aged 25 and Lance Corporal Henry James Andrews, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 7th Bn. Died 30/04/1917, aged 23.
The fifty-sixth remembers Private Francis William Smith, Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch), “D” Bn. Died 03/05/1917, aged 28, Private Ernest Atkins, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd Bn. Died 04/05/1917, aged 24, Gunner Horace John Bartley, Royal Garrison Artillery.
Died 07/05/1917, Private John Newman Connolly, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 14th Bn. Died 07/05/1917, aged 24, and Second Lieutenant Thomas Leslie Nichols, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 15th Bn. Died 08/05/1917, aged 25.
The fifty-seventh remembers Captain Francis George Pecker, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, 7th Bn. Died 18/05/1917, aged 30, Gunner Frank Rose, Royal Garrison Artillery, 121st Siege Bty. Died 19/05/1917, aged 20 and Private Percival Macready, Canadian Pioneers, 2nd Bn. Died 20/05/1917, aged 35.
The fifty-eighth remembers Lance Corporal George Thomas Deeley, York & Lancaster Regiment, 8th Bn. Died 07/06/1917 and Private FT Secker, Royal Fusiliers, 26th Bn. Died 07/06/1917.
The fifty-ninth remembers Private Walter De Meza, Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport. Died 09/07/1917, aged 24 and Able Seaman Reginald Stanley, Royal Navy, HMS Vanguard. Died 09/07/1917, aged 21.
The sixtieth remembers Private Benjamin Frederick Thomason, Coldstream Guards, 2nd bn. Died 16/07/1917, aged 26.
The sixty-first remembers Lieutenant Christian Creswell Carver, Royal Field Artillery, “A”Bty. 83rd Bde. Died 23/07/1917, aged 20 and Sapper William Godfrey Jordan, Royal Engineers 204th Field Coy. Died 26/07/1917.
The sixty-second remembers Private Bertram Manns, South Wales Borderers, 10th Bn. Died 31/07/1917, aged 23.
The sixty-third remembers Gunner Thomas Field Busswell, Royal Field Artillery, 102nd Bde. Died 05/08/1917, aged 19 and Private Ernest Wall, Worcestershire Regiment, 3rd Bn. Died 06/08/1917, aged 36.
Here is the peal that welcomed Revd. Graeme Richardson as Vicar of this Parish in 2014:
To hear St Peter's bells click here. It is part of a Yorkshire Surprise Major peal rung on 10 April 2011.
For further information on St. Peter's Bells, click here.
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