Bells and bell ringers are a fascinating subject for a local history project. The ringing chamber is the obvious place to start – look at the photos and peal boards on the walls and talk to the other ringers. It’s amazing what you’ll find out.

If you’re lucky there will already be some research published online and the information readily available. Your local Guild or Association might well have an archivist you can talk to and don’t forget to look at old copies of the Ringing World and local newspapers.  With the current interest in WWI have a look at the Central Council Rolls of Honour and find out if any local bell ringers were killed fighting for their country.  Sometimes the smallest villages lost several bell ringers when the Lord of the Manor recruited them into a friend’s regiment.

If you can’t find anything online, record the inscriptions on the bells and research the founders. There may be other names on the bells of local people or their ancestors – another avenue to research. Maybe a bell was cast to commemorate a local event.

Idea – take a rubbing of the inscriptions to display.

Use your research to create publicity material or to give a talk. If appropriate you could organise some commemorative ringing.

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