As the country prepares for the Coronation weekend, so too are Graham Lord, Captain of the Bells and his team of bellringers at St Paul’s, Ramsbottom. On Saturday morning they will Ring for the King from 10am to 10.30am.
You can listen to Graham talking to BBC Radio Manchester at around 9.40am on Saturday as he prepares to mark the Coronation. The eight bells in the historic belltower will ring out for 30 minutes ahead of the Coronation ceremony.
We caught up with the team while they were practicing some of the arrangements – The Coronation March and the Orb and Sceptre - for the big day. Graham told us “Our bells toll for all of the special occasions, from local weddings to national events. We rang the bells for the Queen’s Jubilee and again, using muffles on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
“We are blessed with a fantastic group of bell ringers, and have more training up to ring with us. It takes up to 18 months for volunteers to be ready to join in with us and we are pleased to have a thriving group. We always welcome new volunteers and encourage you to get in touch. We also organise plenty of social activities with our bellringers and bellringing alumni, so we have a lot of fun too.”
Is your church planning to Ring for the King too? Tag us on Facebook and Twitter and we will share as many posts as possible this weekend.