About the Society

Origins

For a number of years the five bells of St. Mary's, Holme-next-the-Sea had been chimed by swinging them to and fro using the attached ropes. Although the bells did 'ring', it was very difficult to control the order in which they sounded. In August, 2002 a band of local villagers investigated the possibility of restoring the bells to full working order with a view to ringing them full circle - the way they were designed to be rung. At that time we knew nothing about bell ringing, but we soon started to learn!

After seeking the advice of a few experts we worked on the bells and soon had them ready to be rung in the traditional manner. At this stage we hit a snag. We had no idea what the traditional manner actually involved! With the help of other towers, especially those at Great Bircham and Dersingham, ten of us started to learn how to handle the ropes - and the bells attached to the end of the ropes. A few months later, and slightly nervously, five of us rang in rounds (that's the five bells in order from the lightest to the heaviest) for the first time. Soon we were ringing before Sunday services and that was particularly satisfying being the reason the tower was originally built and the bells cast and hung in the belfry.

The current status

During the last few years the number of ringers at Holme-next-the-Sea has fallen but in 2007 we were fortunate that two from Heacham joined us, followed a year later by another ringer from Heacham so we can still manage to ring the five bells for most services and for all of those occasions when ringing has been requested.

The bells have joyfully announced weddings, rung solemnly and half-muffled for funerals and have rung to mark special occasions including H.M. The Queen's 80th birthday, the 200th Anniversary of Admiral Lord Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar and the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two.

To join our Band of Ringers

The St. Mary's, Holme-next-the-Sea Society of Bell Ringers welcomes new members and is always pleased to see new ringers including those with experience and newcomers wishing to learn The Exercise. For more information please check out the Ringing Times and Contact Information.

The Society's Constitution

The Society has a Committee with all Officers being elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

The annual subscription rate for Society Members is £10.