The Four New Bells

[Why More Bells?] [Ten Bells or Twelve?]
[Notes and Weights] [Options] [Home]

Why More Bells?

Change ringing on ten bells is faster-paced and has a more varied and interesting sound than eight. Also, rings of bells with the heaviest over a tonne in weight have a deeper, richer tone to them. The two in combination produces the kind of sound that befits a capital city cathedral. All Australian state capital cities have rings of bells that measure up to both these yardsticks. Until the augmentation of our bells in May 2005, Hobart had neither.
A ring of ten or twelve bells automatically provides an alternative and lighter-weight set of six bells further up the musical scale; something very useful for teaching and practice. This option was not available on the original ring of eight bells.
Bellringers like to travel and ring in other places. Our new bells definitely put us “on the map” in ringing terms. Visiting ringers are always welcome as they help us to develop and maintain our ringing skills.

Ten Bells or Twelve?

Although we have a total of twelve swinging bells, they are tuned as a set of ten, with two intermediate semitone bells for extra flexibility (see the diagrams below). While many cathedrals have a full set of twelve bells, there are good reasons against that choice here:

There was no easy way to move from our original eight bells to twelve other than by a partial or total replacement. We wanted to keep our existing bells.
Change ringing on twelve bells is a highly skilled activity. Only one centre outside the UK (Sydney) has ever had the numbers for real competence in this area. Hobart is too small to support such a band of ringers and a ring of twelve bells would rarely be heard to full effect.
A ring of twelve bells requires a large circle of ropes for the ringers downstairs, making ringing on six bells (which we do frequently) visually more difficult.
Our plan for ten bells plus two semitones has given us more options for our money (most rings of twelve bells have one or two semitone bells of their own for the same reason).

Notes and Weights

Ringing Options

The total of twelve bells combine in different ways, extending the Cathedral's two original options to give a large range of possibilities to suit all occasions. The following diagrams show seven combinations of bells that are used most frequently.

Original Options	Six in F#	Great sound; rather heavy for learners.
Original Options	Eight in F#	Perfect size for practice; but lacking “oomph” for Cathedral bells!

New Options	Five in C#	A charming "village five" - as useful as any of the other options!
	Six in B	A new, lightweight ring of six bells. Ideal for teaching and practice.
	Six in E	The new “back six”. A glorious, stately sound. Hard work but rewarding.
	Eight in E	A new, heavy ring of eight bells with a big, grand sound.
	Ten in E	The new ring of ten bells. A full, rich sound for all special occasions. Real cathedral bells!