According to the Central Council for Church Bell Ringers, “A peal is the ‘gold standard’ change ringing performance during which the bells are rung continuously in over 5000 different sequences, without visual aids, typically taking 3 hours.” More interesting and historical information about peals can be found in their document “What is a peal?”
Hereford Diocesan Guild Peals that have been recorded on Bellboard can be seen here
Peal Fees
The Guild Peal Fee is 50 pence per person. Conductors are reminded that everyone taking part in a Guild peal must be a current member (see Rule 17(b)). If you wish to elect a new member before a peal, please ensure that there are at least three current Guild members in the band (Rule 5e(ii)). Our Peal Recorder Andrew Watkins can arrange for such tower election to be ratified at a Guild or District meeting if asked to do so. The Non-Resident Life Member’s subscription is a one-off payment of £2.00; details (Address and either phone number or email address) and subscription as per Rule 5 (e) (ii) should be sent to me.
Most conductors in the Guild have a credit peal account that will remain active. You can deposit money directly into the account below, or if you see our Peal Recorder Andrew around, he can take cash to top up your credit account and provide you with a receipt. After each peal is rung and submitted to Bellboard, he will email you to inform you of your current credit balance.
Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers
Sort code 30-80-55
Account number 24377462
If you have any issues, please feel free to contact our Peal Recorder Andrew Watkins at pealrecorder@hdgb.org.
Leading Peal Ringers
Here are the 10 all-time leading peal ringers for the Guild (Names presented in italics indicate individuals who are deceased ringers.)
| Name | Total | Tower | Hand | Tower Conducted | Handbell Conducted | Total Conducted | |
| 1 | John E Harrold | 1139 | 518 | 621 | 296 | 95 | 391 |
| 2 | Frederick Shallcross | 1130 | 577 | 553 | 419 | 325 | 744 |
| 3 | Andrew L Mainwaring | 1064 | 1063 | 1 | 470 | 0 | 470 |
| 4 | Ashley C Fortey | 881 | 880 | 1 | 194 | 0 | 194 |
| 5 | Frederick R Harris | 763 | 762 | 1 | 143 | 0 | 143 |
| 6 | C Martin Foster | 738 | 738 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Neil Bennett | 727 | 597 | 130 | 104 | 3 | 107 |
| 8 | Norman R Mattingley | 671 | 294 | 377 | 122 | 24 | 146 |
| 9 | Richard J Clements | 614 | 286 | 328 | 85 | 7 | 92 |
| 10 | Michael V Powell | 586 | 586 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 52 |
as of March 2026.
A list of the top 50 peal ringers is here: HDGB Leading peal ringers – March 2026