Celebrating 140 years
Monday 2nd March 2026 is the 140th anniversary of the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers. This is a wonderful opportunity to honour our heritage, and to come together to ring our bells. Events will be happening throughout the year. Here are just a few:
Anniversary Ringing
It would be amazing to have peals, quarter peals, date touches or touches (perhaps even 140 changes in length!) and general ringing recorded in as many of our towers as possible around the time of the anniversary.
A special event has been created on Bellboard here to record your ringing.
Why not organise a celebratory ring at your tower – and don’t forget to record your ringing on Bellboard.
The latest events recorded are:
A full list can be seen on Bellboard here
140 Firsts
Throughout the year we want to keep a record of all the firsts achieved by our ringers and achieve at least 140 firsts. Everyone at any stage of their ringing journey can join in this challenge, please make sure the event is recorded on BellBoard and linked to the event we have created.
A “first” can be anything, first time ringing call changes, first time ringing for Sunday service, first time ringing on 10, first Quarter Peal, first in a new method, first peal and any other first you can think of.
A certificate will be issued to each individual or band achieving a first.
Most recent recorded on Belboard are:
A full list of “firsts” can be seen on Bellboard here.
140 New Recruits
This target is clearly ambitious, but we need something to aim for, and the new recruits will hopefully convert to becoming guild members in time. All of us can encourage people to come along and give bellringing a go, we all know the benefits are enormous, as a hobby it ticks so many boxes, and it is
within the capabilities of most. Encouraging towers to open their doors to the public, offering guided tours, bell handling demonstrations, and opportunities to try ringing is a fantastic way to engage communities and attract new recruits to the art.
With this target in mind and having secured the support of the membership the Guild took the decision in 2025 to direct some of the available funds towards recruitment and training. Events such as the recruitment day outside Hereford Cathedral, Bell Club & local Open Tower events have been successful in attracting recruits.
An online meeting was held at the end of January where members and Districts were invited to discuss potential recruitment opportunities and the support required. Please ask your Management Committee Rep. (see your District page for who that is) for information of a copy of the minutes. There is a huge amount of material available from within our own guild and drawing on the experience of other organisations and from the Central Council.
Special Anniversary Guild Dinner – Friday 12th June
In the prestigious location of The Green Dragon, Hereford, we are holding a celebratory anniversary dinner. Guest speakers include our President, the Bishop of Hereford, the Editor of the Ringing World and our very own Vice President Val Roberts.
Tickets are now on sale, visit the store on membermojo or email
contact@hdgb.org. Please make every effort to ensure your tower is represented and come along to what we hope will be a most enjoyable evening.
For those of you who may have to travel further we have discount code available
for room bookings, please email contact@hdgb.org for details.