St Mary’s has a wonderful peal of ten bells cast by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough in 1842. They range in size from a 5cwt treble, our lightest bell, to a 31cwt tenor which is the heaviest.
They are rung by a small but dedicated team of ringers, the Newark Parish Church Society of Ringers. We normally ring on Sunday mornings before the main service and practice at 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings.
We also ring for weddings throughout the year and on a number of civic occasions.
In common with many towers we have some of our distinctive traditions such as ringing the Pancake bell on Shrove Tuesday and ‘ringing for Gopher’ on six consecutive Sunday afternoons starting on the twelfth Sunday before Christmas. Ringing for Gopher commemorates a Flemish traveller who, back in the Middle Ages, found himself lost in the mists around Averham but was guided to safety by the sound of Newark’s bells.
Newcomers are always welcome and anyone who wishes to know more or learn to ring, should leave their details with the church office (office@stmnewark.org) so that they can be contacted by a senior member of the tower. Due to the weight of our bells they are only suitable for teaching learners aged 11 or over and, because we take Safeguarding very seriously, we ask that learners under the age of 18 are accompanied by a parent or guardian for the first couple of sessions, so that they understand what’s involved.
ST MARY MAGDALENE WITH ST LEONARD
Newark-on-Trent
