The Ringing World
...also colloquially known as the 'The Comic'!
The Ringing World is the journal for the bell ringing community and it has an excellent ringing website. It has been running for more than a century and still publishes a magazine every week.
If you want the latest news about ringing from across the world, this is the place to go.
As part of their work, the Ringing World publishes details of all peals, quarter peals and other ringing events they are told about and it is general practice in the ringing community to tell them! On the website, you will be able to view this in an area called ‘Bellboard’. Bellboard has details of all the latest performances. It also has a searchable database with details of all performances in the last 30 years or so.
Pealbase
...who did what and when!
Pealbase is website with a database of all ringing performances from the past ‘n’ years. You will need to register to get access.
If you want to know how many peals you have rung, this is the place to go! They can also tell you where and when…
The search filters are very good and provide a wonderful resource to those who want information.
It covers a much wider date range than the Ringworld’s Pealboard, but will not provide the full details of each performance.
Blueline
...every method and more!
This website contains a database of every method. It will generate the blue line, grid and other graphics you need to be able to learn or ring it.
For peal ringers who ring a lot methods they have not rung before it is invaluable. It is also very useful to everyone that wants to try something different or wants to learn something new!
For the most advanced, there is also a composition checker. It will tell you if the Bobs and Singles you intend calling cause any repeated changes…
Learn the Line
...more lines than you can follow!
Another app which includes an up to date list from the CCCBR database. It is a pretty comprehensive list of methods. Not quite as easy to use as iAgrams, but does include various simple learning tools.
Change Ringing Resources
Technical resources for those who want to stretch themselves!
This is a website which contains vast amounts of information about every aspect of ringing. From suppliers of equipment to technical resources for composers/conductors, to information about running a charity or the location of museums!
CCCBR (The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers)
...like the United Nations... but for the ringers!
Often shortened to CCCBR or even ‘The CC’, it has an excellent ringing website. The Central Council is a group of dedicated ringers who meet and set up committees which discuss and create all the rules we all follow. They lead research into our art, arbitrate about what should and shouldn’t be done and generally manage the ringing community worldwide…. and they co-ordinate ringing activities; especially for big occasion such as the 100th anniversary of the Armistice or the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Most ringing societies and associations are affiliated to the Central Council. They send a small number of delegates to the meetings, based on their size.
The Central Council does a lot of good work and has lots of interesting resources available. This includes databases of methods and compositions, plus lots of information for towers about best practice.
Dove's Guide
...the outing organisers bible!
In years gone by, every ringer had a copy of Ronald Dove’s book ‘Church Bells of Britain’. (It was actually international from early on, but retained the old name for long after).
It was first published just after WWII. In more recent years, it has moved online and is now a complete and up to date database of all towers with full circle bells… everywhere!
You can search by place, number, weight, or almost anything else that might be useful. You can then get lots of information about each ring, including directions for your satnav and who the local contact is… Organising a visit couldn’t be easier and unlike the book, it is always pretty well up to date!
iAgrams
...no signal require!
Not a website or as comprehensive as Blue Line, but an App which you can add to your phone. It contains a very large number of different methods. It will show the line, the grid and the number rows, although it does not show bobs and singles. There are others Apps out there, but iAgrams is free and it is very easy to use.
A very useful tools for the ringer who needs to check a line but has no signal. In a tower which is somewhere remote, and has 3 feet thick walls it is invaluable!
The name iAgrams is a play on the word ‘Diagrams’. Diagrams is the name of a book full of numbers and blue lines which was for, many decades, the best way to find a method. You will still find copies of the book sitting on a dusty shelf in many ringing chambers.
ART
...training the trainers!
ART is a charity that supports ringing teachers and instructors. It produces a learning curriculum for new ringers and learning materials. It runs courses and certificated assessment, aimed at improving the skills of teachers/trainers.
The website contains information for teachers and ringing masters, along with resources that can used at practice or trining sessions.
Our team at Pebworth includes several ART trained teachers..