Polstead Church Bells
Many people in the village have remarked how good it is to hear the bells of Polstead church ringing out again across the village. The pandemic put a stop to ringing for a long while , but we are now practising again on Monday evenings. We have also been able to ring the bells for two weddings recently and there have been several visiting bands of ringers on weekdays during the summer. Perhaps the most notable ringing has been the peal (an extended piece of ringing, lasting two and three quarter hours) which was rung by members of the Suffolk Guild of Ringers on 22nd August as a compliment to Ed Hynard, long time ringer at Polstead, on the occasion of his 98th birthday.
On the day after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the tenor bell (the heaviest and with the lowest note) was tolled 96 times and on the following day all the bells were rung to celebrate the proclamation of the new king. After that the bells were fitted with 'muffles' which deadened the sound and were rung in this way until after the Queen's funeral.
We are not always able to ring for Sunday services as we only have three ringers who actually live in the village and we rely on being able to 'borrow' ringers from other churches. We are keen to recruit more ringers, so if you would like to come and join our friendly Monday practice and see what we do, please contact Sue Freeman 01206 262873 or sueathighmeadow@yahoo.co.uk or simply turn up at the church on Monday evening at 7.30.