The Stewardship and Management workgroup regularly reviews all aspects of Tower Stewardship and can offer advice and recommendations on matters including insurance, tower management, safeguarding, risk assessments, church law, health & safety, fire risk, complaints, etc.
A number of guidance notes are available below on common subjects. Some of the existing guidance notes are currently being reviewed and updated so if you cannot find what you are looking for or require further information on a particular subject please contact the Stewardship & Management workgroup Lead:
A more detailed table indicating what we do is here.
Information on equipment and installations used in ringing (including chimes, handbells and mobile belfries):
- Care of Bells and Belfries – 4 short videos. These videos were prepared by Tom Ridgman, Ely Diocesan Bells Adviser, and originally presented by Tom as a single 1 hour session to the Association. We are grateful to them for their permission to reuse this material.
- Identifying technical problems with your bells – typical problems and how they may be solved (if safe to do so)
- Getting advice on tower bells, their condition and maintenance
- Offering advice on bells – a guide for ringers asked about tower bells, their installation and condition
- Tower and bells periodic checks – item list and record sheet for quarterly / annual checks (PDF); download a fully customisable version here (Word)
- Tower and bells detailed survey – item list and record sheet for infrequent surveys (PDF blank form for printing and completion), downloadable fully customisable version (Word)
- Church Tower Access – A Guide for Bell Ringers
- Boxes for ringing – notes on design and construction of boxes that will avoid the need to adjust rope length
- Tying clappers – how to silence a bell for silent practice or maintenance checks
- Sound control in towers – information on acoustics, with examples of sound control installation in towers
- Lighting in and around Church Towers
- Lightning Conductors
- Handbells
- Changes to the Faculty process from April 2020 (corrected version October 2021) – the Church of England amended some details of the Faculty process in 2019 and these took effect in April 2020. Information about these changes was included in The Ringing World (Issue 5682, page 287 and Issue 5684 page 337)
For comprehensive information on Belfry Maintenance, the Central Council’s Manual of Belfry maintenance is available for purchase through the online shop:
This updated publication covers a wide range of topics relevant to the maintenance of church bells and bellringing – towers, bells, frames, fittings, ropes, sound control, the faculty system, health & safety and more. It includes a schedule for regular maintenance and hints on how to identify more common problems. The key amendments in the 2020 version are in chapter 2 (Faculty jurisdiction …) following legislative changes made by the Church of England.
Information and guidance notes on all aspects of tower operation, including regulatory requirements and good practice:
- Top Tips for preparing your tower and bells for ringing – Advice for ringers if the bells and tower have not been used for an extended period. This is available as a PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) which includes presenter notes and an audio recording of the presentation and as an Adobe Reader file (PDF).
- Tower meeting agenda – the agenda items and guidance (in italics) may be customised for use as appropriate (DOCX)
- Tower Safety & Risk Assessment – Guidance to ringers on how they can assist their church in the preparation and maintenance of an effective risk assessment for ringing and other activities in the church tower.
- Risk Assessment Template – A suggested template for download and suitable modification to act as a record of a risk assessment.
- Tower safety and risk assessment – AFTER an extended period out of use
- Risk assessment template (out of use) – A suggested template for download and suitable modification to act as a record of a tower risk assessment after an extended period out of use
- Society Health & Safety Policy advice (pdf) with a draft policy that can be edited (Word) appropriately for the society concerned
- Security for ringers – crime prevention and counter-terrorism
- Tower environments and their suitability for recruiting and retaining ringers – a light but serious look at some key issues
- Insurance Guidance – advice for individual ringers, ringing organisations, parochial church councils and clergy on factors to consider regarding insurance while ringing tower bells and other issues related to ringing
- Fire prevention
- Safeguarding – detailed information can be found in the dedicated safeguarding section
- Tower warning notice – with space for local details
- General Data Protection Regulations – advice for ringers
- Appointment of Bell Ringing Tower Captain
- Faculty Rules 2019 (making changes to Church of England Churches) – updated June 2022
- Ringers and churches – some Frequently Asked Questions: Managing the relationship between ringers and the church. A paper by the Clerical Guild with questions on PCCs, finance, faculties, holding and AGM, etc
- Bells not rung regularly – looking after the tower and bells where there are no ringers.
- Bells in Your Care – Leaflet for incumbents and churchwardens
- Church Stewardship Resources from the Church of England https://www.parishresources.org.uk/ (although not directly related to ringing, these items may be helpful for ringers)
- Advice for ringers returning to towers as Covid restrictions are lifted (July 2020)
Information and advice on all aspects of bells projects, fund raising etc:
- Top tips for bell projects – a summary of key points to consider during bell restoration or installations projects. Includes a short list of grant awarding organisations.
- Organising a bell restoration project – Booklet published in 2016, available from the CCCBR shop. This is for Bellringers and others undertaking major bell related projects (this is being updated as some details are out of date)
- new installations
- restorations
- augmentations
- Church projects – considerations for bells and bell ringing
- Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 – their consequences for bells projects
- Advice on the Faculty Process for work in Church of England churches – advice on the permission required before going ahead with any maintenance or bell related project