page_title: Bell-ringer
section_title: English full-circle ringing
hierarchical_section_title: Bell-ringer / Full-circle ringing / English full-circle ringing
caption_attribution_description: English: Change ringing in Stoke Gabriel parish church, south Devon, England. Thanks to the bell ringing captain for allowing me to watch practice. Taken by Adrian Pingstone in July 2003 and placed in the public domain.
context_page_description: A bell-ringer is a person who rings a bell, usually a church bell, by means of a rope or other mechanism.
  Despite some automation of bells for random swinging, there are still many active bell ringers in the world, particularly those with an advanced ringing tradition such as full-circle or Russian ringing, which are artistic and skilled performances which are difficult to automate.
  The term campanologist is popularly misused to refer to a bell ringer, but this properly refers to someone who studies bells, which is known as campanology.
  Although in some places carillons are used to sound bells, they are "played" by carillonneurs, not by bell ringers, and are associated with the ringing of tunes in the Western musical tradition.
context_section_description: In England, for instance, it is estimated there are about 40,000 bell ringers ringing on rings of bells in the English full-circle style. This type of ringing cannot be automated because of the large rotating masses of the bells and the exact regulation in speed of striking that is required for change ringing. 
  The high level of control exerted by ringers means the bells can be struck with both accurate and equal spacing, and can change their striking pattern at each stroke. In addition the Doppler effect due to the movement of the bell when it is struck, and the sharp attack of the strike and the fast die-away due to damping by the clapper, imparts a unique musical sound.  
  This style of ringing takes place every week in several thousand belfries in England, and to a lesser extent other English speaking nations. It is supported by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers founded in 1891, which is dedicated to representing change ringers around the world.
caption: English full-circle bell ringers at Stoke Gabriel parish church, Devon, England
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