On St. George’s Day April 23rd 2019


The Cathedral of the SURREY Hills will be celebrating

The origins of the city of GUILDFORD were based on it being a settlement that grew as a stopping point on the Pilgrims Way between Canterbury and Winchester.  After the Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror recognizing its strategic importance took ownership and then built a castle of which only the tower remains. The town soon grew in importance and eventually became the capital of the County which was made a Diocese in 1927 but it was not until the present building was a cathedral built.  Stag Hill was the appropriate site chosen as it was the hunting ground of former Kings and has a spectacular view over the whole county. The building is of bricks all paid for by the public who had their names inscribed on each donation.  It was consecrated in 1961 and the final act in the completion was the placing of a gilded angel on top of the spire.  This statue turns with the wind reflecting the sun’s rays, and as it turns so do the cathedral’s 12 bells ring out  as they will to celebrate ST. GEORGE’S DAY.

GUILDFORD - Golden Angel



The Bell of LIVERPOOL Cathedral ‘GREAT GEORGE’ will be ringing


This great city overlooking the River Mersey was acknowledged as a worthy settlement by King John in 1207.  Overtime it later became known as LIVERPOOL and today it has an astonishing building high up on St.James’s Mount where sits its Cathedral which can be seen by its entire metropolis. This building was based on a designed put forward in 1920 but not completed until 1978 in the presence of The Queen.  It is not only the longest cathedral in the world, but has a bell tower that is one of the tallest in the world.  As if two superlatives were not enough it has a third – it has the highest and heaviest peal of bells in the world holding 13 known as the Bartlett Bells.  These surround the heaviest named ‘GREAT GEORGE’ which at 14.7 tonnes is the third heaviest in the country. This magnificent beast will be rung to celebrate its namesake ST. GEORGE on April 23rd.

SUSSEX will join in with CHICHESTER ringing

The south coast is blessed with a wonderful cathedral whose spire ascends to a great height and can be seen for miles including out to sea.  The name CHICHESTER comes from the Saxon name ‘Cissa’ to which they added the word ‘ceaster’ meaning a group of Roman buildings and thus it became Chichester. The Romans settled here building a fort in 44AD and calling it Noviomagus and evidence of their presence was discovered in the 1960s when they unearthed an astonishing Roman Palace at nearby Fishbourne. It became a Cathedral in 1076 and today houses the most impressive collection of modern art. From a window by Marc Chagall whose colours strike a resonant kaleidoscope across the medieval stonework, a tapestry by John Piper and a painting by Graham Sutherland. It marries the monastic calm with the vibrant modern. Richard of Wych was Bishop from 1245-1253 and was later canonised and became Saint Richard in 1262.  The bells are housed in a separate tower and these, numbering 8, will be ringing out for all to hear for ST. GEORGE.




A Yorkshire Minster – LEEDS is joining in the Campaign

According to The Venerable Bede’s history there was a settlement here called Loidis .  Today it is called LEEDS and is the third largest city in the country after London and Birmingham.  The city sits at the bottom of the eastern edge of the Pennines by the River Aire. The earliest evidence of a church dates back to the 7th C  and in more recent times a stone church was built.  However, the city grew so rapidly it was felt the church was not large enough to hold the growing population so a new building was constructed in 1838 and became a Minster in 2012.  To complete this much grander building a ring of 13 bells was cast and installed in 1842 and they will be ringing out across Yorkshire to cheer on ST. GEORGE.

LEEDS Minster

Churches in Nottinghamshire join in including a ST. GEORGE

South of Nottingham is the village of BARTON IN FABIS which lies near the River Trent.  It used to have a ferry that took villages across the river to Attenborough but sadly this was discontinued in the 1960s.  Inspite of being a small village it has a special church ST. GEORGEs which dates from the 14th C and is Grade I listed.  Its tower houses 6 bells and its wonderful ringers will be joining the county’s other churches and will ring out celebrating England’s day on April 23rd.


A fine Lancashire Cathedral – BLACKBURN will be joining in.

As a city BLACKBURN owes its status to the growth of the textile industry and was a very important center of the Industrial Revolution.  James Hargreaves was a weaver in the city and went on to be the inventor of ‘the spinning jenny’ .  However, its history goes back much further when a church was established during the reign of Ethelred the Unready (978).  Then the Saxons mention its people as being mighty brave as they repulsed Danish invaders.  Later, during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042), the church become dedicated to St. Mary but had also earned the sobriquet of  ‘the Inn of the Lord’ .  Today the present building was rebuilt in the Georgian style in 1818 and its unique Lantern Tower completed in 1977.  It became a cathedral in 1926 and it will honour  ST.GEORGE by ringing out on April 23rd with its 10 great bells.


England’s 2nd city BIRMINGHAM is joining in

The name BIRMINGHAM derives from the Old English word for the Anglican Tribe of Beormingas.  The city grew and grew and soon became not only the heart of the Industrial Revolution but also a center of The Enlightenment which continues today with its world renowned Centers of the Arts. The building of St. Philip in the English Baroque style notable for its dome began in 1715 and halted when funds dried up.  It was King George Ist that donated the remainder and helped complete the church to which a tower was added. It became a cathedral in 1905 and is now  Grade 1 listed with stunning stained glass windows by Burne-Jones that were saved from the bombs when taken into safety by the Civic Society.  Its tower originally had 8 bells, then 10 and then sadly went silent.  It was the Coronation of 1937 that drove the city into installing a refurbished tower and a new ring of 12 which will be ringing across England’s second city for ST. GEORGE.


The Cathedral of ESSEX will be ringing out for St. George

The first known church on this site was some 800 years ago and over the centuries was rebuilt using stone. The earliest record of a town sited here was in the Roman era and called Caesaromagus  meaning ‘Caesar’s Market Place’ but sadly this faded away with the exodus of the Romans.  It was slowly reborn and by the Middle Ages CHELMSFORD was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086 and thrived as a market town once again, helped by the building of a bridge over the River Can in 1100.   Its church was promoted to being a Cathedral when a new diocese was created in 1914 and its ring of 12 bells will be heard loud and clear across the county of Essex for ST GEORGE’S Day.


The Cathedral of CHESTER is joining in for April 23rd

The city of CHESTER was founded by the Romans in 75AD. There had always been some form of church on this site and in 907AD King Alfred’s daughter, Queen Ethelfelda, decided to build a more substantial building in which to create her own mausoleum. Hugh Lupus is next on the scene as the nephew of William the Conqueror who gave him the title of Earl of Chester and he built a monastery in 1092 choosing the Romanesque style that was then in vogue.  This was soon thought outdated and so rebuilding took place in the early 14th C in the more modern Gothic style. Then came the dissolution of the monasteries and Chester escaped through an extraordinary change of heart by Henry VIII who decided to give it back to the city and so a Diocese and Cathedral of Chester was created.  Over the years a series of refurbishment took place until in 1975 an external tower was built to house 12 bells and these bells will be ringing out for ST. GEORGE.


CHESTER Cathedral at Night

The North East will have NEWCASTLE Cathedral ringing a PEAL on April 23rd!

St. Nicholas is the Patron Saint of sailors and boats which is why it has the dedication of NEWCASTLE Cathedral as it sits above the Tyne river guarding the country from northern invaders from both land and sea. The Romans built a fort to protect the river crossing from the Scots.  Later William I’s eldest son Robert Curthose was sent north to strengthen the borders and in 1080 he build a castle naming it : New Castle upon Tyne, Hence the naming of the city.  Later on in 1172 King Henry II added a stone keep which sadly is all that remains of the original castle.  The church became a cathedral in 1882 with its very special lantern tower built in 1448.  It contains a ring of 12 bells one of which is named St. Nicholas’ and they will be ringing their hearts out in the heart of the city with a PEAL in celebration of ST. GEORGE.