South West Bell Ensemble

Who are we?

Ringers from all over the South West Region who meet just 6 times a year to practise pieces to perform at the Regional Rally and Christmas Prelude (or whatever it is called that year!)

Where do we meet?

In Staplegrove Village Hall (just outside Taunton) as Taunton has always been identified as the centre of the region with respect to travel times.

We ring from 13:00 – 17:00(ish)

What do they ring?

Big Pieces! Not the usual music most SW handbell teams could ring. The aim is to stretch the ringers and help to improve musicality and ringing techniques.

How many bells?

No Idea! There are the 4½ octaves of Shea Bells, 3½ octaves of Freeman Bells and 3 octaves of St. Leonard’s Schulmerich bells along with ½ an octave of bass bells provided by Ian Hayes. We also use 3 octaves of Schulmerich chimes. So about 172 give-or-take the odd extra thrown in to augment some sets.

What does it cost?

There is an annual membership of £15 paid mid-year which goes toward hire of the hall and the music costs. The Region buys the music and loans it to the ringers.

How do I join?

Well... space is limited now as we had such a fantastic intake in July but we have a couple of vacancies at the bottom end of the treble clef.

If you are interested in trying out on please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we can get some music out to you to mark up (if you need to).

If there is not time before a performance we may as you you wait a bit.

Am I good enough?

HRGB has never come up with a grading system for handbell ringers so that’s a tricky question.  You certainly need to be a reasonably good music reader (you can mark up your own pieces in advance) and you need to be able to ring two bells plus their accidentals.

You may have to change bells quickly and, if you are a treble ringer, recognise when you need to ring octaves above yours (called Shelleying) by picking up your home bell AND the octave above and ringing them together.  Please talk to us if you are unsure.

Is there any homework involved?

Yes! Absolutely! Indeed! Definitely! Ensemble ringers are expected to study their music between sessions and practise the motions of ringing (salt and pepper shakers work quite well but can be a bit messy!)

Ringers can make a single copy of their music to mark up and both the original and the copy must be brought to each rehearsal and performance. When a piece is finished with, the music is collected in and the copy must be surrendered for disposal.

What happens if I don’t practise my music?

Nobody’s found out yet…