The Church of St Leonard in the village of Wortley has a ring of 8 bells with a Tenor of 11 ½ hundredweight or 586 kg hung for full-circle ringing by experienced tower bell ringers. There is an active team of bell ringers at the church who are members of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers.

The bells are rung regularly at the following times:

10.30am to 11am on Sunday mornings on the first, third and fourth Sunday of the month from the end of October to the end of March.

10.30 to 11am on Sunday mornings on the first and third Sunday of the month between April and October.

7.30pm to 9pm for practice on Thursday evenings throughout the year.

There are occasional weddings and special events that the bells are rung to celebrate throughout the year. Examples are weddings, village celebrations and visiting teams of bell ringers.

Bell Ringing

Bell ringing is an ancient art form that is still enjoyed by thousands of people every week. It is a highly skilled activity that has been carried out in the same way for hundreds of years. Bell ringing combines music with mathematics and engineering, physical strength with mental capacity.

We are proud to be St Leonard’s team of bell ringers, but we are only temporary custodians of the art and the bells. We enjoy ringing, but we must make sure the traditional art that has been practised in Wortley since 1893 is passed on to future generations. Ringers teach ringers, you can’t learn it all from a book or a list of instructions. Have a look at our Bell Ringing page to find out more.

Visiting (public)

The bells are part of Wortley village’s heritage. They are housed in the top of the tower and it is possible to view them and the historic peal boards and church clock by arrangement with our Tower Captain, Andrew Beevers. See our Contact page.

The ringers hold open days during the year when visitors can climb the tower to see the bells and ringing demonstrations. These will be advertised on the bell ringing team’s Facebook page: @wortleytower and on the St Leonard’s Facebook page: @wortleychurch and the church website www.wortleychurch.org.uk

Visiting Ringing Teams

Enquiries from visiting teams of ringers are welcomed but permission to ring is only granted after consultation with the Incumbent and PCC. It is not always possible to accommodate all requests. Please contact us from our Contact page.

Access

Access to the ringing room, clock room, belfry and roof is by long ladders (see photos). We are sorry there is no disabled persons access to the tower.

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