Conducted by Derek Sibson (President of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers), the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths rang the Peal 5024 Bristol Surprise Major at St. Michael and All Angels in Ledbury last Saturday, to celebrate the Patronal Festival of the Church.

Those among us unfamiliar with the technicalities of bellringing might imagine a peal of bells to be any general ring of changes, however short. In fact, a peal is strictly defined as the ringing of all possible combinations of a given set of bells - to a minimum of 5000 changes, whichever comes first. As the title suggests, the 5024 Bristol Surprise Major contains 5024 changes and took the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths 3 hours and 4 minutes to complete. No mean feat and a surprise indeed.

Having collared the group outside the bell tower shortly after their feat, I feared that it was my journalistic inteference that had caused them to miss closing time at the tea shop, but they seemed happy enough to take alternative refreshment at the nearby Prince of Wales in Church Lane!

Click here to find out more about the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths.