Nelson Cathedral to chime celebration for bell ringing invention

8:38 am on 26 June 2021

Nelson's Christ Church Cathedral will join other churches around the world today to mark the 200th anniversary of an invention that revolutionised bell ringing.

A photo of the bell tower of Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson.

Nelson's Christ Church Cathedral. Photo: Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson.

At noon, the cathedral's bells are scheduled to chime alongside four other New Zealand churches, then followed by more than 100 others worldwide, including in South Africa, Canada, Ireland, US, Gibraltar and India.

This is a celebration of the Ellacombe chiming apparatus, which allow bells to be played by a single person instead of a team of bell ringers.

An Ellecombe bell ringing mechanism for 6 bells.

An Ellecombe bell ringing mechanism for six bells. Photo: Supplied/ Oosoom - CC BY-SA3.0

Cathedral spokesperson David Lucas says it's a poignant occasion.

"We start playing at 12 noon, and we finish 17 hours later in Vancouver, in Canada - all playing bells in a row.

"And there's a book going to be published with all the participants and the history of the Ellacombe."

David Lucas says it's a special anniversary, uniting people across the globe.

The Ellecombe device has fallen out of favour and has been removed from many churches. It uses pulleys to swing hammers to strike each bell - rather than swinging the bells themselves, which previously was done with one person operating each bell.

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