MORE than 200 people rang church bells across the district to mark the King’s coronation, following a push for more people to learn how to ring.

Bell ringers from Winchester and surrounding areas started their recruitment drive for people to take part in the special coronation ringing three months ago.

In that time, 40 people who’d never rung before learned the art and joined experienced ringers in 47 performances in churches across Winchester, Romsey, Stockbridge and other neighbouring parishes.

Hampshire Chronicle: Romsey Abbey ringers

In Easton, 30 ringers from Avington, Cheriton, Old and New Alresford, Kings Worthy and Winchester Cathedral met together for tea and cake in the afternoon after ringing at several other towers in the morning, and before going on to ring at Kings Worthy, Avington, Northington and Brown Candover.

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Over the coronation weekend bells were rung in almost every ringable tower in the Winchester District, with around 220 people taking part.

Co-ordinator Roger Booth, 67, said: “It went very well. All the new ringers were extremely pleased. It’s not just the pleasure of ringing bells but the community reaction and it was really special that so many people wanted to spread the word.

“We launched the recruitment drive as Buckingham Palace asked for as many bells as possible to be rung. Bells have been used to mark occasions for centuries and we need to keep the tradition alive. The coronation was a good hook to focus our efforts and I’ve received feedback that people want to continue so we’ll be organising extra practices.”

Click through the gallery at the top of the page to see the ringers from churches across the district. To view the full list of performances go to bellboard.uk/event.php?id=16713.