The bells rang out for most of the day in Trowbridge as the town hosted the South West 12 Bells Striking competition for the first time.

More than 100 ringers took part in a regional battle of the bells at St James’ Church to see who could strike the best Little Bob Maximus.

The team of bell-ringers at St James’ Church were making their debut in the regional competition as nine teams from throughout the region competed for the Higby Trophy on Saturday (October 14).

Wiltshire Times: The bells at St James’ rang out all day as the church hosted the South West 12 Bell Striking Competition. The bells at St James’ rang out all day as the church hosted the South West 12 Bell Striking Competition. (Image: Trevor Porter)

Trowbridge team bell captain Ben Kipling said: “We came eighth out of the nine teams but we weren’t disappointed as this was our first time in the competition.

“I felt quite sorry for the team from Truro who came last, as they had travelled all the way up from Cornwall.”

“We’ve been practising for several months and were quite pleased not to have come last.

“We offered to host this year’s competition and have raised about £1,000 for the St James’ Church tower funds.”

Wiltshire Times: The Trowbridge band of 12 bell ringers prior to their bel ringing. Photo:Trevor Porter 70279-3The Trowbridge band of 12 bell ringers prior to their bel ringing. Photo:Trevor Porter 70279-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

St James is the only church in Wiltshire with 12 bells. The hosting of the South West 12 Bell Striking Competition marks the start of fundraising for the Trowbridge Bell Overhaul Project to make improvements to what is already a good ring of bells.

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The teams were welcomed by Reverend Jake Eggersten, the Rector of St James; Church and St Leonard's in Keevil, before starting the competition at 10.30am.

Each team rang the same piece, Little Bob Maximus, which took around 12 minutes to complete and the competition finished at around 3.30pm.

Wiltshire Times: The nine teams of bell ringers eagerly await the results in St James’ Church Hall. Photo:Trevor Porter 70279-4The nine teams of bell ringers eagerly await the results in St James’ Church Hall. Photo:Trevor Porter 70279-4 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Veronica Newman, spokesperson for the St James’ Church bellringing team, said: “Good striking is considered to occur when the ringing is absolutely regular, with a metronomic even beat, so the space between each of the bells is exactly the same. This is achieved using a combination of physical, visual and listening skills.”

The nine teams of 12 ringers came from Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Bristol (two), Wimbourne, Exeter, Truro, Chilcompton and Trowbridge to take part.

Wiltshire Times: The nine teams of bell-ringers competed for the Higby Trophy. The nine teams of bell-ringers competed for the Higby Trophy. (Image: Freelancer)

The eventual winners were the team from Bristol St Stephen's, who won the regional competition and the Higby Trophy last year. Tewkesbury were judged to have made the best debut.

St James’ Church is always looking for new recruits for its bell-ringing team. If anyone fancies having a go they should contact Rev Jake Eggersten on 01225 763680 or email: jake@stjamestrowbridge.co.uk