Bellringing milestone achieved to celebrate significant Dundee birthdays
To celebrate the significant birthdays of both the Dundee Society of Bellringers and Scotland’s oldest ship, HMS Unicorn, at 150 and 200 years old respectively, Steeple keeper and Executive Director of The Unicorn Preservation Society, Matthew Bellhouse Moran, joined forces with five others on Saturday 23 November to complete a ‘Quarter Peal’ at the Old Steeple Tower, Dundee.
A Quarter Peal is popular at traditional church services, and is a period of continuous bellringing that lasts 45 minutes and consists of at least 1,260 changes. A change is a ‘row’ of bells rung in a specific order, with the order changing at every row and is rung entirely from memory. It is the first time the Dundee Society of Bellringers has rung a Quarter Peal in Dundee in 18 months, with the team of six including Ringing Master Christina Howie, Stephen Elwell-Sutton, Carly Cooper, Ron Oliver, Andrew MacKenzie and Matthew Bellhouse Moran.
Bellringing is a craft which is still enjoyed by an estimated 40,000 enthusiasts around the UK, and is increasingly popular with young people. The challenge was partly funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which provided a grant to the Unicorn Preservation Society to help finance various events which have taken place in 2024 to celebrate the ship’s bicentenary, which is a popular Dundee visitor attraction and accredited museum.
Matthew Bellhouse Moran, Executive Director of HMS Unicorn said: “As a team we are delighted to have achieved this bellringing milestone, which seemed a fitting thing to do to celebrate 150 years of the Dundee Society of Bellringers, and also to mark the bicentenary of a beloved Dundee tourist attraction and landmark, HMS Unicorn.”
Ringing Master, Christina Howie, added: “A Quarter Peal is to a ringer as a 10k is to a runner, with a Full Peal being our marathon. These are rung for special events, personal, local and national. On this occasion we rang to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dundee Society of Bellringers and the bicentenary of HMS Unicorn. The Society was formed following the installation of two sets of bells in Dundee; one at St Paul’s Cathedral, the other at St Mary’s Tower, Old Steeple. These bells are still rung today. It was at Old Steeple we rang the Quarter Peal by the current Society members for the founding members and all who have come in between, as well as all who have served on Unicorn in any military or civilian capacity. Anyone can join our band who is fit enough to climb the approx. 100 steps to ringing
room!! You can find out more at Scottish Association of Change Ringers website to whom we are affiliated.”
To support the ongoing preservation of HMS Unicorn and the Unicorn Preservation Society’s vision of Project Safe Haven, a major development that will secure the future of HMS Unicorn and improve the tourism experience in Dundee, please visit: https://www.hmsunicorn.org.uk/hms-unicorn/supporting-us
For more information on this release please contact The Cunningly Good Group on 01738 658187.
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