Bell Ringing at St George's Church, Ypres, Belgium

Whilst in Ypres I took the opportunity to ring at St George's Memorial Church, which is an Anglican parish church in the Anglican Diocese in Europe. The church was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield who also designed the nearby Menin Gate. The church is a memorial and commemorates 500,000 British soldiers who lost their lives between 1914 and 1918. The church was built in the Flemish style to blend in with the local architecture of Ypres (or Ieper in Dutch) which was being rebuilt at the time. The foundation stone was laid on the 24th of July 1927 by Field Marshal Lord Plumer, and the church was consecrated on the 24th of March 1929.

The tower contains a 6-1-11cwt ring of eight bells in the key of B. The tower was originally planned to have a ring of bells but funding ran out and it never happened until 2017. However, a small chime of eight bells with a bass bell weighing 2-2-11cwt in the key of E was cast in 1997 by the Royal Eijsbouts foundry in Asten, Holland, and they were hung dead and chimed electronically. In 2017, a new ring of eight was cast by the John Taylor & Co foundry in Loughborough and the ring was shipped over and hung soon after. The bells are a gorgeous little ring and there is an active, yet small, band of local ringers who ring them on Sundays. They were very welcoming and friendly. If you are in the area, please do visit them on a Sunday - email ahead though and make sure ringing is happening.