I know I have been moaning about noise recently and I knw being a fan of free partys its a bit hypocritical, but we don’t blast music through peoples windows at night so we. So as some of you know I live a stones throw from a church that rings out its bells on regular occasions, wedding sunday service which are fine by me I got no problems with those. But what I don have a problem with is the tuesday nights bell ringing session that goes on for nearly 2 hours sometimes from about 7.30 to 9.00/9.15. If I had a kid they would Shirley (lol) be in bet at this time and believe me its FUCKING LOUD. I have put up with this for like nearly 5 years now and am truly sick of it.I don;t care about them ringing them its the time of night that they do it. I looked into it beofre but I could only find that its becoming an increacing complaint of noise polution these days. But no one has the power to stop them, but on the flip side they don’t really have the right to ring them either so its a bit of a funny one to be frank. I have tought of a few revenge plans but noting really viable a an effective plan to silence the bells at antisocial hours. One thing i was thinking of was to follow the ringers hoe and blast tecno through their windows for a good hour at night, or maybe wait for their sunday service and blast the church revellers as they go to church, but its not really their fault so thats a no no too. Of course there is the legal side of things but looking into it it seems that there is nothing I can do. Apparantly there are bell dampeners that reduce the noise of the bells that they could fit but I don’t really see them doing that.
I’m seriousl about tring to do someting about this cos it’s really pissing me off guys. anyone who can help advise me on this will be rewarded with good vibes. I’m kinda hoping that GL se’s this thread too cos he’s pretty brainy on the who legal side of things too, but i’m also sure the PV collective must have some good advice too.
Heres a little something something I found, its a little dated but was amended in 2007 so i’m sure its pretty legit still
BATH AND WELLS DIOCESAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHURCH BELLS AND THE LAW: GUIDANCE NOTES FOR CLERGY AND
WARDENS
INTRODUCTION
Bells are associated with churches of most traditions the whole world round. The
tradition of bellringing in England is distinctive through the evolution of change
ringing, and the sound of bells in city and countryside is a long-standing and
familiar part of the environment. The summon to worship; they ring out in
celebration and in sadness.
And an undersong to branches dripping into pools and wells
Out of multitudes of elm trees over leagues of hills and dells
Was the mathematic pattern of a plain course on the bells
John Betjeman, Bristol
With the increasing concern about noise pollution, there have been occasions when
complaints about bellringing have been made, very occasionally even spectacularly.
The purpose of these Guidance Notes is to offer advice to incumbents,
churchwardens, PCCs and bellringers about maintaining the campanological
element in our way of life through sensible management. There is a brief outline of
the law and custom which applies to the ringing of church bells. There are also
some suggestions about dealing with complaints and whom to contact for help.
In this way, bells can continue to be seen as an enrichment of the quality of our life.
SECTION 1: THE LEGAL BACKGROUND
Ecclesiastical law
Canon F8 of the Church of England states that:
“1. In every church and chapel there shall be provided at least one bell to ring the
people to divine service
2. No bell in any church or chapel shall be rung contrary to the direction of the
minister”.
Control of the ringing of church bells belongs jointly to the incumbent and the
churchwardens.
Common law
There does not appear to be any legal right as such to ring bells in the community. It
seems to be a matter of custom.
http://www.bathandwells.org.uk/assets/downloads/diocesan%20registry-and-dac/church-bells-and-the-law.pdf
