The Association
About Us
We are a group of about 400 bell ringers in North Staffordshire who meet to ring and socialise together.
We give support and training throughout the area, promote bell ringing and provide bell ringing advice.
If you would like to find out more, visit a tower or try a sampler session, please email our public relation officer
Up-coming Events
Sun 15th FebruaryYoung Ringers Monthly Gathering
Tue 17th February
Tuesday Daytime Band
Thu 26th February
Twelve Bell Practice
Sat 7th March
Quarterly Meeting - Stafford
Tue 10th March
Surprise Major Practice
Sun 15th March
Young Ringers Monthly Gathering
National Bodies
The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers is the representative body for bellringers worldwide. Founded in 1891, the Council today represents 65 affiliated societies including our Association.
View the Central Council website
The Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) provides training, support and motivation for ringing teachers. It also provides a progresive learning scheme for new ringers. They have an extensive website with many useful resources.
View the ART website
News
Next Meeting - 7th March
Our next meeting will take place at St Mary's, Stafford, on Sat 7th March, starting at 1:30pm.
Stafford's bells have undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. The previous ring of ten was removed in 2019, and in 2023 the tower was equipped with a new ring of twelve. The back ten come from the former church of St John's, Hanley, while the front two were newly cast to complete the twelve.
Further meeting details are on our events page.
Association Peal Records
All the peals rung for the North Staffordshire Association have now been entered on to Bell Board.
There are now more than 2,000 peals recorded, dating back to the very first in 1884. They can be viewed in the NSA Peals section of our website, where they are arranged by decade and by year.
Because this is a live feed from Bell Board, any new peals will automatically appear in the lists as soon as they are added.
Visit the NSA peals section to explore them now.
Activity Groups
Several groups are active in the North Staffs area providing a variety of ringing opportunities.
Organised by group leaders, some are mainly social while others concentrate on a particular aspect of ringing.
Details of these groups and when they meet can be found on our Activity Groups page.
(Hard hats are not normally required!)
100 Club
The Association runs a '100 Club' to raise funds for the Bell Restoration Fund. Members pay a subsciption of £12 and are entered in 5 draws in the year.
There are four prize draws, usually at business meetings, and one Superdraw at the Association's AGM. If fully subscribed the first prize will be £50 at the prize draws and £100 at the super draw.
If you would like a flutter in aid of a good cause, please visit our 100 Club page...
Ringing 2030
For many years the average age of ringers has been increasing.
We are now at the point where ringing could die out as older ringers retire from bands. To address this the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) has launched an inititive to recruit more ringers under the age of 40.
See the CCCBR website to read more.
Gay's Stays
Phil Gay has a supply of ash stays for sale, with profits going to the Keele belfry funds.
Phil can provide a wide range of sizes to suit most bells. If you need a stay, or want a couple for standby, please contact Phil on or by using this
