Ahead of King Charles’s coronation on May 6 2023, there have been reports of a national shortage of bellringers. The UK counts 38,000 churches. The hope is that each will “ring for the king”, as the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers has labelled its appeal to get more people involved.
Since at least the 16th century, foreign visitors to Britain’s shores have remarked on the ubiquity of its bellringing. Georg Friedrich Händel is credited with labelling the country a “ringing isle”.
These centuries-old bells still sound from church towers today. Children still sing songs telling of their music. Oranges and Lemons famously takes its singers on a tour of London churches:
