Do you live near a church with an hourly bell ring?

[weemouse]

Hi,
We are thinking about moving house and found a lovely property in a near by village. The house is around 300m from the church and I did hear the bell ring at around 4:00pm on a visit, so I'm assuming it's an hourly ring.

I've email the church contact to ask for a schedule of the bell ringing and wanted to ask for anyone's experience of living within hearing distance.

Did it annoy you at weekends, nights? Do you just get used to it and not really hear it through today's double glazing?

Any input appreciated, it's a lovely property and I don't want this to be a negative.
Thanks

I lived right next door to a church that had hourly bells. A someone who is an extremely light sleeper I was dreading what the nights would be like but it didn’t wake me once. I’m not sure if this is possible but I swear the bells where quieter late at night. Right now I’m in bed listening to busy traffic! I’m rather missing my lovely church bells!

TBH asking for a schedule of the bells does make you look a twat.

Someone complained about our church bells on the village FB page, they got shot down instantly. The birds sing, the cows moo, the church bell rings. It’s noisy in a village.

Don’t assume anything about this bell... I lived near a church where the bell donged every quarter hour, day and night, 80 decibels. It was horrific and we moved away.

We came from London to a countryside village with 2 churches! I actually love the bells. Since COVID there isn't the same practice schedule and I miss it.

I think this shouldn't be a deciding factor.

I hope you didn't tell them which house you might be buying as you'll be the talk of the village - asking for a schedule

I might have done the same thing if I'd thought of it though so I kind of get it!

Yes and it's lovely!
A few years ago someone new moved into the village and complained to the council about the noise!! They made them stop the ringing ....there was outrage and thankfully restored after a few months.

We lived about 100 yards from the church in our old house. I didnt really notice the hourly bell. I did notice the 30 minutes of ringing on a Sunday morning. It was nice enough though not annoying.

Another person that lives near to one that does the quarter hours, each increment has a distinct and different ring so you can tell what it is.

When we first moved in I got no sleep for weeks and was on the verge of tears wondering what we'd done. Now I barely notice and sleep fine. I register it but not as anything other than ambient noise so sleep through fine but guests hate it and in the overall sense I don't really get why they bother, I could do without it.

No-one knows I'm interested in a house yet so hopefully I'll escape being known as "the one who asked for a schedule of the bells" twat!!

You're all making me feel a lot more positive about them. I'll still pop round at the weekend for another listen.

Thanks so much to all who have replied so far, really helpful

Yes, 100m or less away. Doesn't bother me except when it goes off time and rings at 25 past the hour

I live in a town with a church that rings the bell hourly, 1 chime for every hour so 9 times at 9am etc. I occasionally notice it but very rarely. I'm less than half a mile from it, but hardly hear it sometimes on the afternoon school run but thats it. It's quite a nice sound though.

I live in an area with multiple churches, the nearest one has chimes that ring every 15 minutes. Most of the time I don't notice it, and when I do I think it is lovely. Our bells also don't ring between 8 pm and 7 am, but I doubt it would wake me if it did. (I also used to live in Istanbul, right next to a mosque. Initially, the call to prayer was REALLY loud, far louder and more prolonged than bells, but, within a few days, I barely noticed it and always slept right through).

We’re about 200m away. Every 15mins. Hardly notice it now. Can’t wait to hear the bells ring on Sunday mornings again though. Really love that. Initially annoyed my teenagers when we first moved - at 10am! Now they sleep through them!

Yes, we back on to a church with a bell that rings once for quarter past, twice for half past, three times for quarter to .. chimes for the hour 6 times for six O'Clock for example and this is 24/7.
We also have bell practise on a Wednesday and of course Saturday weddings and Sunday services during non pandemic times. We love it though! We're on the move in the Summer and I shall miss it!!

Many years ago, we stayed in a holiday cottage in a beautiful, quintessentially English rural hamlet with a church.

The bells kept the time every 15 minutes day and night. We really struggled to sleep and listened our way through each night.

We got chatting to the lady who lived in the cottage next to the church and the farmer who lived just down the lane. Both asked how we were enjoying the holiday. We said how lovely the place was, then mentioned the church bells.

'What bells?' they both asked, genuinely confused.

They both had stopped hearing them, in the same way my parents live under an airport flightpath and no longer hear the planes.

So basically I think you would get completely used to the bells within a month or so, but any visitors might struggle a bit

I only hear ours occasionally at 00:45 if I'm still awake, it's so odd. I don't know whether I tune it out other times or that's the only time they do it.

I lived behind a church for 3 years with hourly bells all day and night, and in all honesty, I never got used to it and it really bothered me. When I was trying to sleep, it was a reminder of how long I'd been laying there and not falling asleep! DH and I used to joke about going up the tower and dismantling it. But I'm not a very good sleeper generally, so if you are it might not be an issue.

I live less than 100m from an hourly bell toll. Honestly, you stop hearing it.

Lol, it started just as I posted that. I haven't "heard" it all day, and I've been pretty much sat in this same position.

@pastabest

I did briefly. Never bothered me and was useful in the depths of winter if you happened to wake up and heard a bell ring before you had to open your eyes to see if it was 3am or 7am.

This.

Ours - we're literally next door - rings every quarter hour, 24/7, plus hourly chimes and 7am, 12pm and 6pm for a few minutes each.

I love it. Gentle and reassuring. It doesn't wake us.

We live nearish one and I tend to only hear it if I'm getting ready to sleep around that time, if it's quiet outside as well as in the house, and if the wind is blowing in the right direction for the sound to carry. I find it a really lovely calm sound, reassuring.

@weemouse

No-one knows I'm interested in a house yet so hopefully I'll escape being known as "the one who asked for a schedule of the bells" twat!!

You're all making me feel a lot more positive about them. I'll still pop round at the weekend for another listen.

Thanks so much to all who have replied so far, really helpful

Yes, you get used to it. Also Christmas morning at home with DC opening their presents to the sound of bells ringing is lovely.

I lived near a church with bells for about a year. I was very happy to leave. The practice sessions on Tuesday weren’t that much of a bother, we were young and carefree so just went out every Tuesday evening. But lying awake with the chimes marking every quarter hour was awful.

We do, I can’t hear it unless I’m either walking pastor when it goes off or thinking about it(for any reason?)

I think when it’s consistent it just becomes normal and the noise goes to your subconscious

We lived a similar distance to the local village church with hourly bells. I barely noticed it after a few weeks. When I did notice the ringing, especially Thursday night practice, it was a strangely comforting sound. I loved it actually.

I have for over 2 years and it still annoys me. It counts the hours 24-hours a day: 12 bongs at 12 am and 12 pm . As a result, 1 am/pm are my favourite times of the day.

It’s especially annoying when I wake in the middle of the night/early morning and I’m resisting the urge to check my phone to calculate how many hours sleep I have left if I can get back to sleep straight away. Like clockwork (pun intended), the church will chime the hour and I will be left stressing about how little time I have left to sleep and my inability to get back to sleep.

It’s also annoying when the time on the clock is wrong, the time on the clock was wrong but it gets corrected and you don't realise until it makes you late for something; and when the chiming starts up again after it has stopped for a period of time, e.g., when the clock is being fixed.