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'm definitely going to find out about if it chimes at night, as I think that would bother me, during the day I think I would get used to it.

I'll let you all know the "schedule" if anyone from the church replies to the "bell schedule twat"

So nice to hear that so many of you find it a comforting sound.

@Mumsnut

Ours rings every quarter of an hour.

At 1am, 5am and 9am, it plays a tune - really. There is a carillon after the European fashion. On Tuesdays, for example, it plays ‘Home Sweet Home’

I no longer notice

The one in the village where I grew up plays God Save the Queen at 12, 3, 6 and 9.

I have previously and didn't even register it. But then I have also happily lived next to a busy station and on a flight path, so am good at tuning the noise out. Barking dog has started annoying recently though, so maybe I am getting more sensitive as I get older!

Standford Pines. Noooooo

I’ve lived right next door to one pretty much my whole life. You don’t even notice it consciously. Strangely if it’s not working for any reason you do notice it’s absence though. For some reason if I wake in the night it tends to be shortly before it rings and it’s nice and comforting. The only problem is when I have the occasional night of insomnia (nothing to do with the bells) it reminds me of how many hours I’ve been awake...
I do know that guests have noticed it throughout the night though.
It’s likely the villagers will be very fond of their ringing church bell so if you do end up living there you will have to be prepared to get used to it, which may take a while but I’m sure you will.

I knew someone who lived next to Westminster abbey.
Parliament (Elizabeth tower) Bells every quarter hour. They said that when they stopped them for repairs it was bliss!

Yes we do, it rings on the hour, 24/7

We rarely notice it in the day, the only one that's a bit annoying is the 11pm or midnight just as you're dropping off to sleep!

I have family in Germany and their apartment is practically next door to a church. There are times when the bell ringing is taken up a notch - Sundays, holidays etc and it seems to go on for ages but I quickly settle into it after a day or two and it doesn't wake me up. I really love the sound which seeks quite different to the bells we have here.

We live near the Town Hall which also has a bell that chimes on the hour. I don't notice it during the day but I hear it when we're in bed watching telly at night. I find it strangely soothing and homely.

I grew up in a house that was probably about 100m away from a church with 24 hour chimes and honestly it becomes a sound you don’t notice. Never bothered any of us! It’s really nice. Bell ringing practice was lovely to hear.

We live directly across the street from a care home with a chapel and bell. It rings at 10am every day for forever but I’m used to it now, our bedroom is at the front of the house and it doesn’t wake me when im on nights at all. On a Sunday it rings a few times for what seems like hours but again i’m used to it.

I’ve grown to quite like the 10am ring as I know its 10am then. I don’t do anything specific then but i’ll be like “oh! 10am!”

Hourly bells. I don’t really notice it unless I’m awake at night, and I find the sound strangely comforting.

I used to live in Houghton cambs right in the square, so about 20m from the bell. The bell tower chimes hourly, throughout the night!

Eventually it didn't wake me (single glazed windows), but I learned not to try and get to sleep at nearly 10, nearly 11 etc! You'd get a rude awakening!

@Disfordarkchocolate

I used to live beside an Abbey that had an hourly bell ring, and every 15 minutes in between! Plus bell ringing practice, and extra at the start of services.

By week two I never noticed it at all. I missed it when we moved.

Me too! It was a beautiful sound, I never needed a watch! really miss it would love to live right beside a church again.

Our church bell chimes every 15 minutes (does a quarter of a tune building up to the full thing on the hour plus the number of dings for whatever time it is), but I only hear it if I'm specifically listening out for it. Never considered it a nuisance and haven't heard of anyone complaining about it.

I love it. I can only hear it if I have a window open though as we've got double, maybe triple glazing.

There's something comforting and reassuring about it, while I'm pottering around the garden. We even get a quarterly chime at weekends.

I used to live next to a cathedral, with bells on the quarter hour, practice twice a week and bells for services each day too. Stopped noticing after about a week and they never disturbed my sleep.

Ours rings every fifteen minutes and when the spire was being renovated the bells were silent for 6 months. It was as if it was the first time most of us had noticed them, when they werent ringing! It was like living in a ghost village, the silence was eerie. I used to walk home from work (I ran the village pub) past the church and it was lovely to hear the bells as I walked, felt sort of companionable. When they were silent it was fucking scary walking past the graveyard in eerie silence!

I would move closer to the church if I could!

On the hour and every half hour. Starts at 7, finishes at 10. Extra ding dongs at 7.05, 12.05 and 19.05. I like it.

Lived within earshot of bellringers as a kid. It was awful. I don't think I could live near that again. A bell to tell the time, fine. Mad bastards pulling on ropes and jumping up and down, nope.

I live very near a church and the bell stops ringing at 10pm or possibly earlier, and doesn't start until 7am. It isn't remotely annoying. There are also actual bells and a team of bell ringers but they haven't been doing anything during covid.of course

I love the sound of our local church bell ringing. With double glazed windows you don't hear it too much. I throw them open to listen.

We lived near a clock that chimed every quarter hour for years. We had single glazing and had the windows open most of the time. I never noticed it, and no visitor commented on it. I grew up in a house with a grandfather clock though!

We all love the bell ringers too including their weekly practice on Wednesday evenings (in normal times). The bell ringers also chime for the death of anyone lost at sea (I live in a fishing town).

I lived opposite a cathedral where the chimes were every 15 minutes 24/7. It was melodic and lovely and not aggravating at all.

We live about 150 m from the church. The bell rings every hour and every half hour.

When I hear it I really like it but most of the time I don't notice it.

Funnily enough I noticed it tonight before I got into bed and thought how nice it.