to complain to the Church?

[MrsFruitcake]

We live right next door to the village church. Every 2 weeks throughout Spring and Summer, the bellringers meet to practice. This usually happens between 7.30pm and 9.00pm. My DCs go to bed at 7.30 and the noise from the bells is unbelievably loud and keeps them awake. Then they are both cranky all day Saturday and it's a sodding nightmare.

I find it hard to believe that they only time they can get together to practice is in the evening. What makes it even more annoying is that they only actually use the bells for weddings. When we asked for DS to be baptised there after having lived in the village for 6 years, they declined and said that we had to go to the church in the next village, yet the daughter of someone who lived heere for a bit in the 90s, but herself lives in London, got married in the church last summer with the full fanfare!

I'm guessing the church and it's bells have been there a lot longer than you. YABU

*its not it's

Yep - it's foundations are Norman.

YABU - I assume the church was already there when you moved in so you must have realised that bell ringing might take place

Yabu. 1 and a half hours every 2 weeks for half the year is not excessive. It is a Friday night, so no school the next day. Just let the kids sleep a bit longer.

Yes, I did realise, I just didn't think it would be happening at this time of night - they're still going now.

Perhaps you would prefer to come and live in my house?

I am lucky enough to have the delight of listening to my next door neighbours practicising for their band (they are dreadful), very loud drums and guitars for up to three hours, three evenings per week.
Plus load music most daytimes, plus parties once (or twice) a week.
Visitors leaving at 12 midnight, 2:30am and 4am friday/saturday nights.

There is more to list about their annoying inconsiderate behaviour but that lot should be sufficient to help you realise that 90 minutes of bellringing each fortnight is really not much to moan about - Id be thrilled to have that instead of what we actually have.

YABU

Think you should consider moving - the church won't.

Its history for ur dcs how lovely embrace and accept

I do feel a bit sorry for you but if the church has been there longer then you kinda already knew it would be noisy didn't you?
It's rubbish they wouldn't do your ds christening though.

No sympathy from me I'm afraid. If you moved next door to a nightclub, you'd be expecting them to play loud music between 11-2pm Friday and Saturday nights wouldn't you? You chose to move next door to a church with bells.

I do feel sorry for you as it is not something you think of until you have kids. I never minded my neighbour mowing lawn every other evening but it makes me want to scream now as DS is trying to sleep.
I wouldn't complain to the church but I would go and talk to someone and ask if the practice could not take place during the day on the weekend or only once a month. They could also buy small hand bells to practice with as it is order and timing the work on.

Maybe the bellringers work, hence the evening practice times?

Sorry - but you bought a house next to a church with a bell tower. What did you expect? It's like someone buying a house next to a school and complaining about the noise of children playing .

did they decline to baptise your daughter? (that would shock me as the CofE basically has to accept anyone living within its parish boundaries) or just decline to peal the bells for it?

Wasn't this a midsomer murders plot....

people have tried to press this kind of case in court and lost because they chose to live next to a church.

FWIW i don't think every two weeks is too awful. I live about half a mile from our village church, but i can still hear them practising at least once a week. It might not be just weddings they are practising for - they could be a group of hobbyists or competitive!

I sympathise with the disruption, but i doubt there's anything you could do, except politely ask them if they could start a bit earlier.

It's once every two weeks. You bought or rented a house next to a church. Bellringers go to work you know and can't always practice in the day time. Why don't they ring them on Sunday mornings?

If you live next door presumably you are on the church's electoral roll and are considered part of the church's community. If you are the decision not to baptise your children was unreasonable. If not, then I can understant their position.

The person you know who was married in the church presumably has a recognised association with the church to have allowed her to marry there. For example, dd used to be a chorister at our church and I have been a church warden. Such an association would allow our dd to marry there - even if we had moved away.

No, they declined the whole baptism.

Unfortunately I think you probably are being unreasonable, although having lived next to a chapel I feel your pain - I usually ended up going out when they started bell ringing. Could you change your schedule those weeks and make it a fun 'staying up late' night, and then have a lie-in Saturday?

Did you not notice the church when you chose the house?

And why could your DC not be baptised there? Are you a member of the congregation?

YWBVU if you did complain.

That's actually very shitty of them,especially as you live next door,do you go to church yourselves?
What reason did they give for refusing?

Yes, we are members of the congregation, and active church members. The church in the next village is linked to the one in our village, which is why DS was baptised there instead.

DH is a bell ringer. They practice in the evening once a week because yes, they all have jobs and families to support. Much as I rib him about his bell ringing, it'd be awfully sad if there was none.

And bells are an instrument. Like any instrument you have to practice regularly even if you don't perform that often.