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!

Do you complain about cows mooing in the fields too, OP?

Just a thought - my sister lived almost next door to a church. After a week or two they were used to the bells. The only thing that disturbed them all was when the bells didn't toll as they should have.

Yes, Graham, if the mood takes me. I love a good moan, I do, I do, I do!

Oh yay, my first ever biscuit!

You would prob complain about the sheep tup, too, no?

Surprised it bothers you after all this time: We lived next to a church with prolific Bell-ringers for 10 years only who practiced like clockwork only time it bothered us was the period they didn't (one was seriously ill and died) and it was eerily quiet.

If you're on the electrol roll of the church, or living in the parish, they're not allowed to refuse to baptize you or your child.

Generally the people who ring the bells have a fairly usual thing to do during the day, that is work.

At least it sound nice proper bell ringing. When I was living in college the chapel bell sounded like someone had taken a large frying pan and wooden spoon.

I would have thought that the dc would learn to sleep through it after the first couple of practices. My dp live within a mile of a military air base. The first one that goes off at night when we stay usually wake the dc, but after that they hardly notice, they very quickly get used to the noise.

Give the op a break,I think she realises she is BU.

"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"

If you live that close then surely you must be in the parish and legally they can't refuse to baptise your son. If you attend a church for six months then you can go on the electoral roll and your children be baptised.

I have lived the majority of my adult life in hearing range of at least two, and at most ten, sets of churches with active bellringing practices going on.

It is not hard to work out what happens when you move in next to a structure with a set of bells attached.

YABU.

I would keep quiet unless you want to annoy the whole community. A church means noise. The countryside in general can be very noisy- animals don't consider neighbours!

if you stop letting it annoy you it will make it better all round...it's all a state of mind!

and you have been there six years?? Surely the children are used to it by now?

Their stance was that they only do weddings and 'exceptional' services, such as Easter Sunday etc, and that there was a perfectly good church 2 miles down the road we can use. We are on the electoral roll.

"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."

That is odd, surely there must be more to this. Did you take up the matter with the church warden

Yes, we did and were told point blank that it wasn't going to happen and to stop making a fuss. No other details, I'm not drip feeding, that's how it was/is.

Who was there first, you or the church? If they did their bellringing practice before you moved in then YABU. If you buy a house next to a church then expect bell ringing :)

I don't get what's wrong with them saying they only do exceptional services if there's another church nearby?

Lots of churches can't support a full-time vicar. It's not an insult to you, surely?

There was a similar case recently - the church clock struck through the night- newcomers stopped it but it caused such an outcry and made the people so unpopular they had to change their minds.

Mrs F you are being v. unreasonable. Most towers practice one evening a week as the ringers work during the day. They also ring every Sunday morning and also ring the occasional quarter and full peals which can last up to 4 hours. The Chruch and its bells have been there for hundreds of years and are part of our cultural heritage. If you don't like church bells don't move into a house next to a church.
Candr you cannot possible practice church bells on hand bells they are 2 totally different things. Swinging and balancing a ton of metal on the end of a very long rope is a very tricky skill and is totally different technique to holding a comparatively tiny handbell in your hand!

I think that you OUGHT to complain, then see how well you integrate into the community

I used to be a bell ringer and as has already been pointed out they practise in the evening because they work during the day! It's quite a physical task, they aren't all little old ladies with nothing else to do!

I do see why it would be frustrating but I honestly think you would make yourself look daft if you complained. They would be pretty unlikely to change their schedule just to suit your kids. I do think its very odd that they wouldn't do a baptism for your child though especially if you're a regular member of the congregation! Is there more to that than you've said??