“It’s Like Learning To Fly”

 Inside St Salvator’s Bell Tower

On my first tour of St Andrews, I stopped in front of St Salvator’s Chapel to hear the infamous tale of how Patrick Hamilton’s face could be seen burnt into the side of the bell tower. I remember being told to never step on the ‘PH’ lettered in the cobbles in front of the tower, but nothing about what was actually going on inside of it. 

Since beginning classes in September, I walked by the bell tower everyday, admiring its beauty and notable mystique.  I began to wonder: how do I get to the bells? Who rings the bells? Could I, possibly, ring the bells? 

To find out, I climbed dozens of spiralling steps and a rather rickety ladder to finally arrive at the six bells concealed inside the chapel. They sit on the top floor in two rows of three and are of varying sizes. A rope attached to each of the bells falls through the floor and reaches into a room located a few floors below. In the room, the ends of the six ropes hang along with one practice rope that can be used with a bell-ringing ‘simulator’ for new learners. 

Dr Peter Williamson, a member of Bell-Ringing Soc for over fifteen years, has been ringing bells since he was eight years old. His parents were both bell-ringers and even met in the bell-ringing soc at their university. Growing up, Williamson rang at many chapels across the UK, and when he moved to Fife in 2009, he immediately got involved in bell-ringing at St Andrews. He described to me how they use the bell simulator to teach students how to ring.  

“[The simulator] is the same setup as a bell — a bell wheel and a weight [...] It's like learning to fly. You probably don't go into a fighter jet to learn to fly. You learn in a simulator. I think that it has actually made learning to ring safer and easier. I don't say safer for the person, more safer for the equipment. This semester we've actually taught four people to ring,” said Williamson. 

Each of the six bells are named after somebody important to the community. The two original bells of Sallies Chapel — Katherine and Elizabeth — were brought to St Andrews sometime in the sixteenth century and have resided in the tower for over 400 years. 

In 2010, four more bells were added to the chapel to celebrate St Andrews’ 600th anniversary. Named Annie, Agnes, Margaret, and George, these bells needed a crane to be lifted into the bell tower because they could not fit through the spiral staircase. 

Annie is the newest of the bells and is the treble bell.  She was named after the sister of John Burnet, a former Chair of Greek at St Andrews. Agnes was cast in 1912 and is named after the first female to graduate from St Andrews in 1895. Margaret was named after Saint Margaret of Scotland, who helped pilgrims come to St Andrews. Lastly, George, the largest of the six bells, was cast in 1939 and named after George Buchanan — the personal tutor of Mary Queen of Scots (and a St Leonard’s alumnus).

St Andrews Bell-Ringing society is in charge of ringing the bells on Sundays, graduations, weddings, and other special events. The group meets weekly and is open to any student interested in joining. 

First-year Ellie Boosey joined the society during Freshers’ week with no prior experience. She’s learned a lot of ringing patterns since September and even got to ring at the winter graduation ceremonies. “[Learning the] inner workings of it surprised me. I come from Devon and there's so many churches and bells there, so I feel like you hear bells all the time, and you never realise the actual, inner workings of [bell-ringing],” Boosey said.

Williamson’s favorite part of ringing at St Andrews is at graduation ceremonies — though it can be stressful, too. They ring at five points during the day, each for over half an hour. “When you're trying to do some work at the same time, it’s a real juggling act.” 

A special part of learning how to ring is the community it brings, Williamson said. He’s been able to ring in churches across the UK — he hopes his bell-ringing protégés will be able to do the same. 

“Wherever you go in the country, you can just turn up somewhere, whether it's a practice or Sunday morning [...] and you're always going to be welcomed, and you'll always be able to just ring and join in with other people.”

Illustration by Hannah Beggerow