For the bell ringers who took to the ropes this afternoon, there was a definite ‘sense of occasion’.
Members of the Oxford Society of Change Ringers were among those tolling bells across the city at midday today to mark the Queen’s death.
Those who stopped to listen to the eerie music may not have realised they were hearing a sound not played out across Oxford for more than half a century.
Jonathan Cresshull, one of those ringing the bells at Carfax Tower, said: “It was a very sombre occasion. It is the first time that we’re aware of that the bells have been rung in the way they were in the last 70 years – not since the death of King George.”
All of the bells except for one – the largest, heaviest tenor bell – were fully muffled. The tenor bell was rung ‘open on the back-strike’.
The melancholy effect imitates the sound of a single bell being tolled.
“In the ringing room we hear the same as everybody else does outside,” he said.
“But there was definitely a feeling of occasion.
“We were very aware this was a once in a lifetime thing to be doing and that it’s something that hasn’t been done in decades.
“One of our ringers went outside to get a feeling of how it sounded. There were people gathering around the tower listening to us ring.”
On Thursday, the bell-ringers were out their doors within minutes of Buckingham Palace announcing the Queen’s death.
They headed to Christ Church’s Tom Tower, where large bell Great Tom is housed.
Mr Cresshull said: “We dashed in and had people on the end of a bell rope within 18 minutes of the official announcement.”
Read more from this author
This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward