Bell Ringing
Bells have been heard from the tower of St Katharine Cree since at least the 16th century. The church survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz. The tower is the oldest part of the building, the lower stages of which date from 1504. Work undertaken to restore the bells in 2009 included removal of the bells to Whitechapel Bell Foundry; cleaning and careful tuning of the bells to form a true diatonic scale; carefully extracting the rusting iron crown staples, new fittings; a new iron and steel frame and a variable sound control ceiling over the installation period.
Ringing Times
Bells have been rung from the tower here for at least four hundred years, and are an important part of the heritage and sound of the City of London.
Colin Friend is the Tower Captain of the bellringers at St Katharine Cree and oversees ringing of the bells.
The bells can be heard every Friday evening when the bellringers practice regularly. There are also occasional peals (which can last up to five hours) rung in the tower as part of festivals or by visiting bands. These usually take place on a Sunday or Bank Holiday. We are mindful that we have close neighbours and we keep a strict limit on the number of times each year on which long ringing events take place.
We list upcoming ringing dates on the website here:
Sunday 15th October 1-2pm
Monday 30th October 11-12noon