Embleton Bellringers Trip to Ypres 2025

It all started with a remark in the pub one night after ringing – “We said we would go and visit Richard…” 

Reverend Richard Clement was one of our ringers until he left to become the Chaplain at St George’s Memorial Church, Ypres. It seemed an ideal opportunity to have a much more ambitious bellringing trip than those we had previously experienced. We had a great planning team who organised transport, accommodation and visits. All we had to do was to turn up and catch the train! The journey went well, and for some of us it was our first trip on the Eurostar. On arrival in Lille, our taxis were waiting for us, and they delivered us to where we were staying in Ypres. The accommodation was fabulous, situated opposite the immense Cloth Hall in the Market Square. One of the taxi drivers had recommended where we could get beer, so off we went!

The next day, Richard came to see us and took us for a walk around some of Ypres, including the one building that had not been totally flattened in WW1.  We then had to put some effort in and do some ringing, so we went along to St George’s . The bells are delightful, easy to ring and well cared for. The heaviest bell is 6cwt 1 qtr 11 lbs. The sound proofing is very  good, which meant we had been allocated 3 hour sessions on 2 days.

We discovered early in our visit, that the bells of the Cloth Hall play tunes every quarter of an  hour. Of course, many of us wanted to go and see them even though it’s not ‘proper ringing’, and fortunately you can pay to do this. It involved a climb of very many stairs in a stone spiral staircase, followed by many more stairs in an open metal work staircase. At Embleton, we have a wrought iron spiral staircase, which does freak some people out, and this one at Ypres was even bigger! However, all the years of going up Embleton’s tower paid off, and we were able to go up  and see the bells and get a great view from the from the balcony around the bottom of the spire. During our day of sightseeing in Bruges, we were able to go up yet another bell tower,  the “Belfort”, a 13th century  building with (apparently) 366 stairs. We certainly got our steps in on this trip! This tower also hosts a carillon, and we heard “Somewhere over the Rainbow” while we were standing right next to the bells. 

As well as the ringing we had organised, we were able to ring for the Sunday service which Richard led. This was followed by a wreath laying ceremony and tolling of the tenor, which had been donated by Harrow School.

The other  highlights of the trip were the guided tour of the battle fields and cemeteries, and going to the “Last Post” ceremony at the Menin Gate, where Richard was asked to say the “Exhortation”. We also heard a Welsh male voice choir and Highland bagpiper, which made the ceremony extremely moving. It was particularly poignant, as we had been able to find the names of two ringers from Bamburgh on the Menin Gate. We had rung quarter peals to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of their deaths, and it was notable that 6 ringers had died from this tower. No bellringers had died from Embleton in the First World War.

After 5 nights in Belgium, it was time to catch the Eurostar, and go home. It was a fantastic trip, and we are already wondering whether we can go again next year!

Sue Hanson
Ringing Master for Embleton