Bell ringers at the parish churches of High Barnet and Monken Hadley -- which have both been strengthened recently by new recruits -- rang peals of bells over the holiday weekend to proclaim the Coronation of King Charles III.

The Barnet Parish Church Guild of Bellringers – seen above – were busy again on Bank Holiday Monday proclaiming the Coronation and welcoming guests to the Big Picnic organised held by the Church of St John the Baptist.

Churches throughout the country have been participating in a recruitment campaign Ring for the King to attract new volunteers keen to be taught the intricacies of bell ringing in time for the Coronation.

There have been two new recruits at High Barnet and four at Monken Hadley, which the Barnet tower captain Nancy Surman (above) says is highly encouraging. She has been captain for the last 15 years.

“The Ring for King campaign has helped to raise the profile for bell ringing, as did the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so now we can get busy with training some new volunteers.”

Eight bell ringers are needed each Sunday morning at both High Barnet and Monken Hadley and the two teams help each other out.

On the morning of the Coronation there was a peal of bells at Monken Hadley from 9.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. and then at the Parish Church from 10.30 am to 11 a.m. and this was followed on Sunday morning by a quarter peal from a new piece, King Charles III Delight Major, which was written for the Coronation celebrations.

Trainee bell ringer Robert Bacon (above right), who is being guided by bell ringer Adrian Sweeting, said he joined the team because he had always wanted to learn bell ringing.

“I was attracted by the Ring for the King campaign, and I must say I have greatly enjoyed it all.”

A regular visitor to the Barnet bell ringing team is Hilary Walls (see above, top picture, far right), who lives in Enfield, and attends practice at Waltham Abbey every Wednesday.

“There are 12 bells at the Abbey, and I do enjoy it there, and I come to Barnet for a practice session on Mondays.

“I started to train as a bell ringer six years ago and it is quite a challenge, so getting it right is part of the joy.

“The Barnet Parish bells do sound lovely when they are rung and the Barnet guild of bell ringers are of a very high standard, so it is a great privilege to ring in Barnet as well.”