The Bells, The Bells Let’s Ring The Bells!

Over the last 2 weeks members of the Town Council have been to St Bartholomews’ for a master class in bellringing with former Mayor of Westhoughton, Ryan Battersby.

Town Mayor, Councillor Neil Maher, writes:

Ryan gave a very interesting talk about the history of the tower and bellringing in Westhoughton. Followed by a demo from Ryan and Ged.  The Mayor and Councillor Jackson had a go then and were outclassed by two young apprentices, Grace and Emily!

Westhoughton are very fortunate to have one of the few dedicated bellringers in the area, who play regularly for church events such as weddings, Easter etc. Thank you Ryan and Ged.

Deputy Town Mayor, Councillor Gillian Wroe, writes: 

 On Tuesday evening I attended a bell ringing demonstration in the tower at St Bartholomew’s Church, Westhoughton, with Westhoughton Town Council colleagues David Wilkinson, Arthur Price and Derek Gradwell.  Ryan Battersby started our session with a history of the church and tower, including the devastating fire in 1990, followed by a demonstration by four of the bell ringers. 

Then it was our turn! Under the expert supervision of Ryan we had a go at bell ringing. To be honest I think we were all nervous at first but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Thank you to Ryan and his team for inviting us along. As we’ve said on many occasions it’s an absolute privilege to represent Westhoughton and to meet the people who enrich our town.