One of the things that people remember most about the first lockdown is the peace. The sweet sound of birdsong, so often drowned out by traffic, was heard in abundance.

But the silence was also heartbreaking to people like Rachael Barber as it meant church bells couldn’t ring.

These days the St Mary’s Liss (SML) bellringing group is flourishing with around a dozen core members and plenty more keen to learn the ropes.

“There was no ringing group at SML before the pandemic,” said Rachael, who got the ball rolling in 2022 when she placed an advert in the parish magazine.

“We started recruiting and built a band up from scratch. A lot of the people here all started and learned at the same time, so we’re different to a lot of bellringing groups, but that’s also been part of the joy.”

Our visit on January 16 was not the first time this reporter has seen bellringing in action, as he spent hour with the team at St Matthew’s Blackmoor in April 2025.

David Cooper became a bellringer at the picturesque East Hampshire church in 1965, with the ever-present roping his wife, Carol, into joining half a century ago.

“You can pick it up fairly easily but I don’t think you can ever master it,” said Mr Cooper, whose 60 years of service was marked with a quarter peel last spring.

“There’s always something more to learn no matter how good you are. It’s also really social and you don’t have to be religious or a Christian to take it up.”

Although the terminology can take some getting used to, David and Rachael were patient in explaining the basics to the Post & Herald.

A ringer will be assigned their own bell, which begins in the downright “mouth open” position. The rope is pulled until the bell, like a pendulum, swings to the top so its mouth is facing the heavens, when the real music begins.

Racheal said: “The first thing you must do is master the bells, which can take a few hours to a few weeks depending on how you are.

“Then you start joining in with other people. The bells go from the lightest to the heaviest, and the heaviest we’ve got at St Mary’s weighs about half a tonne.”

“That’s the most basic thing and it’s called rounds. We have eight bells, numbered one to eight, and when you ring them in that order it’s a round.

“When they’ve mastered the technique we start off a new player by getting them to swap with someone else and that’s called changing ringing.

“You keep the same bell but everyone swaps with the person next to them.

“There’s a pattern. Everyone knows where they’re going and then once it’s ran its course and we’ve got to the end of the pattern it comes back to the beginning.”

The method in change ringing, where each bell moves sequentially at a time, is called Plain Hunt. It also requires speed adjustments with ringers being required to "hunt up" (slow down) and "hunt down" (speed up).

It’s a bit like learning a song with eight chords. You just have to follow your route on a numerical pattern and swap at the correct time.

Rachael admits it sounds “quite hard to work out” but she’s adamant it’s easy to pick up.

“One of the nicest things about ringing is that it’s very simple once you’ve learned and you can move onto more complicated things,” said Rachael, Liss Villager of the Year 2024.

“But it means there’s always something new to learn. However long you’ve been doing it there’s always something new to learn, even if you’re the best in the UK.”

Rachael started ringing when she was 13 but has taken her passion to great heights as her husband is the tower master at Hawkley church and they’ve even got a practice set of bells at home.

Bellringing requires little physical effort as it’s all about technique, a little flick of the wrist, and maybe a touch of good posture. And yes, you can get lift if you want to, but it’s nigh impossible and most bellringers hate the stereotype and ‘Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’ image of a ringer rising into the heavens.

Karen Tordoff joined the STM bellringers just after lockdown after moving with her husband, Roy, from Twickenham to Liss in 2019. They “didn’t know a soul” in the village when lockdown struck so when Karen noticed Rachael’s advert, she responded and never looked back.

She said: “Some of my best friends are bellringers and are here at this church today.

“It’s the best thing we’ve ever done because it’s such a social thing. When you’re new to a village and don’t know your surroundings it’s great because you’re visiting places we never would have known about.”

Felicity Elmer was another Liss resident who found herself on the ropes after spotting the advert.

She said: “I learned at Hawkley because we didn’t have bell ropes here at the time.

“There were quite a lot of us. I think we’re quite unique because most groups have experience whereas we were all new with a few older people.

“But we love it. It’s the people, the friendships we have, the meals out and a lot of us meet for coffee and things.”

Encouragingly, schoolkids and teens are showing an interest as the group has held workshops for Bohunt students which have been well attended.

There’s been new developments over the last few weeks, with the “They Ring for You” initiative being launched, where the group rings for a loved one, person, place or group suggested by a villager.

“I thought it’s a fantastic way of bringing the church to the community,” said bellringer and social media guru Katie Allen, whose daughter Edith (12) is also on the team.

And there’s also hopes the success in Liss can be repeated across the border in West Sussex with moves to start bellringing again at St Bartholomew’s Rogate.

Tim Heywood hopes that will be the case, as the Rogate villager also got his first taste of bellringing on the night in Liss and could quickly get addicted.

He said: “I just love to hear the sound of the bells – it’s such a very English sound and it’s beautiful.

“I hope something can get started in Rogate because it’s been a joy seeing and being part of this tonight.”

“When you’ve got a 12-year-old kid pulling half a tonne it’s a great feeling and fantastic fun to do,” added Rachael, whose Friday night group often welcomes visits from counterparts from other towers.

“When you open the tower door you head into a world you would never imagine. Whatever you think about bellringing, the history, the technology, the social side, it’s just incomparable to anything.

“People consistently say to me I wish I started this years ago because you don’t realise how much fun it can be until you have a go. You’re always welcome to find out.”

For more details about St Mary’s Liss bellringers email Rachael at [email protected]. If you are interested in joining the Rogate team, email [email protected] or text 07519 724956.