Ringing Forums

it sounds like an unfortunate situation, and maybe there are undertones that limit what can or should be done. But from the information given my thoughts are:
1. I assume the complaints about sound in the churchyard come from people living next yo it, not from those interred there.
2. How serious are the complaints? Was it an isolated one off moan from a one off situation or is it a real hardship in a recurring situation?
3. Could you improve the synthetic sound, for example better speakers, different pitch or a different audio file?
4. If you can get hold of a sound meter it would be worth measuring the sound levels at various points with and without the sound control shutters closed. 20dB difference is fairly effective.
5. Are the shutters significantly less effective on some sides than others? If so are the closing properly, and check for a poor fit or missing seals.

Have you contacted the CCCBR team that advises on noise matters for their advice? They have specialists with knowledge of technical options for managing noise / sound both inside and outside towers, and also Environmental Health legislation which is what covers noise issues.

Their contact details are on the CCCBR website here - https://cccbr.org.uk/resources/stewardship-and-management/dealing-with-complaints/

I had significant problems with one individual and having discussed with the Council we agreed the following as reasonable.


No Ringing 2100 - 0800 ( save in exceptional circumstances)
Ringing for Sunday Service 45 min before
Ringing for Weddings and Funerals 45 min before 15 min after
Ringing for special events local and national ( 2 / 3 times a year 45 min)
Ringing Practice night once a week 7:30pm - 9:00pm
One visiting band a week for no more than hour
Once a month in lieu of a visiting band a period of longer period ringing such as a full peal, about 3 hrs or a competition , up to about 5 hours .

Went back to the complainer with the Council who agreed but asked that we let him know when extra ringing was taking place - If its an individual complainer council wont do much but might want you to have a policy on ringing . Slightly different if you have multiple complainers

Has he done this unilaterally or in division with the vicar/PCC? It's good to have an official policy regarding how much ringing there is allowed eh 1 open practice a week, 1 quarter a month, service ringing etc. this can be shown to any complainer. And as others have said, let them know about any extra ringing. Simply restricting the ringing doesn't help especially of it's decided by 1 person.

Which simulator software are you using? Have you tried using a different sound file for the bells - have your own bells ever been recorded? If you are using Abel it is relatively simple to change the sound file used - there are some built in and others available online. And try bigger/better speakers to give more 'meat' to the sound.

Without getting into the specific circumstances of complaints about particular towers, I want to mention a phenomenon that is not widely understood but which is very often a factor underlying noise nuisance complaints generally. Part of our "flight or fight" response relates to sounds. Our perception of a sound alters with exposure and repetition, to the extent that once a particular sound has annoyed us, even only slightly, we become habituated to subconsciously 'listening out for it' as if it is a threat precursor. The next time we hear it our stress level increases a little more than the previous time until it becomes intolerable after a few repetitions, like nails scraping a blackboard. This is seen by others as an unreasonable, irrational response, but it can be psychologically devastating for the aggrieved person. Examples include, say, a neighbour's yapping dog that the first time is just a minor intrusion but after a week or two becomes an instant trigger of elevated stress on first yap. It is very difficult to ameliorate the problem because it is not the duration of the "noise nuisance" of a bit of ringing on a particular date or time that is the problem, but the listener's instantaneous stress response at the first bong. Having been involved with noise transmission problems every so often throughout my working life I know of distressing they can become for everyone involved. With ringing, every tower's circumstances are different and there cannot be a "one size fits all answer" when someone complains. However, you can be sure that minor tweaks to the duration of ringing periods ALONE is NOT the answer.

We have had a published policy, available on our website, since 2017, see: Here We are about to consider revising it after a complaint from someone working at home during a weekday morning peal. Previously we considered weekdays would not cause undue disturbance but WFH has changed things so we might consider closing the shutters that face the nearest houses during peals.

I can relate to that. There was a sweet factory behind the house where I grew up, with extractor fans on the roof. If you listened for it you could hear them but otherwise wouldn't notice them. But the sound really wound my father up, to the point where he even went through the process of trying to get rates relief on the grounds of noise interference.

Noise "nuisance" is a pernicious thing. It can be exceedingly debilitating for people sensitised to a particular sound - or the absence of a sound (that triggers our "alert" response and is just as stress-inducing as sudden-onset of a "nuisance" noise). I had a tragic case of an elderly person who was sensitised to the click of an actuator in a lift room on the roof of her block of flats. It clicked every time the lift was called. Although she was in a top floor flat, hers was the third one along from the lift shaft. I could hear the click when standing outside the lift room door, but a sound engineer picked it up in the ceiling complainant's flat! Cost a packet to hitch up the gubbins on an acoustic isolation sandwich. The impact of bells on complainants can usually be ameliorated to some extent, in terms of volume, frequency of use, duration etc, but if it's the quality / nature of the sound then that's much more tricky to resolve. It's essential to establish exactly what it is that upsets the complainant before any knee-jerk reaction leads to unsuccessful changes......the biggest hurdle is entering into a non-judgemental dialogue.

We have just had our second ever complaint (to my knowledge), not really a complaint but a request that we turn the volume down or alternatively that we don’t ring for the midnight service at Christmas (10:45 - 11:15pm), they were referred to the Rector who will speak to them but he wants the bells to ring if we can get a band together for it, interesting that the person concerned said that New Years Eve midnight ringing (at midnight) was fine as they would be awake anyway.

The person who called is very active on Social Media on the village group where I always post “why the bells are ringing” before quarters / peals .. we have a quarter attempt this weekend and when I posted the village participants were overwhelmingly positive .. I could run a poll ..

When I see them I will see if they would like to donate “push button” automatic sound control to the tower so we can close the louvres in their direction.. easier than tying the bells for training and practice sessions !

like to donate “push button” automatic sound contro — Steve Farmer

IT needn't be quite that high tech. We just release four cords in the ringing room, which is just as easy. And we do sometimes close the shutters selectively on the side with houses nearest.

My thoughts;
1. This complaint from one person needs to be balanced with the joy the sound of the bells brings to others, which in my experience is the vast majority of people.
2. The quantity of ringing quickely becomes the "norm" and is what is expected/accepted. In reducing the amount of ringing, this then becomes the "norm". Like a clock that chimes in a house, (or near by) can be irritating at first, then in time isn't really noticed.