About the Association

The Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers represents ringers who live in the Diocese of Ely. 

The Association has for its objectives:

• the ringing for Divine Service, 

• the teaching of ringing proficiency, 

• the promotion of change ringing 

• the maintenance of Church bells and bell installations within the Diocese of Ely.

Membership of the Association is open to ringers who are resident in the Diocese of Ely or who are ringers at a tower within the Diocese (more details).

The Association is governed by a set of Rules and Regulations, and managed by a General Committee assisted by a number of Sub-Comittees.

Churches in the diocese with bell towers are affiliated to the Association - this site includes a List and a Map of affiliated towers. The Association is composed of four districts, each with its own website. Ringers and bell towers are usually attached to an individual district. 

There is a separate Bell Restoration Fund for the Ely DA; this is a registered charity. The bell restoration fund provides grant and loan funding for churches and other authorities in the Diocese of Ely to provide, maintain and improve the bells and their installations, bell towers and training facilities. 

The Ely DA is affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) which is the representative body for all who ring bells in the English tradition with rope and wheel. The Ely DA provides four Representative Members of the CCCBR.

There is an article on the formation of the Ely Diocesan Association in 1897, first published by The Ringing World on 10th January 1997, Issue 4472,  and some information on the Celebration by the Ely DA of its centenary in 1997.

Looking Back – Cambridgeshire Church Bells, by Mike Petty. From March 1997 to March 2015 Mike Petty compiled a ‘Looking Back’ column in the Cambridge Evening News in which he featured stories from 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. A compilation of the stories about church bells from the issues of the Cambridge Daily News or Cambridgeshire Weekly News of 1897-1915, 1922-1939, 1947-1965 and 1972-1989 is available here. Dates are given of the original publication and are given in YY/MM/DD format. The actual newspapers are held in the Cambridgeshire Collection at the Cambridge Central Library, Lion Yard. For more details of newspapers and other sources for village history see the website.

The Association has duty of care, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, to ensure the protection from physical, sexual or emotional abuse of young people and vulnerable adults attending events organised at Association and District level. Written or verbal permission is required before photographs which include children can appear on this website. More information on Safeguarding issues, including advice on the taking and using of photographs, is available in the Association Safeguarding policies.

Personal information on members of the association is processed according to the Association's Privacy Statement.

The information on this website is correct to our knowledge at the time of publishing. The website is maintained by the Webmaster of the Ely DA, with the overall supervision of the General Committee. Information on this website does not constitute legal or professional advice and the EDACBR cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use. Names and address shown within this website are not to be used for data processing or bulk mailing purposes.

• For updates, corrections or suggestions for the website, please contact the Webmaster (webmaster_at_elyda.org.uk).

• For general queries about the Ely DA please contact the General Secretary (secretary_at_elyda.org.uk).