The Washington Ringing Society and Change Ringing
The Washington Ringing Society
The Cathedral Ringing Society was founded in October 1963 upon the installation of the Cathedral bells. In 1983, the Society was renamed The Washington Ringing Society (WRS) in recognition of the new bells installed that year at the Old Post Office Tower. WRS members ring the Cathedral and Old Post Office change ringing bells.
What is Change Ringing?
Change ringing is a form of bell ringing in which a set of bells (generally 6–12) sounds in changing rhythmic sequences (called "methods") rather than in tunes. It originated in England in the 17th century and is still primarily practiced in the United Kingdom and former British colonies.
The bells are rung by a group of trained ringers, each of whom rings one bell by pulling on a rope that swings the bell in a 360-degree arc from mouth-upward position to mouth-upward position each time it sounds. It takes about 2 seconds for a bell to complete its swing. As a result, tune ringing, which requires more frequent note repetition, is not possible on change ringing bells. Rather, the bells ring sequentially in always changing, non-repeating orders.
See it in action on our Videos & Animations page.
Learning to ring
Learning to ring takes curiosity and persistence. Expect it to take roughly 6 to 12 months to learn the basics.
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First take a WRS ringing course
Two or three full-day, hands-on sessions on consecutive Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The course covers "handling" (controlling an individual bell) and some ringing theory. Courses run once or twice a year. For the date of the next course, please contact our education officer.
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Then come to practice regularly
After the course, attend practices weekly to keep learning hands-on and by watching others.
- Washington National Cathedral: Tuesday, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (handling practice 6:00–7:00 PM)
- Old Post Office Tower: Thursday, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
To find out more, please contact our education officer at training@