THE glorious sound of Winchester Cathedral bells have been heard in their full glory.

Having been restricted from ringing, either at all during Lockdowns or, due to continuing Covid-19 regulations, on no more than six of their smaller bells, the Cathedral band met on Sunday morning and awakened Winchester to the sound of their heaviest bells pealing out for the first time since early March 2020.

The sound was even more mellow following the fitting of new clappers to the two heaviest bells, the Tenor, which weighs 1.75 tons and the 13th weighing 1.2 tons. The band were led by Tower Captain, Nick Bucknall and Ringing Master Mike Hopkins Till.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, some of its members were able to celebrate “Freedom Day” with a special farewell ring for Bethany Lunn who was attending her delayed graduation in the Cathedral.

Bethany had joined the band when she came to study at Winchester University in 2018 and is pictured here in her gown. She was awarded her BA (Hons) in Business Administration at the ceremony later that evening.