Wells Cathedral Communion (open ringing)

• 1st & 3rd Sundays 9.45am - 10.30m​

Wells Cathedral evensong

• 2nd 4th & 5th Sundays 1.30pm - 3pm
• By arrangement only for quarter peals

St Cuthberts (open ringing)

• 2nd, 4th & 5th Sundays 10am - 10.45am​

Planned Sunday Ringing Times

Wells Cathedral Closed Practices

• For local band members and their friends
• 1st Friday of the month
• 7.30pm - 9pm
• Doors locked at 7.45pm
• Entry by NW door under West Front

Wells Cathedral Open Practices

• For visitors
• Please contact the Ringing Master first so that the format of the practice can be planned in advance
• On advertised Saturdays
• Entry by NW door under West Front

St Cuthberts

• Other Fridays (when not at cathedral)
• 7pm - 7.30pm Learners and rounds/call changes
• 7.30pm - 9pm General practice
  

Handbell practice

• Mondays, usually at St Cuthberts
• 6pm - 7.30pm

List Practice nights

Cathedral Peals

• 2 peals a year selected by ballot​
• To enter the ballot, contact the cathedral tower correspondent in the previous year for consideration
• A 3rd peal rung by invitation around St Andrew's Day (end of November)

Application for 2020 Peal Attempts at Wells Cathedral

The dates of the 2021 peal attempts for visiting bands at Wells Cathedral are yet to be approved, plus an attempt arranged locally for St.Andrewtide on the last Saturday of November. All to start at 12 noon. The fee charged by the Cathedral for a peal attempt is £100.

A draw for the visiting bands will be held in January 2019. If you would like to apply to be entered into the draw, please send a cheque for £100 payable to “Wells Cathedral”, post dated to 31^st January 2019, to the Cathedral tower correspondent (see Link  for contact details). If you do not have a cheque book account, electronic transfer is possible and details will be provided on application.

Once the draw has been held, the cheques from the successful applicants will be passed on to the Cathedral Office to be cashed, and the remaining cheques will either be destroyed or returned. If you would like your cheque returned in the event that your application is unsuccessful, please include a return address with your application.

​St Cuthberts Peals

• On application to St Cuthberts tower correspondent

• Wells Cathedral
• Bishop's Palace
• St Cuthberts (by arrangement)
• Union Street car park
• Market Place to the left of the Town Hall
• Bus station

Show toilets on a map

Travel to Wells

Eating in Wells

Staying in Wells

Union Street Car Park

• short stay
• fills up quickly on saturdays
• max stay 3 hrs​

Whiting Way (Waitrose) car park

• short stay ground floor
• long stay upper floor​

Cathedral Green

• on street parking
• limited time monday-saturday 8am-6pm 2hrs,
• no return for 2hrs
• fills up quickly at popular cathedral events​

St Cuthberts Street

• On street parking
• limited time Monday-Saturday 8am-6pm 1hr
• no return for 1hr
  • Note: Priest Row round the corner is limited to 30mins
  • no return for 1hr

show parking on a map

The Wells Amateur Bellringing Society will hold personal details of its members and of some non-members for the purposes of the operation of the Society which will be solely confined to the following:

1. Contact between officers of the Society and members individually for the purpose of advising events and meetings, collection of subscriptions, distribution of newsletters and minutes of meeting including, where appropriate, electronic transmission.
2. Contact between officers of the Society and non-members individually where the individual has requested information and/or for the purpose of organising ringing for weddings or other events where the ringers are paid or where ringing is requested.
3. Minutes of meetings will include names of those members present and any actions or spoken participation by them.
4. Photographs of members taken at events will not be published without permission.
5. Personal information of members and visitors will be shared with the Churchwardens of St Cuthberts Church, Wells and with the Chapter Clerk of Wells Cathedral to enable them to carry out their legitimate business. Some details may be included in Bath and Wells Diosesan Association communications, notices or website where an individual has agreed for such use for the specific purpose as a contact (eg bookings for training). Details will only be shared with other third parties with the consent of the individual whose details are held.
6. A request for access to, correction of or deletion of data held by the Society about an individual will be handled by the committee as soon as is reasonably practical.

We take safeguarding seriously, and we follow the policies in adopted by the respective churches in which we ring

Details about safeguarding at St Cuthbert’s church can be found here:

Safeguarding at St Cuthberts

In addition, we follow the recommendations of the Central Council:

Central Council guidelines

General details about safeguarding at the Cathedral can be found here:

Safeguarding at Wells Cathedral

The recommendations of the Central Council have been included in the procedures approved by the Cathedral for ringers, which can be read here:

Wells Cathedral Ringing Safeguarding

• January 2022:
  • In clause 6 (dealing with membership fees for Full members), change ‘by each member’ to ‘by each Full member’.
  • In clause 11 (dealing with membership fees for Friends), change ‘by each member’ to ‘by each Friend’.
  • In clause 12 (listing categories of people who might become Friends), delete ‘and committee members’.
  • In clause 15, delete ‘do not’ so that Life Members do have voting rights at general meetings.

Name

1. 1. The society shall be known as Wells Amateur Bellringing Society (WABS).
      

      Mission Statement

   2. We are a group of individuals who volunteer as church bell ringers to Wells Cathedral and to the Parish Church of St Cuthbert, Wells. We ring for services and other occasions as requested, striving to provide the best quality of ringing. We shall do all we can to provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment in which members, visitors and those wishing to learn can pursue their own ringing aims.

Membership

1. Membership can be revoked, committee roles revoked and a member expelled for conduct which, in the opinion of the committee, is contrary to the aims of the Society or likely to bring the Society into disrepute
   

   Full membership

2. Full members shall be elected at an AGM
3. To be eligible for full membership, a ringer must be able reliably to ring rounds and call changes without assistance.
4. A full member has voting rights at general meetings.
5. A full member is expected to ring regularly and frequently for church services in Wells
6. A membership fee, defined annually at the AGM, shall be paid by each full member.
7. Full membership can be revoked by an AGM if a membership fee has remained unpaid for a year, or if a member has failed to ring regularly and frequently for service in Wells
8. A full member is expected to follow advice, guidance and regulations issued by the church(es) at which they ring, including (but not limited to) matters of safeguarding.
   

   Friends

9. Friends may be elected at an AGM or by the Committee. The election of a Friend by the Committee must be ratified at the subsequent AGM
10. Anyone is eligible to be elected as a Friend of WABS, including regular visitors, lapsed full members, learners, and social members
11. Friends do not have voting rights at general meetings.
12. A membership fee, defined annually at the AGM, shall be paid by each memberfriend.
    

    Honorary Life membership

13. The election of Honorary Life members is at the discretion of the AGM
14. Honorary Life members do not have voting rights at general meetings.
15. No membership fee is payable by honorary life members
    

    Meetings

16. An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in January to consider the accounts and conduct other business.
17. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee with 14 days' notice to members. An EGM must be called by the committee on receipt of a written request for an EGM from full members who would constitute a quorum at a meeting
18. A quorum at an AGM or EGM shall be at least full 5 members, or 50% of the full membership, whichever is the least.
19. Any change to the constitution must be approved by an AGM. The change is passed if two thirds of full members present and voting agree.
20. Minutes of meetings shall be made available to full members
    

    Finances

21. The Society shall hold one or more bank accounts.
22. Any payment from the Society's accounts should be authorised by two signatories from the committee
23. The accounting period shall be from January 1st to December 31st.
    

    Officers and Committee

24. The Officers shall be elected annually at the annual meeting.
25. The committee shall meet at least twice each year, with minutes made available to full members
26. Additional duties of Officers may be defined by the membership at the AGM.
    

    President

27. One president shall be elected, and this will normally be the Vicar of Wells
28. The president is not a member of the committee.
29. The president's responsibility, if present, shall be to chair general meetings
    

    Vice President

30. Any number of vice presidents may be elected
31. A Vice President is not a member of the committee.
32. It is the duty of one of the vice presidents to chair general meetings if the President is absent.
    

    Leader / Ringing Master

33. One Ringing Master shall be elected from the full membership list.
34. The Ringing Master is a member of the committee
35. The Ringing Master shall chair committee meetings, and is responsible to the committee for managing ringing sessions, and represent the society in other matters
    

    Deputy Leader / Ringing Master

36. One Deputy Leader / Ringing Master shall be elected from the full membership list.
37. The Deputy Ringing Master is a member of the committee.
38. The Deputy Ringing Master is responsible to the committee for managing ringing sessions in the absence of the Ringing Master
    

    Treasurer

39. One Treasurer shall be elected from the full membership list.
40. The Treasurer is a member of the committee.
41. The Treasurer is responsible to the committee for advising on the management of the society's financial resources.
    

    Secretary

42. A Secretary shall be elected from the full membership list.
43. The Secretary is a member of the committee.
44. The Secretary is responsible to the committee for maintaining a list of current members, for minuting of General meetings.
    

    Co-opted Committee members

45. A general or committee meeting may co-opt any number of full members onto the committee for specific functions and for defined terms.
46. The duties of each officer shall be defined by the meeting at when they are co-opted.
    

    Disbanding the society

47. The society may be disbanded at an AGM or EGM if at least two thirds of the full members agree.
48. Any assets shall be divided equally between St Cuthberts PCC and the Chapter of Wells Cathedral.