You can ring my bell

and were introduced initially to simplify the practice of change ringing for full-sized church bells.

But hand bells soon became popular in themselves for playing simple tunes.

Probably the first form of musical involvement for working men, the art of ringing tunes evolved further in the 19th century when competitions were held, mostly in the north of England.

The Woodroyd ringers’ first incarnation was part of this movement and the bells were bought from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, paid for by subscription.

The bells, numbering nearly 200 at first, covered the whole range of six octaves. One was a low G – and there were only two such bells in the United Kingdom.

The best teams of the day were Almondbury and Crosland Moor but Woodroyd were considered to be one of the few groups to be able to put up a strong showing against them.

The group lasted until the outbreak of the First World War when the number of players dwindled as men went off to fight.

However, the group was resurrected in 1920 and performed to a high standard, winning a shield in the Yorkshire competition a year later. They went on to win three first prizes and two seconds, tying on one occasion with Crosland Moor in competitions as varied as Belle Vue in Manchester and Hope Bank in Honley.

Woodroyd were crowned Champions of Great Britain in 1927 at a contest at Sunny Vale, Halifax, when they were awarded a perfect 100 marks. The adjudicator commented that they were “the only team of ringers to achieve this distinction.”

Other handbell ringing teams in West Yorkshire existed at Almondbury, Armitage Bridge, Shelley, Clifton and Thurlstone.

In 1934 the team won the Yorkshire Handbell Ringers Association Cup and Shield. Later that year Woodroyd was invited to play on a BBC Christmas Eve broadcast in the north east region wavelength.

The champion team disbanded once more at the onset of the Second World War and the bells were seldom used after that – the last date was in 1947.

The bells themselves are still in existence and consist of a set of now only 143 bells.

They were assigned in 1997, by Deed of Gift, to the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain William Hartley Memorial Fund where they remain.