Muffled bells last sounded 70 years ago for George VI

PEOPLE in earshot of a church on Friday may not have realised that the eerie ‘muffled’ toll of bells in memory of the Queen was a sound not heard for 70 years.

The moving tribute involved months of preparation by the Church of England’s 16,000 churches, including getting hold of special leather muffles.

Bells tolled for an hour from noon when churches, chapels and cathedrals formally marked the Queen’s death. It was the first time muffles had been used since the death of King George VI, the Queen’s father, in 1952.

The death of a Sovereign is one of the rare occasions when fully muffled bells are sounded, with leather pads fitted to both sides of the bell clapper.

Yesterday an estimated 30,000 bellringers across the nation rang normal bells to mark King Charles’s official accession. But the muffles were then put back on. For the next week, until the funeral on Monday, September 19, any bellringing must be done with the muffles, turning the ‘dong’ of a bell into a mournful hum. There will be muffled ringing for an hour before the funeral.

Thousands of bellringers are taking unpaid leave from their regular jobs to pay tribute to Her Majesty.

Doug Davis, 44, a bellringer at St Mary & All Saints Church, in Boxley, Kent, told The Mail On Sunday: ‘It’s an honour to be part of the tribute to the Queen. The nationwide tolling at so many churches shows the wide respect for her.’