Sound of British Church Bells Fades
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LONDON — The sound of Sunday church bells in Britain is fading.
A survey published Sunday showed that a third of the nation’s church bells do not peal on the Sabbath because modern distractions have taken a toll among those trained to ring them.
About 400,000 Britons know the ropes of bell-ringing but only 40,000 still pull them, said the study commissioned by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.
“When I learned to ring 35 years ago there was not much else to do in the village where I lived,” said Ron Johnston, a university professor who carried out the survey.
“The church was a closer-knit community, and if you were a bell-ringer you felt obliged to turn up,” he said.
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