Celebrating its 50th year, the National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest returns to its roots at St Margaret’s Church — host of the very first final in 1976.
The Taylor Trophy, sponsored by John Taylor & Co, remains one of the most prestigious awards in change ringing, with a history reflected in the many historic trophies now filled with the names of past winners. The current trophy is held by the band from Bristol, who will be looking to defend their title.
This year’s contest will be decided across four eliminators, with further rounds at Nottingham St Mary, Cornhill and St Mary-le-Bow, before the final at York Minster on 20 June.
The contest begins this Saturday (28 March) at St Margaret’s — a venue with a deep-rooted connection to the competition.
Following the successful final held there in 1976, this year marks the sixth eliminator or qualifier to take place at the tower. The first of these, in 1979, was hastily arranged when the competition attracted more than eight entries for the first time — a milestone moment in the contest’s history. On that occasion, judges were positioned in a tent in the churchyard.
Further eliminators were held at St Margaret’s in 1989, 1996 and 1998, reinforcing its status as a favoured venue.
The tower’s current ring of twelve bells was created by John Taylor & Co in 1921, when an earlier ring of ten was recast at the Loughborough foundry. The bells were transported to Leicester on 10 December that year and paraded through the city before being rung for the first time on Christmas Day.
Judging arrangements have evolved over time. After early years with judges placed around the church and in surrounding offices, the now-familiar judges’ caravan was introduced in 2017 and has since been used at St Margaret’s, including for the Ringing World National Youth Contest (RBS) competitions in 2022 and 2024.
As the contest begins, we wish all competing bands the very best.
