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Cathedral Bells

The sound of the bells ringing out from the central tower can be heard echoing around Durham City and across the banks of the River Wear.

Where are they hung?

The bells are hung at the top of the Central Tower. They were moved here in the late 1600s from the north-west tower.

Cathedral bells

How many bells are there?

Durham Cathedral has ten bells, with the tenor (the heaviest bell) weighing in at just under 1.5 tonnes. They are a ring of 10 bells, in the key of D. Until 1980 there were only eight bells, when two more bells were added.

Cathedral bells ringing

Find out more

For more details of the Durham Cathedral Bells and their history, please visit the Durham Bell Ringers website.

Become a bell-ringer

Would you like to get involved with this musical heartbeat of the Cathedral?

Find out here