So, in 1979 these six ringers came together and successfully rang a quarter peal at Simpson, a tower within earshot of Walton Hall. The quarter peal celebrated both the 10th anniversary of the foundation of The Open University and the beginning of the Open University Society of Change Ringers (OpUSCR). From then on, the membership has grown, and over the years we have been averaging around 70 members; we are the oldest Society affiliated with the Students Association.
The Society holds around four events a year in different parts of the country as our membership is scattered throughout the UK. We have had notable tours to the Channel Islands, Southern and Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Brownsea and Lundy Islands. We plan our ringing days out to try and cover as many areas of England as possible to make sure everyone can ring with us as often as they can.
There are some members of the Society who are keen to ring peals and quarter peals, and these are rung on an ad hoc basis, although we try and keep one of our meetings as a designated quarter peal day.
To date, the Society has rung at over 1,000 towers, including Liverpool, Coventry, and Lincoln Cathedrals and most recently, York Minster. We always aim to ring within the capability of the band. We welcome new members and visitors to our meetings as well as family, friends, and non-ringers too. We just ask that any ringer can safely ring rounds and call changes when they join us. We enjoy the challenges of ringing, meeting new ringers and exploring new towers with the inevitable pub lunch in-between.
Full Membership of our Society is open to students, staff and alumni of the Open University, and Associate Membership to their immediate family.
Please visit our webpage for further details and how to join: https://www.opuscr.org.uk/
Forthcoming events:
27 April 2024
Spring meeting, Suffolk / Essex
13 July 2024
Summer Meeting, Dorset
28 September 2024
Meeting and AGM, Derbyshire
16 November 2024
Quarter Peal Day, S Oxfordshire
Summer 2025
Summer Tour, NE Wales