Information for Visiting Ringers

Towers with bells in Docklands and the surrounding area:

St James, Bermondsey 8 Bells, Tenor 14-1-15 in F#
 St Giles, Camberwell10 Bells, Tenor 23-2-12 in D
 St Alfege, Greenwich10 Bells, Tenor 23-2-14 in D
Christchurch, Isle of Dogs 8 Bells, Tenor 10-3-27 in F# St Anne, Limehouse10 Bells, Tenor 12-3-25 in E St Peter, Walworth 8 Bells, Tenor 3-3-20 in Eb
All Saints, Poplar10 Bells, Tenor 23-3-6 in D
 St Mary, Rotherhithe 8 Bells, Tenor 10-2-25 in A
 St Dunstan, Stepney10 Bells, Tenor 28-3-0 in C#
St Mary’s, Lewisham 8 Bells, Tenor 21-1-14 in E♭St Mary Lewisham
 St John’s, Waterloo 8 Bells, Tenor 17-3-00StJohnsWaterloo

Click on the appropriate tower to find out more

Useful information for outing organisers

(we advise organisers to check the information provided, no responsibility is accepted)

Getting about

Parking at weekends isn’t generally a problem, but see notes against specific towers.

Public Transport is very good, especially now that the Docklands Light Railway extension to Woolwich is open, and the East London Line has reopened as London Overground. Note that the Jubilee Line is sometimes partially closed at week-ends for upgrade work.

For group travel we recommend a Travelcard. For information on Travelcards etc see the London Transport website.

Towers

Bermondsey

  • A good modern ring which goes very well. No parking restrictions at night or weekends. Not much nearby to interest non-ringers.
  • There is a dumb-bell and simulator in a room on the staircase up to the ringing room.
  • Bermondsey on the Jubilee Line is less than 5 minutes walk.

Bow, St Mary-atte-Bow

  • A good ground floor eight. Parking can be difficult and needs to be in nearby side streets.
  • Nearest station Bow DLR

Deptford, St John

  • A medium weight eight which were very popular for peals. Take a little ringing.
  • Elverson Road DLR is 5 minutes walk

Greenwich, St Alfege

  • The front nine are 1950’s and the ten go reasonably well.
  • Plenty for non-ringers to see and do in Greenwich town centre, and nearby.

Hart Street, St Olave

  • A good eight tucked behind office blocks in the City, close to Tower Bridge and the tower of London
  • Parking restrictions apply till 1.30pm on Saturdays
  • Tower Gateway DLR is about 5 minutes walk. Tower Hill on the District and Circle lines is 3 minutes walk.

Isle of Dogs, Christchurch

  • An old style eight, retuned and rehung in 1992. They go very well and sound nice.
  • The place where the first ever peal by an ‘all-ladies’ band was rung. There is a large tablet in the ringing room to record this
  • Nearby is Island Gardens with excellent views across to Greenwich. There is also a foot tunnel to Greenwich

Lewisham, St Mary

  • A good eight at the Southern end of the town centre. Traffic can be busy so allow plenty of time
  • Lewisham DLR is at the Northern end of the town, so is a short bus ride away.

Limehouse, St Anne

  • An old-style ring from St Peter Walworth, completely retuned and hung at St Anne’s in 1997. They sound very good and go very well, and there is a spacious ringing room.
  • Westferry DLR is about 5 minutes walk
  • The Church is very historic and there is a pleasant walk through Ropemakers Fields to the pubs in Narrow Street. We recommend the Grapes which has a Dickensian atmosphere and good food and beer. There are also good views across the river from the balcony. They don’t normally serve food on Saturdays, but there is a splendid upstairs dining room, full of character, which may be available for hire. Sunday lunch there is excellent

Poplar, All Saints

  • A good old-style ten. Not perhaps the easiest of bells for an inexperienced band to ring.
  • Nearest station All saints DLR

Rotherhithe, St Mary

  • A mixture of old and new bells, rehung in 1997. They go very well and the ringing room is full of character
  • Rotherhithe on the East London Line / London Overground is 5 minutes walk
  • The Mayflower  has an old world atmosphere and good food and beer. There are also good views across the river from the balcony. They serve food downstairs and there is a splendid upstairs dining room, full of character, which could accommodate a group of about 30 or so

Stepney, St George-in-the-East

  • A good light modern ring which go very well. Some parking restrictions at and weekends. Not much nearby to interest non-ringers.
  • Shadwell DLR is about 5 minutes walk.

Stepney, St Dunstan

  • A very good old-style ten, retuned and re-hung in the 1950’s. Not the easiest bells for an inexperienced band to ring.
  • An Abel simulator is attached to 8 of the 10 bells for tied-bell practices.
  • Limehouse DLR / C2C  is about 6 minutes walk

Waterloo Road, St John

  • An old-style eight, retuned and rehung in 1998. They go very well.
  • Waterloo BR and Jubilee Line is 3 minutes walk.