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For other uses, see Peal (disambiguation).
Peal board in St Michael and All Angels' church, Penkridge, Staffordshire,
recording the first peal on the new bells in 1832

In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type
of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for
duration, complexity and quality.

The definition of a peal has changed considerably over the years and its
standardisation was one of the motivating factors in the formation of the Central
Council of Church Bell Ringers in 1891.[1] Currently, for a performance to be
recognised as a peal by the Central Council it must consist of sufficient numerical
sequences, or "changes" (at least 5040 changes on up to seven working bells or 5000
changes on higher numbers), meet a number of other criteria (collectively referred
to as the decisions), and be published in The Ringing World.

On typical tower bells a peal takes around three hours to ring; the time depends on
several factors including the number of changes and the weight of the bells, which
affects the speed of ringing.

In addition to ordinary peals, ringers often ring quarter-peals, which are a

quarter of the length of a full peal, making them easier to ring as most quarter-
peals take around 45 minutes to complete.

A ring of English-style full-circle bells is sometimes referred to as a peal of

bells.
Contents

1 Historic meaning
2 Relationship of extents and peals
3 Modern peal standards
3.1 Challenges in ringing a peal
4 Popularity of 10-bell methods
5 Long-length peals
6 Raising and lowering in peal
7 Quarter peal
8 Records of peals
9 References
10 External links

Historic meaning
A peal board recording the details of a long length peal.
Multiple peals on two boards

Originally a peal referred to a sequence of changes of any length, now often

referred to as a touch. A touch being more than a plain course, but not a quarter
or full peal. However, the original meaning is still in use today in call-change
ringing. The most famous and frequently rung call-change peal, associated with the
Devon Association of ringers, is named 60 on 3rds.

Following the invention of the ringing method known as Grandsire Doubles, the term
peal or "full peal" was applied to the ringing of sequences including each possible
permutation of the set of bells exactly once. On five bells (Doubles), there are
120 permutations taking about four minutes to ring on tower bells. This is arrived
at by the calculation 1 � 2 � 3 � 4 � 5 = 5! = 120 unique permutations. These
figures rapidly increase as more bells are added.
With the standardisation of the term "peal", ringing all possible permutations is
referred to as the "extent". For seven bells the extent is 7! = 5040 changes and is
thus synonymous with a peal. For lower numbers of bells several extents are rung to
make up the number of changes in a peal. For larger numbers of bells a peal is a
subset of the extent.

The extent on eight bells comprises 40,320 changes, and would be referred to today
as a long-length peal. Despite this, it has been successfully rung as a continuous
performance both on tower and on hand bells, 17 hours in duration on tower bells.
Relationship of extents and peals
Changing Bells Stage name Unique changes possible (extent)
5 Doubles 120 (42 extents = peal)
6 Minor 720 (7 extents = peal)
7 Triples 5040 (1 extent = peal)
8 Major 40320 (8 peals = extent)
Modern peal standards

Method ringing peals today consist of a minimum length of between 5000 and 5280
changes, or permutations, depending on the method, and the number of bells.

The first method ringing peal in this modern sense took place at St Peter Mancroft
Church in Norwich, in 1715, and was in the method "Grandsire Bob Triples", which is
equivalent to the modern Plain Bob Triples.[2] This is the earliest known record of
a "full peal" which was "true" � that is, did not have any repeated changes � and
was over 5,000 changes.[3]

There is a long list of rules which been developed since 1890. To be classified as
a peal, a performance must be in accordances with rules and decisions of the
Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, allowing them to be recorded in that
organisation�s peal records. They must also be published in The Ringing World. The
Central Council has two committees which are arbiters of the standards that peals
must achieve:

Methods committee
Peal records committee

Some key conditions required for all peals are:[4]

A peal shall start and end with rounds (bells sounding in numerical, ascending
order), and shall be rung without interval.
No row shall be struck more than once before the next change is made.
Every bell must sound at every row throughout the peal.
Each bell must be rung continuously by the same person or persons.
For handbells the bells shall be retained in hand.
For tower bells the bells shall be audible outside the building in which they
are contained.
No assistance of any kind shall be given to any ringer by any person not
ringing in the peal.
The use of physical aids to memory in conducting and ringing is not permitted.
No error in calling shall be corrected later than during the change at which
the call or change of method or non-method block would properly take effect.
Any shift or error in ringing shall be corrected immediately.

Challenges in ringing a peal

Peals on tower bells can take anywhere from two and a half to over four hours to
ring, depending on the weight of the bells. Handbell peals are shorter for
equivalent changes. They are both a physical and mental challenge, as concentration
has to be maintained for a long period of time, and each individual ringer has to
ring their bell without a break, and depending on ringing style and bell weight can
cause physical tiredness.

Composition of peals is a specialised and highly complicated area of change

ringing, as it involves composing a peal according to the rules. The "Conductor" of
the peal has to:

Control and ring their own bell in the correct sequence

Correct other ringers if they go wrong
Call the "bobs" and "singles" which are the "composition" � the equivalent of a
musical score � that ensures the correct changes are rung in the correct sequence.

A peal can fail at any point if there is a mix-up of bells which cannot be put
right; this can happen only minutes from the end.
Popularity of 10-bell methods

According to the best available knowledge in 2017, 6,929 peals of Grandsire Caters
(on 10 bells) were rung in the 300 years following 11 January 1711. Grandsire
Caters was the leading 10-bell method in each decade from 1711 to 1890, but Stedman
Caters has proved more popular recently and on 9 July 2010 its cumulative peal
total from 1711 pulled ahead of the running Grandsire total.[5]