| Where: | Canterbury, Kent at the Bell Harry Tower of the Cathedral |
| When: | Daily |
| Time: | Before Morning services and at 8.55pm |
The Bell Harry Tower at Canterbury was completed in 1498 and was named after Prior Henry of Eastry who donated the first bell for it. The bell is now mechanised and it rings before the services and for the night-time curfew. Curfews were commonly rung throughout the country to remind people to cover up their fires and get to bed – a few places still retain the custom and Canterbury is one of these select few.
Helpful Hints
The curfew bell still usually rings – though sometimes repair work may affect its regularity. In August 2022 the set time was 9 pm -I’d advise checking if you plan to go specially to hear it.
Click here for the Cathedral website: https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org
Click here for more: https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/whats-on/news/2022/08/05/free-evening-entry-to-cathedral-precincts/
View this location on the map.
How sad that this lovely tradition has stopped! It makes me so angry, let the people of canterbury decide.
I don’t know if it’s just stopped temporarily or whether it’s permanent, but I thought it worth letting people know that it might not be happening again. It’s very difficult to get hold of anyone who actually knows about it at the Cathedral, probably because it’s such a big organisation, so if you hear any news of it starting up please let me know! We live a long way off so don’t get there very often to test if it starts again – hope it does one day.
I live in Canterbury and can absolutely assure you for the curfew bell goes off every evening.
In fact, as I write this post I am listening to the great Bell Harry chiming.
Well that’s very welcome news- thank you for sharing! I expect we were unlucky with it when the repair work was being carried out. I’m pleased to hear it’s continuing.