| Where: | Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire at St Mary Magdalene Church on Church Walk |
| When: | Sundays in October and November |
| Time: | 4pm-5pm (formerly 5-6 when Evensong started at 6pm) |
A handful of traditional UK customs relate to thanksgiving after a lucky escape, and the ringing of the Gopher Bell at Newark is one of them. Legend states that Flemish merchant Gopher lost his way over 300 years ago on a dark winter night; he prayed for deliverance and immediately heard the bells of St Mary Magdalene Church ringing in the distance. He followed their sound to safety and set up a charity for the bellringers to ring a peal to help other travellers in perpetuity and nowadays the Gopher Bells are rung on six consecutive Sundays before evensong in October and November, usually starting on the 12th Sunday before Christmas.
Helpful Hints
In 2025 the first day the Gopher Bell should ring will be October 5th and the last November 9th (to be confirmed) and as evensong is now at 5pm instead of 6pm, the bells will ring from 4pm until 5pm (also to be confirmed). I’d advise checking directly if you intend to go.
In 2017 the first day the Gopher Bell rang was October 1st and the last November 5th (this was a week earlier than usual, and was because of the way the days of the week fell, with Christmas Eve being a Sunday).
The Church is also host to the Penny Loaf sermon (see separate post for details).
Click here for the church website: https://stmnewark.org/
and Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/NewarkParishChurch
Click here for more info : http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/newark-st-mary/hintro.php
Click here for church contacts: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/newark-st-mary-magdalene/
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