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For three centuries, the peal has been the “gold standard” ringing performance and ringing peals has ranked high among the aspirations of leading ringers. The records of peals are more complete than for any other ringing, making them an important indicator of ringing activity.
Peal ringing grew erratically during the 18th and early 19th centuries and then grew much more strongly from the 1870s, rising more or less continually to the current level of around 5,000 peals per year (apart from wartime dips). The first person to ring 1,000 peals did so in 1905, since when increasing numbers of ringers have done so, with some going on to ring 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 and even 7,000.
Bill Butler was a consultant to the Biographies Committee, and researched the lives of ringers who have rung 1,000 or more peals. His articles have been published progressively in The Ringing World. Those listed below have already been published – more will follow.
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