West Berkshire’s youngest bellringer rings for the King on Coronation Day in Hampstead Norreys

Church and cathedral bells rang throughout the nation to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.

And part of the bell team at St Mary the Virgin Church in Hampstead Norreys was Thomas Craig.

At 10 years old, Thomas is believed to be the youngest bellringer in the county.

Most people learn to ring at 12 years old, explained local bellringer, Tessa Allum.

But Thomas has been training every Tuesday for almost two months since his tenth birthday.

“He is the youngest we have,” said Mrs Allum. “He absolutely loves it.

“It can take quite a few sessions just to learn how to ring and control a bell.”

Not only has Thomas already mastered this feat, but he also had the privilege of joining the team of bellringers who helped mark that special day.

The team began ringing at 10.15am. The whole experience lasted 20 minutes, and Thomas’ parents, sister and other spectators were all there to support him.

“It was really, really fun,” said Thomas. “I felt kind of honoured in a way because I was actually there ringing for the King. It’s not like you can do that any day. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

He said he now plans to take this week off to recover.

“When you’re doing it continuously more than once per week, it gets you really tired”, he added.

But he says he will be straight back at it again next week.

Besides being curious to learn the technique, Thomas credits his grandfather, who helped to restore the church bells in 2020, with inspiring him to pursue bellringing as a hobby.

“It was lovely,” said Thomas’ mother, Jo Craig. “A few people came down to watch and listen.

“It was really nice, and they all made a big fuss of Thomas.”

And does Thomas plan to continue with bellringing?

“100 per cent yes,” was his answer.