Bell ringers share grim tale behind Devil's Knell

Ronalda and Derek Johnstone have been involved in bell ringing at Dewsbury Minster since 2008

On Christmas Eve, Black Tom - a bell at Dewsbury Minster - will be rung 2,024 times as part of a centuries-old tradition.

The Devil's Knell recalls the gruesome story of a knight who murdered a young boy.

The BBC met the bell ringers involved, and learned the less-than-festive tale that inspired the tradition.

Dewsbury Minster tower captain Derek Johnstone has taken part in the Devil's Knell since 2008.

He leads a team of bell ringers who ensure Black Tom rings in Christmas Day, starting at 22:00 GMT on 24 December and ringing 100 tolls each into the night.

The tradition comes from the story of 15th-Century lord Sir Thomas de Soothill, after whom the bell was named.

Mr Johnstone's wife Ronalda, a former member of the bell-ringing team, explains the story.

"In 1434 Sir Thomas de Soothill flew into a rage with his servant boy because he hadn't been to church, so he threw him in the lake. Unfortunately he died.

"So, the knight decided he had to be penitent and donated a bell to the local church with the instructions it was to be rung on Christmas Eve the number of blows of that year.

"So every year it increases by one and it has to finish on the stroke of midnight."

Black Tom was remade in 1875 but still contains some metal from the 1434 bell

Mr Johnstone says he believes the bell has been rung every year since at least 1888 – barring a pause during World War One.

Performing the Devil's Knell creates two challenges for the bell ringers - speed and longevity.

They take it in turns to ring 100 times, meeting targets set by Mr Johnstone who has carefully created charts.

He says: "Throughout the years there has been several ways of recording this.

"One was a chart which has each year as a number on it in blocks of 100 and somebody's crossed off each year as they went along.

"We then have the 100s system where each person has counted their own 100 with an adjudicator alongside them to make sure they didn't miss any and then they've signed off each 100 on a sheet.

"And then finally we've got to an electronic version where I've got an electronic counter on a wheel and a display which keeps a record of exactly where we are on the count."

'Stressful task'

Mrs Johnstone - who now knits bells rather than rings them - says the tight schedules can be anxiety inducing.

"Being the person who rings Black Tom at the end is stressful because you've got to make sure the bell stops.

"This is not easy to do because different members of the team ring and they have to try to ring it at a certain speed.

"It's the heaviest bell and it's supposed to be rung at a funeral pace."

The sound of Black Tom on Christmas Eve can be heard across Dewsbury and up to two miles away, says Mr Johnstone.

It's popular with local residents who sometimes pop in to hear what all the fuss is about - and discover Sir Thomas's terrible story.

In 1986, the Royal Mail created a series of Christmas stamps showing heritage traditions, with the Devil's Knell featuring on one of the stamps.

Ronalda Johnstone turned her talents from bell ringing to knitting

Black Tom is a tenor bell - the lowest pitch of the eight at Dewsbury Minster.

It is is 4ft (1.2m) in diameter and still contains metal from the original bell donated by Sir Thomas.

Mr Johnstone says: "Between 1434 and 1725 we think there was only one bell on the outside of the church which was rung and that was the original Black Tom.

"It was melted down in 1725 to build a ring of six bells in this tower and then subsequently in 1875 those six bells were melted down again to make those eight bells. So the original metal is still in our tower."

All the bells at the minster have inscriptions on them. But Black Tom's is the most mysterious.

Its inscription reads: "I shall be here if treated just when they are mouldering in the dust."

Despite having rung for nearly 600 Christmas Eves, Mrs Johnstone says Black Tom has more ringing to do.

"Has Sir Thomas had his penance? Certainly not, it's got to keep going," she says.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.