A church in Cockermouth will welcome visitors for an open day this weekend, with some lucky guests earning a job by the end of the day.

All Saints Church usually run church bell tower tours on Wednesday evenings and on Saturday they will be opening their doors to allow visitors to see how the bells are rung.

One of the church’s bellringers, Diana Green, is looking forward to welcoming guests at the weekend.

When asked what people can expect from the day, Mrs Green said: “We are going to have displays as well as people providing talks about the bells. We will also allow people to walk up our 44-step spiral staircase to have a trial with handbell ringing, where they will be accompanied by our four ringers.”

Discussing the history of bell ringing, Mrs Green said: “It is a traditional English skill that has been developed for around 400 years, it is part of our heritage.”

The pandemic has unfortunately affected the church, as some ringers passed away from Covid while others decided to give up due to their age.

With this, the church are looking for new bell ringers. Diana explained: “We are hoping to have 14 ringers at both All Saints and our sister church St Bridget’s in Bridekirk.

"It is a test of someone’s physical and mental abilities, both from walking up the stairs to the ringing room as well as learning the pattern in which we ring the bells, we do not read from music sheets.

"It is a very rewarding job however, and one fitness guru identified that it helps both a person’s social and mental wellbeing.”

Entrance is free with the church being open from 10am-4pm.