Watch: The bells ring out in Shrewsbury for a-pealing competition
The saying "for whom the bell tolls" took on a different meaning when the cream of Britain's bellringers gathered in Shrewsbury.
St Chad's Church hosted an eliminator round for the National 12 Bell Ringing Competition.
Jacqueline Barden, secretary of the Shrewsbury Bellringers, said: "The competition is run every year and they have to find 12-bell towers.
"We were approached at the end of 2013 and when asked if we would host one of the eliminators we agreed. There is quite a lot of work involved.
"There are usually seven or eight teams and each team has 12 members. They usually bring friends and family along.
"We were running bacon butties, tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits. They seemed to have a very enjoyable day."
The contest took place on Saturday, with seven teams ringing between 11am and about 3.30pm.
"Some of those who have never been to the church before said how beautiful it was," said Ms Barden.
"We did have people come into church who were interested in what was going on.
"We have one of the finest rings of 12 in the country. The bells are nice to handle and they sound wonderful."
The competition is regarded as the most prestigious of the bellringing calendar.
It is over a decade since it last came to Shrewsbury.
A team from Birmingham came first in Saturday's eliminator, followed by teams from Cambridge, Exeter, York, University of London, Stockton-on-Tees, and Reading.
The 2015 final will take place on June 27 at St Peter's Mancroft, Norwich.
