Meet the Yorkshire bellringers who pealed for nearly four hours to mark an historic rivalry

As last week marked the 200th anniversary of Wakefield's triumph, with the first ever peal of Cambridge Surprise Royal, bells rang in tribute once more.It took volunteers some 5,400 changes to mark this moment in history. But peal they did, for a gruelling three hours and 53 minutes in almost perfect harmony.To Mr Moreton, he is often reminded of the efforts of Tebbs' team by a plaque bearing their names that now hangs on the tower wall."The anniversary marks an important milestone," he said. "This was the first time the Cambridge Surprise Royal had been rung anywhere."I've had this date etched in my brain for 25 years," he added. "That plaque is there, as a reminder, every time I ring."My father was here at Wakefield, before me. He often said he regretted missing the 150th anniversary. We planned this for a year."The word Royal in the peal name means 10 bells. On eight it would be a Minor, 12 would be Maximus. It's the word 'Surprise' that gives a hint at how hard this might have been.Back in 1822, playing a Cambridge Surprise on 10 bells was unheard of."Nobody had rung anything like this before," said Mr Moreton. "They were way ahead of their time - they were trailblazers."It started with a rivalry, between bellringers in Wakefield and Huddersfield. The latter had rung the peal in minor - with eight bells - in 1820.So Wakefield set its heart on 10 bells, on October 26 1822, to better them once more."The rivalries in those days were quite intense," conceded Mr Moreton. "It might have been the end of it but, having pushed the boundaries, nobody else did it for another 70 years."These days Cambridge Surprise Royal, as a peal, is more common. Technology means it's fairly simple to compose - compared to 1822 when it would have been pen and paper.The anniversary was marked in Scotland, in Derbyshire and in Suffolk, on October 26.And in the tower at Wakefield, using the original composition of conductor William Woodhead some two centuries ago.The cathedral has 14 bells, with the heaviest cast in 1947 at nearly 1,800kg. The smallest is a quarter tonne. But while that is a lot of heavy metal "hanging over your head", said Mr Moreton, it isn't physically taxing - the training comes into its own with timing."This is non-stop, we don't get a break every hour," said Mr Moreton. "We just have to keep going. And following a pattern, if you fall off, it all collapses."That's what ringing is. Working with a team, practicing the best you can."For most of them, it's more changes than they've ever done. It was a long time. And that showed - we were slow to start but then it isn't sensible to run out of steam."As to the why, Mr Moreton keeps coming back to that plaque, replaced 25 years ago, and the names of the 10 men who managed this astonishing feat two centuries ago.This time, the tables were turned. Eight bell ringers were borrowed from Leeds, while there were two from Wakefield.But for bell ringing, this is a moment in history marked for the peal of Cambridge Surprise Royal, heard for the first time 200 years ago in Wakefield."Bell ringing is very English," said Mr Moreton. "It's not a worldwide thing - there are 6,000 churches with bells in the world and 5,400 of them are in England.”