Peal ringing was such a rare event in those days, that it was regarded as a great feat of endurance, and held an interest for ringers and non-ringers alike. Thus the following article appeared in the St. James's Evening Post for Saturday January 23rd 1724/5:

Among the band are some notable names, of which two stand out in particular. Robert Catlin, who was only 16 at the time of this peal, was employed as a carpenter and bell-hanger to Samuel Knight, the Holborn bellfounder. His work can still be seen (the old preserved frame at St Sepulchre's, and the existing frame at Southwark), and he was to eventually to succeed to Knight's business in 1741, which he carried on until his own death in 1751.

The other name is, of course, Benjamin Annable. Annable, who was a baker and had been born near the church (all according to Trollope), may well have seen the new ring of ten bells arrive from Gloucester by barge. There is some confusion over his date of birth. From information in the Clavis it is suggested that he was born sometime between 1686 and 1696, though the commonly-held idea is that Annable was just 20 over when the twelve-bell peal was rung. This latter notion is based on some inconclusive parish records, and it is safer to assume an earlier date of birth. He joined the College Youths in 1721 when he composed and conducted a peal of 5058 Grandsire Caters at St Magnus-the-Martyr, however at the time of the Grandsire Cinques, he had not yet risen to lead the society.

Very shortly this was to change: the next three peals at St Bride's were all composed and conducted by Annable, who rang the tenor on all three occasions, and firmly established himself as an excellent heavy-bell ringer and composer. These peals were of Plain Bob Major, Royal, and Maximus, and with their completion the band had scored the first peals of Royal, Cinques, and Maximus, and the second peal of Major, all within the space of thirteen months. The ringers for each peal stood as follows:-

Under Annable's leadership peal ringing flourished. Many of these performances were rung at St. Bride's, including methods such as Double Bob Royal (1734), Double Grandsire Caters (1733) and Cinques (1738), and until 1749, the College Youths were the only society to ring peals at St Bride's whatsoever. The Eastern Scholars were the first "visiting" peal band, and rang 6072 Plain Bob Maximus in 4 hour 45 minutes, being conducted from the tenor by John Blake. The Union Scholars rang peals in 1750: Plain Bob Major on the front eight, conducted by John Holt, and 1751: 5104 Grandsire Cinques.

The contribution Annable made to shaping peal-ringing as we know it cannot be underestimated. In the field of composition Annable's fingerprints can be seen on the compositional standards used today; it was Annable who decided to make the tenors the fixed observation bells in Major and above, and his composition of Plain Bob Major is still rung today.

Benjamin Annable died on February 1st 1756, and was buried under the tower of the church; sadly his grave is unmarked today. The following appeared in an unidentified newspaper, and shows the esteem with which this great man was held:

At the time of Annable's death there was much upheaval in London ringing societies, and to be fair, Annable had had a large share in the politics: ambitions and rivalries were breaking up the old societies and new ones were being formed. This was a period of contest in ringing, and possibly did much to push the boundaries of the art. The College Youths had split into the "Ancients", who moved to St Martin-in-the-Fields, leaving the "Juniors" to practice at St Bride's, though it was not until October 19th 1761 that the Juniors rang their first peal there: 5126 Grandsire Cinques called by George Meakins. On March 21st 1763 Meakins called a peal of 6072 Double Grandsire Cinques, and that was to be the last peal on the bells for fifteen years. The next peal came at the height of a contest between the College Youths and the Cumberlands to ring the longest peal of maximus, and 5232 Treble Bob Maximus in 1777 was to temporarily give this record to the College Youths. There was even a contest between the "Ancient" and "Junior" College Youths to see who could ring the first peal of Real Double Bob Maximus (where there are calls at the lead-end and half-lead). This was won by the "Juniors" with their peal at St Bride's on March 24th 1784.

It is worth recording here that the "Ancients" had a brief period of brilliancy following the breakup and subsequent influx of the London Youths. These were led by William Jones, and had been practicing at St Bride's for some years, having rung a peal of Bob Maximus there three days after the "Junior" College Youth's record Treble Bob Maximus of 1777. These ex-London Youths joined the "Ancients" at St Martin-in-the-Fields; this period of brilliancy ended with the dissolution of the "Ancients" in 1788, but not before they had achieved the first peal of Stedman Cinques on October 6th of that year.

Following the break-up, the College Youths effectively re-merged, and activity now centered on the twelve at St Martin's-in-the-Fields. St Bride's now took the back-seat, though this is possibly more to do with the state of the bells: we know that the tower was renovated in 1796, when the peal board recording the London Scholars' 1717 Grandsire Caters was destroyed. The next peal at St Bride's was in 1798, one of 5040 Treble Bob Maximus, then it was to be forty-three years before another peal was achieved.

In 1841 the Cumberlands rang a peal of Oxford Treble Bob Maximus, and returned two years later to ring another of Stedman Cinques. In 1850 the College Youths rang a peal of Stedman Cinques which was composed and conducted by John Cox. Cox had been appointed Steeplekeeper at St Bride's by the College Youths, though when he defected to the Cumberlands, effective control of the tower went with him.
Felstead lists some 11 peals from 1881 until the end of the century:

The bells continued to be rung until around 1911, when almost all activity ceased. In the years following the First World War, no interest was revived in the bells, and an Ellacombe was installed in 1923. It was to be over ten years before any further ringing was to take place. An article from The Ringing World of 1936 (p741) describes how the ringers had "...the now rare opportunity of ringing these famous bells for service.". The article went on to say: "The excuse [for not ringing] is that they are in the heart of London's newspaper land. But the heart of London's newspaper land does not throb on Sunday mornings. Even if it has begun to beat again by the evening - well there may be some newspaper men who would not be any the worse for a reminder of the things for which the Church stands." A sentiment still echoed today.

The interest in the bells had been revived by the Cumberlands, who had literally dug the bells out of guano. During the 1930s the bells were rung infrequently, but ringing was established on notable occasions such as the 1935 Silver Jubilee, every Lord Mayor's Day, the 1936 Central Council Meeting, and the 1937 Coronation. Between each occasion the ropes were removed to prevent their rapid deteriation: the tower was evidently filthy inside, and the bells somewhat open to the elements. The ringing-chamber was dimly lit by a single 40 watt bulb, scarcely illuminating the large ancient peal boards that hung as testament to the history made in this tower. It seems that they were last rung in 1938; the onset of war silenced, and ultimately claimed the bells during an air raid which destroyed the church on the night of December 29th 1940.

Surprisingly few of the war-time London ringers ever rang on the bells. Jim Prior once explained to the author that he had never rung there as the bells were considered to be a "rough old lot, and not very good". He went on to say that pre-war London was overflowing with such rings, and the ringers at this time were indifferent to the bells; they had more than enough other towers at which to ring. It is only since the bells have been lost that their true value is realised.

What followed after the war may at best be described as an unfortunate turn of circumstance. Though there was a definite intention to replace the twelve, somehow the plans never came to fruition. Instead an electronic 25-note Compton "carillon" machine was purchased, adding final insult to historic injury. During the reconstruction of the tower concrete floors were cast, and a frame layout was drafted by Mears & Stainbank to position the twelve rope holes that were cast into the ringing chamber ceiling. Taylors later became involved in the project and eventually cast a 15cwt bell, designed to be the 10th in a new ring with a tenor of 28cwt in D. This bell, inscribed "Curfew", and with inscriptions also taken from some of the lost bells, now hangs in a single low-sided frame with full-circle fittings (even marked as number 10) in an otherwise empty bell chamber. The massive louver-windows have been bricked up, save for small openings, as a precursor to full variable sound control facilities.

In the 1980s the electronic "carillon", much-loathed by Fleet Street, ceased to work and was replaced by the tape-recording of bells that bears at least some passing resemblance to change-ringing. It is just to be hoped that one day this, the scene of Benjamin Annable's triumphs and the true home of peal ringing, can once more hold a ring of bells that may be considered one of the greatest novelties of the day, and the tower be restored to its rightful place at the forefront of the exercise.