Six Bells

Six Bells is a term with multiple meanings, most commonly referring to:

• Maritime Timekeeping: In nautical terminology, "Six Bells" refers to a specific time in a ship's watch system. Ships at sea traditionally operated on a system of watches, typically four hours in duration. Bells were rung to mark the half-hours. "Six Bells" signifies three hours into a watch. For example, in the 4-8 watch, Six Bells would be rung at 7:00 am or 7:00 pm. The number of bells rung would increase incrementally every half hour, starting with one bell at the first half hour and ending with eight bells at the end of the watch (indicating its end and the changing of the watch).

• A Public House Name: "Six Bells" is a relatively common name for pubs (public houses) in the United Kingdom. The origin of the name may be related to the maritime timekeeping aspect, representing a link to seafaring or a local church with six bells in its belfry. Alternatively, it might simply be a traditional or historical name with no specific symbolic origin.

• Change Ringing: In change ringing (also known as campanology, the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a controlled sequence to produce musical variations), the term "Six Bells" can refer to a specific method, piece of music, or the ensemble of six bells itself that are used to perform the change ringing.