, where a curfew bell is still rung at 8 pm every evening. The custom of ringing the curfew bell continued in many British towns and cities, especially in the
north of England, well into the 19th century, although by then it had ceased to have any legal status. The tradition is still practised in the town of
Sandwich, Kent, where a curfew bell known as the "Pig Bell" at
St Peter's Church is rung at 8 pm every evening for ten minutes. At
Ruthin in
Denbighshire, the custom lapsed in the 1970s but was revived in 2020 after the bells of
St Peter's Church were restored.
Inverness, Scotland rang a curfew bell at 5 p.m. from
Old High St Stephen's; it was later moved to 8 p.m. The custom was once widespread in Scotland.
Ruthin, Wales had a curfew bell at 8 p.m. to warn all citizens to be indoors at night. In Ireland,
Coleraine had a curfew bell at 8 p.m., after which all country-dwellers (mostly
Irish Catholics) had to be outside the
city walls. Similarly, in the
Penal era (up to the 18th century),
St. Eugene's Cathedral, Derry rang a curfew bell at 9 p.m. after which Catholics had to be outside the city walls. ==Etymology==