The Queen's visit to Cambridge in April 2011.

THE church bells at Great St Mary’s in Cambridge heralded the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.

The ceremony held at the university church today (Monday) was attended by the Mayor of Cambridge Cllr Ian Nimmo-Smith and the university’s deputy vice-chancellor, master of Magdalene College Duncan Robinson as a symbolic gesture to mark Her Majesty’s diamond jubilee by both the city and Cambridge University.

With Union Jacks flying from Great St Mary’s and university buildings, two peals of bells could be heard across the city at lunchtime.

In the church’s ringing room the university bellringer Dr Frank King told a small gathering the tradition of the annual bellringing on February 6 - marking both the death of King George VI and accession of Queen Elizabeth II.

Dr King, who remembers the headmaster of his school coming into the classroom to announce the King’s death, said in 1952 bellringers rang a muffled peal on February 6 to mark the death of King George VI.

And as Cambridge is a city where a proclamation was made on the steps of the Senate House on February 8, 1952 announcing the Queen’s accession to the throne, there was further ringing at Great St Mary’s to mark the occasion.

Dr King said: “Cambridge is a proclamation place to make sure the message is spread around the country according to tradition.

“We ring on the anniversary date of the King’s death and the Queen’s accession to the throne every year as a celebration of the Queen’s reign with this year being special as it’s the 60th anniversary.”

In the year of the diamond jubilee, staff at Addenbrooke’s are remembering the Queen’s visit to, what was then, it’s new hospital site in Hills Road 50 years ago on May 28, 1962.