Sounds like you never lived next to a church that will ring their whole bell Assembly for half an hour at a time every Sunday and holiday
The clocks rings are just a extra service. The main reason churches have bells is too tell everyone to move their asses to church
Might have been a bit of a hyperbole, but I've had them go on for at least 15min when I was living near one. And especially when you want to sleep on a Sunday, it feels a lot longer