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Bell Ringing The peal of five bells at St John the Baptist were finally brought back into service for Evensong during the summer of 1948. I was one of the five bell ringers, the only other person I can remember was Ben Webster. Initially the bells were only rung in rounds; that is; they were rung one after the other only because we were still learning. The leader of the ringers was known as "The Conductor" (we called him the foreman) and usually rang the number five or tenor bell, I started with number one, the treble bell which was the smallest and lightest weighing approximately 1cwt. When I had proved that I could ring the bell properly I was given the number three, which weighed just over five cwt. which I retained until we left in 1951.
Bell Weight Note Diameter Cast Founder 1 approx. 1 cwt. E 27.13" 1744 Thomas I Eayre 2 approx. 2.5 cwt. D 27.63" 1727 Henry Penn 3 just over 5 cwt. C# 29.75" 1818 Robert Taylor 4 7cwt. B 32.75" 1818 Robert Taylor 5 8cwt. A 37.25" 1727 Henry Penn
We were arranged in a semi-circle so that we could see “the Conductor" and each other. After about three months he started to teach us how to ring changes, so that instead of ringing in sequence i.e.12345, we started to change the order in which each bell was rung i.e. 13425, 14325, 15432, 54321. He started by calling the number of the bell that was to be rung, then graduated to writing the move order in chalk on a blackboard that we could all see.
In 1949 we were given a "Bell Ringers" handbook, and when I first saw it I thought it was a code. Rows and rows of numbers with headings such as "Kent Trebles", "Bob Doubles", or "Plain Bob Minor", these were the formal names of changes that bell ringers learnt. We would practice on a Friday night for two hours from 7.00 to 9.00 pm. and for Sunday services we would ring for an hour up to five minutes before the service began, at which stage the five minute bell, which was always the treble, was rung.
An interesting thing about changes with five bells is that the sequence 14235 is called weasels because it is the tune to Pop Goes the Weasel. We must have been reasonably good because we were invited to ring the bells at Hargave, which we did once a month for matins. Though the only way we could get to Hargrave or Higham Ferrers to ring the bells was to cycle.
When we rung for funerals we would peal with muffled bells, felt pads were tied around the clapper so that you had a dull resonance instead of a clear note when the hammer hit the inside of the bell.
In 1949 Higham Ferrers had their eight bells recast and we were honoured with an invitation to participate in their rededication. When they were rehung the wooden trunnions were replaced with ball bearings which made for much smoother movement of the bell.
The outstanding event of the year was New Years Eve when we would ring for an hour before midnight, to ring out the old year, pause for a minute before and after midnight was struck by the clock, and then ring for an hour after to ring in the new year.
One incident that has always stuck in my mind was the night the vicar came to bell ringing practice, he had never rung before and asked if he could have a go. The foreman gave him number two to try, explaining that you stood with your feet only slightly apart with the bell rope directly in front of your body. He was told to pull downwards on the rope and not to push it away from his body, being a rather portly gentleman he extended his arms too far out from his body; I don't know exactly what happened but the next minute the rope had gone around his body and the swing of the bell lifted him off the floor by about three feet and dumped him on the floor on it's next swing. Fortunately no physical harm was done only dented his pride, needless to say he never came back again. |
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Bell Ringing 1948-51 |
