Keith Muxworthy 1942-2010

Keith Muxworthy, who tragically died on February 5th 2010 of a heart attack, was a well known ringer in the Barnsley area.

He was a constant in the often changing group of ringers who make up the joint Hoylandswaine and Silkstone band.

Keith learned to ring as a teenager at Hoylandswaine and remained a stalwart member of the band until his death. He had been in charge of Hoylandswaine tower and bells for many years and was in the process of erecting a door to the bell chamber to cut out the cold wind which swirled up the steps in winter.

As a teenager Keith taught a band of young people at Hoylandswaine including Philip Charlesworth; the whole band was able to ring a plain course of Plain Bob Minor entirely by numbers. Philip recalls learning the numbers on the school bus.

Keith was an excellent striker, for many years he has been a member of our contest band as our treble ringer, and we often won, despite his grumbles that we always rang too slowly.

He loved the traditional methods of the area, only ever ringing Cartwheel, and used his artistic skills to produce suitably illustrated blue lines which adorn both Hoylandswaine and Silkstone tower. The final method he rang was Snowdrop TB, one of his favourites.

Keith was always happy to ring for weddings and other occasions and over the years has joined us on holidays and ringing trips.

He rang many quarters, usually on the treble and rang one peal in 1976 to celebrate his marriage to Rosemary. This was Plain Bob Minor and was the first peal called by Philip and also my first peal. It was rung for the Barnsley and District Society and not as is more usual for the Yorkshire Association.

At the funeral on February 18th the bells were rung half muffled to Oxford TB and to Queens, Keith’s favourite change, the local band was joined by ringers from across the district who had known Keith as a fellow ringer.

We will miss Keith in many ways, his practical skills, his company, the vegetables that he would bring from his garden and not least for his dreadful jokes, quiz questions and conundrums usually voiced as we were about to start ringing.

The local band have rung two half muffled quarters in his memory, Snowdrop TB, the last method he rang before his death and Merchant’s Return another of Keith’s favourites.

Carolyn Charlesworth
Silkstone, South Yorkshire