Ringing World 5149/50 (1 & 8 January 2010)
Front Cover: Fifty Years of Durham University Society of Change Ringers
by Christopher Crabtree, Robert Criddle and Stephen Croxall
Built around the shrine of St Cuthbert in the 900 year-old Cathedral, the tiny city of Durham has been a seat of learning since well before its University was officially founded in 1832. From small beginnings, when Durham Castle was used as the first College of the University, Durham has grown incredibly – today there are some 11,000 undergraduates and 3,000 postgraduates spread across the 17 colleges making up the City campus and the 1992 development in Stockton-on-Tees.
The Mystery of the Missing Bell-Ropes or
Too Many Detectives
A story for New Year by Oddstruck
New Year’s Day. A time of celebration and tradition and at St Joseph’s the tradition for the last 20 years had been to ring a peal. But it seemed that this year the tradition would come to an end. When Mike, who had been Tower captain for most of those 20 years, opened the door to the ground floor ringing room just before 11 o’clock, he immediately noticed that something was missing; in fact, six somethings. There were no bell ropes …
“Bell ringing for court appeals” – a novice writes by Ruth Holroyd, April 2009
This learner’s view of the Exercise originally appeared in the Ellesborough magazine and then the Bucks Herald in August last year. It is reproduced by kind permission.
I have entered a new world, the complex and fascinating art of Campanology, or bell ringing to the rest of us. I am learning to ring the bells at my local church, SS Peter & Paul’s in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire. My only real knowledge of bell ringing before this was the old nursery rhyme “oranges and lemons”. When you begin to find out about bell ringing this rhyme takes on new meaning. These old London bells each have their own method, this is the word we bell ringers use to describe the different tunes or sequences that the bells are rung in. St Martin’s is a popular method at Ellesborough Church.
KIDS.RING.OUT 2009
After celebrating our 5th anniversary in January our next event was a course during February half term, this was for six young ringers from four different towers to practise their ringing skills. The ringing was mainly call changes, kaleidoscope ringing and some plain hunt. Since then we have run two further courses. The first was an introduction to Bob Doubles day, the second was learning to hunt the treble to methods. It was good to see some of the students from the February course had progressed sufficiently to participate in this one which was held in October.
Letters
A short peal - David Struckett
RW 50th Anniversary ash tray - Alan Reade
Belfry enlightenment - Ashley Pugh
Lizzie’s ringing video - Benjamin Carey
Heavy Mediaeval swinging bell discovered in Lleida, Spain by Alan Blair
Construction of the old cathedral on a hill in the centre of Lleida was begun in 1203; and it was consecrated in 1278. The building was not finally completed, however, until 1416. In some books this town is called Lerida; but it is Lleida on the station nameplates and they should know. The old cathedral has not been used as a church since 1707. Possibly the people could not face the climb up the hill to Mass on Sundays. There are other churches in the town below, and a new cathedral was constructed there in 1761-1781.
Obituary
Paul Stedman George Armitage
Laneham, the earliest working bell-frame with cast iron components
During a re-appraisal of the installation at Laneham, Nottinghamshire, all by James III Harrison of Barton on Humber, Lincolnshire in 1812, it was realised that the frame contained an important historical feature.
India: where have the bells gone? by Peter Hunt, All Saints’, Thurcaston with Cropston, Leics.
We had a holiday in the north west of India last Spring and, having been given a list of queries concerning bells on the Indian Sub-Continent prepared by George Dawson, I decided to try and follow up one or two.
HSBC Bellringers’ 42nd Annual Outing – Exeter & South Devon
Following the success of their long weekend outing to Dublin in 2007, HSBC ringers headed for South Devon in 2009, making Exmouth their base for an 11-tower tour of South Devon and Exeter organised by Steve Young.
Thought for the week
Writing this in the opening week of the Copenhagen Conference on global warming, with its emphasis on our need to save energy. I find my mind flashing back to my early days of ringing, when going to work and to ringing was always on two wheels. In the course of a year I pedalled nearly 5,000 miles. I was indeed fortunate in that I could attend a practice night every weekday with village or two towers no further than three miles away.
