The Minster bell ringers took their skills to Devon for their annual outing on Saturday with ringing at six churches. An early start was made at St Nicholas Sidmouth where the ten melodious bells cast by the Taylor bellfoundry in 1972 were rung well. Following ringing the nearby cake shop offered a tasty allure.
The centrepiece of the day was Exeter Cathedral which like the Minster has twelve bells although Exeter’s are heavier providing a deeper tone, the largest bell, the tenor, weighing 72 cwt.
Visits followed to St Mark’s Exeter (10 bells), Ottery St Mary (8) one of its famous sons being Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sidbury (8) and finally Axminster which has ten bells that are untypically loud in the ringing chamber.
Most of the 24 Minster ringers rounded off the day with dinner near Axminster and on Sunday morning were back in action on the Minster ropes for pre Eucharist ringing – and later for Evensong ringing.
Videos of ringing at Sidmouth and Axminster and in the ringing chamber at Exeter Cathedral.
A peal of 5009 Stedman Cinques was rung on Easter Monday by the Wimborne Minster Society of Church Bellringers. All the members taking part in the peal are regular Sunday service ringers at the Minster which demonstrates the current strength of the local band. The peal was enjoyed by those participating and, we hope by those listening outside. Bellboard records would indicate that three other peals of Stedman Cinques were rung on Easter Monday at St Paul’s Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral and Great St Mary’s Cambridge (10300 changes) so we were in illustrious company!
It wasn’t an auspicious start, as a cloud burst followed us all the way up the M3, but the sun was shining by the time we reached our first stop at Aston Clinton. Unfortunately the attempt at a peal of Cambridge Royal came to end after 40 minutes, though given the temperature and lack of air in the ringing chamber it might have been a blessing in disguise. But we did achieve a quarter peal of Cambridge Major before our lunch stop at The Oak, where they just managed to squeeze 10 of us in before the locals filled the restaurant. Note for future visits: one main course is enough to feed at least 2 people; good beer, whatever it was. We were joined by two Wingrave ringers, a friend of Alan and his son, Alan’s god-son, who stayed as reinforcements for the rest of the tour, giving welcome support.
The Heath Inn greeted us in the afternoon: tea for those who now joined us from Wimborne, a brisk walk along the Grand Union Canal for some, a short stroll to the Globe Inn for others. Some pleasant ringing at Great Brickhill (8) preceded dinner, after which it was an early retirement for those who had neither the stamina nor the skill for handbell ringing, though there weren’t many other guests around to appreciate the musical entertainment they were offered.
Ringing at Aston Clinton on Saturday morning
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and after a modest breakfast we enjoyed the bells of Leighton Buzzard (12), Wingrave (8) and, again, Aston Clinton (still 10), surrounded the while in the ringing chamber walls by echoes of the ghosts of Bentley past.
All Saints Leighton Buzzard
The Oak again for lunch, followed by exciting cross country journeys to Wendover (8), where a striking competition between a ladies’ 8 and a men’s 8 was won hands(troke) down by the ladies; and Bledlow (8), where a practice for the Salisbury Guild 8-bell striking competition was severely hampered by the 6th being raised back way. But in case we were still hungry (or just plain giving in to temptation) the locals were offering tea and cakes aplenty.
Our final tower was High Wycombe (12), where a delay in finding a key enabled us to enjoy watching the various uses to which the churchyard could be put by the locals. Sadly no red kites but back to the M3 and safely home after an excellently organised tour, thanks to Alan and Kathy.
The video below is of the Wimborne ringers performing a course of Grandsire Caters at the Guild Festival Service in St.Peter’s Church Dorchester last Saturday. At the AGM, Ben Avery received a certificate from the President as he was the East Dorset nominee for the Young Ringer of the Year Award.
Ringing for the late Queen Elizabeth II at Wimborne Minster
21st April 1926 – 8th September 2022
Wimborne Minster has a long history of royal connections. Edward the Confessor founded a college of canons to live and worship here in 1043 (some twenty years before he founded Westminster Abbey), and in 1318 Edward II declared the Minster a Royal Peculiar. Later, in 1562 Queen Elizabeth I appointed twelve Governors to be responsible for the property and prerogatives of the Minster and Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School – a role they continue to exercise today.
As the news broke on the evening of Thursday 8th September that Her Majesty had died in Balmoral Castle, the Minster bellringers reacted quickly, fitting a double set of muffles to the top 11 bells, and a single muffle to the hand stroke side of the tenor clapper. A band was hastily arranged to ring at 11.00am the following morning (as decreed by Operation London Bridge). A sombre quarter peal of Stedman Triples on the back eight was rung whilst a short service of Remembrance was held in the Minster.
Friday, 9 September in 52 minutes
1 Trish Hitchins
2 Hilary Child
3 David Hilling
4 Flick Warwick
5 Max Knight
6 Robert Child
7 David Warwick (C)
8 David Coates
Rung fully muffled with the tenor open at backstroke in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Extract of the Quarter Peal of Stedman Triples
After discussions with the Rector and the Bride and Groom, it was decided that the wedding ringing on the following day should also be fully muffled. After the marriage service we rang three courses of stately Grandsire Caters on the back ten.
Sunday morning offered the opportunity for the ringers to get used to fully muffled ringing on the whole twelve, and then a quarter peal was rung for Evensong.
Sunday, 11 September in 55 minutes
1265 Erin Cinques
Composed by John Hyden
1 Hilary Child
2 Trish Hitchins
3 Rosemary Duke
4 Graham Duke
5 Kathy Bentley
6 Alan Bentley
7 Max Knight
8 Flick Warwick
9 David Hilling (C)
10 Robert Child
11 David Warwick
12 David Coates
Rung prior to Evensong with the bells fully muffled and tenor open at backstroke, in affectionate memory of our late Sovereign Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
As a mark of respect, we decided to cancel our normal Tuesday evening practice, but instead invited our younger ringers for 30 minutes of ringing on the front eight to allow them the opportunity of ringing in memory of The Queen.
Tuesday, 13 September
500 Various Triples
Rounds, Call Changes and Plain Bob Triples
Lila Hickman
Charlie Goldie
Ben Avery
Esther Davey
Kathy Bentley
Hilary Child
Flick Warwick
Max Knight
Robert Child
David Warwick
Fully muffled (with the tenor open at backstroke)
Sunday ringing the next week continued as usual in the morning, and then a quarter peal was rung for the Civic Service in the afternoon. BBC South Today filmed this service, and the fully muffled ringing featured prominently in the report.
Sunday, 18 September in 54 minutes
1254 Grandsire Cinques
1 Graham Duke
2 Rosemary Duke
3 Lucy Warwick
4 Trish Hitchins
5 Kathy Bentley
6 Alan Bentley
7 David Hilling
8 Flick Warwick
9 Harry Blamire (C)
10 Louis Suggett
11 Nigel Woodruff
12 Max Knight
Rung fully muffled with the tenor open at backstroke, for a Special Service of Commemoration marking the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
A full peal was organised to be rung after The State Funeral on Monday – the first fully muffled peal on the bells. Starting at 2.00pm, the sound of the bells was appreciated across the town and brought many people into the Minster, which had been kept open during the day – streaming the funeral from Westminster Abbey and allowing opportunities for quiet reflection.
Monday, 19 September 2022 in 3h 26 (29–2–20 in D)
5005 Stedman Cinques
Composed by Shirley Burton
1 Max G Knight
2 Patricia M Hitchins
3 Lucy S Warwick
4 David P Hilling
5 Felicity S Warwick
6 Philip A L Rioch
7 Adam W Kilgour
8 Louis P H Suggett
9 David A Warwick (C)
10 Harry E Blamire
11 Nigel R Woodruff
12 Robert T Child
Rung fully muffled with the tenor open at backstroke in memory of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, following her funeral at Westminster Abbey.
First of Stedman Cinques – 1; 300th peal together – 5 & 11.
Altogether, 23 different ringers took part in the various sessions of ringing, and a peal board will be made to record the Funeral Peal. We were very grateful to the steeple keeping team who had placed the muffles on the bells – not a single one slipped throughout the many hours of ringing during the mourning period.
Tuesday’s practice night at Wimborne came to an abrupt halt after Alan, who was ringing the 7th bell, realized something was very wrong: “It was like a bad dream. The bell was dropping, no matter how hard I pulled”. Further investigation revealed that the bell had not just “dropped” into its normal resting position, mouth down, it had well and truly dropped askew out of its normal position due to a broken gudgeon.
Diagram from bellringing.org
The diagram shows that the bell’s “gudgeon” is equivalent to the axle on a wheel, so a break here puts the bell out of action and, due to the weight of the bell, at 350kg equivalent to a large touring motorbike, puts a strain on the surrounding components.
Not only was it unringable, but the bell was teetering in an unstable position, so a team of the ringers led by Rob Child, the Steeple Keeper, worked carefully to secure the bell in place using ropes, prior to a bell hanger from White’s of Appleton being called in to inspect and advise.
The Bell Hanger attended on Wednesday morning, safely removed the bell from the frame and took the cracked stay, and damaged wheel and headstock back to Oxford for inspection. The Steeple Keeper is awaiting the results of the inspection in the next few days.
A decision about whether to continue ringing the remaining 11 bells, or to suspend ringing until the 7th is reinstated, is expected at the weekend.
Wimborne Minster Bell Ringers 
