Ringing World 5147/8 (18 & 25 December 2009)
Front Cover: Ipswich St Lawrence and Cardinal Wolsey by George Pipe
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the recent restoration of St Lawrence’s tower and bells has been the amount of public interest here and abroad. Quite apart from national and local TV, radio and press coverage and the Overseas Service, townsfolk have really embraced the whole project and we’ve even had enquiries from Australasia, North America, France and Holland.
St Lawrence is one of the 12 medieval churches of Ipswich, a number exceeded only by Norwich and York. Not untypically with town centre population shift, six of ours are ‘redundant’. These ‘churches in retirement’ (I don’t much care for the sound of redundancy) are a priceless heritage, not just for the skyline but for their history, geographical position and architectural features.
Recreating the sound that Cardinal Wolsey heard – a very special job for Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whilst it is the case that all church bell installations are unique and that it therefore follows that the detail of proposals for the restoration of a set of bells will be specific to that project, it is nevertheless the case that some projects are more unique than others.
When George Pipe discussed with Alan Hughes the possibility of restoring the bells at St Lawrence Church, Ipswich, in 2006, it became increasingly apparent that what we were discussing was not simply the restoration of an unringable peal of five but rather the re-creation of the sound that Cardinal Wolsey would have heard in his childhood years as he grew up in Ipswich.
A very happy crypt reunion – thanks to The Ringing World and Michael Uphill
After reading Tales from the Crypt published in 2007 written by Michael, Jon Laver sent a letter hoping to find those who had rung together in the 60s at St Luke’s in Chelsea. Since then Roger Overington, he and I have been in touch and Michael arranged for us to ring together on Saturday, 21st November. We travelled from Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Wales. It was an amazing experience. Roger described it as “magical” and Jon as “brilliant”.
The Saga of St John’s Hanley by Simon Linford
Much has been spoken recently on the vexing subject of the bells at St John’s, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. A fine Gillett 10, unringable and left rotting and inaccessible in a redundant church, with uncertain future. A very sad state of affairs indeed.
In May last year, an announcement was made that the church was being sold to developers for conversion into a restaurant. Would this be the end of the bells? Would they be rescued? Was the future brighter?
And it turns out that one of the purchasers is a bellringer! Perhaps 20 years after the bells were last heard, Hanley bells would ring again.
A Kentish reminiscence by Richard Offen
I have reached the age where reminiscing about what went on forty or fifty years ago is considerably easier than remembering where on earth I put the screwdriver I had in my hand just a few moments ago. It was probably for that reason, whilst on holiday in the UK recently, a visit to the tower where I learnt to ring brought many happy memories flooding back.
From the E-Lists – do you remember? by John Camp
From the E-lists (FTEL) started in November 2002. It came to an end seven years later. This is a look back at the first half of that period (up to May 2006).
Letters
Ringers, murderers and burglars – string ’em up! - James Saunders
Get back to the crypt - Michael Uphill
Orange juice matters - Richard Offen
Bristol Maximus peals - Linda Garton
The Sight of Gentle Maiden Deftly Handling of a Rope by Steve Coleman
1. The Very First Woman
There’s something I’ve been wanting to know for ages. Who was the very first woman to ring, and when and where did she do it?
What an interesting question! And like so many such questions, the answer is far more surprising than any of the standard ringing histories would lead you to believe. So forget those late Victorian girls in long skirts and puff sleeves. We’re going way back.
© The British Library Board. Yates Thompson 11 f. 6v
Christmas Eve A short story by Elizabeth Walker
It is Christmas Eve and I wait in the churchyard for the rest of the band to arrive. This year Christmas Day will dawn crisp and bright. The grass has already frozen, each shaft rigid with ice pearls reflecting the garland of stars above. A full moon casts sharp shadows and light streams out of the church so that the whole churchyard is divided in abstract patterns of light and black. Nothing moves as the world waits for the celebration of Christ’s birth.
Three little boys from school by Chris Pickford
Gilbert and Sullivan fans will be immediately aware that the title for this article has been filched and adapted from a well-known song from The Mikado. The article itself, though, is about former pupils of my old school who were connected in some way with bells and ringing. The school was The King’s School in Worcester, and the old boys featured here include a Victorian “Bell Hunter”, a medical student who as a “young gentleman” cut quite a dash in London ringing circles in the mid-Victorian era, and a thousand-pealer now remembered chiefly as the composer of a 240 of Grandsire Doubles.
Where the bells are ringing again!
Dickon Love gives a personal view of the journey to get bells returned to St Magnus the Martyr
After a campaign that lasted almost five years, the new bells at St Magnus the Martyr were finally dedicated on 26th October, 2009. Much has now been written about the history of these bells, and there have been regular updates in these pages, so rather than repeat all this, I’d like to conclude matters with a more personal reflection.
Looking back on the 2008 Roadshow
by Steve Coleman with photos by Anthony Bianco
Since we’re now halfway between the last Ringing Roadshow and the next, what better time for this Picture Post style retrospective of Stoneleigh 2008? Remember the cold, the rain and the floods of that September? Dreadful though the weather was, the Roadshow was a massive success all the same.
Sacred geometry and the western bell
R. Perrin and G. M. Swallowe, Physics Department, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK
The idea that there is a connection between visual beauty and various aspects of “sacred” geometry is far from new. It goes back at least to Classical Greece and has attracted the attention of various savants down the centuries. It has been well rehearsed in the popular mathematical/scientific literature over recent decades1-4. Among topics considered have been paintings (especially Old Masters), architecture (including the Parthenon and the Great Pyramids) and natural history (including the human body). Of special interest to the authors has been its use to analyse the violins of the Cremona school and other stringed musical instruments5.
Doubles vision by Philip Earis
“Doubles” is the name given to methods on five bells. Whilst many ringers’ first introduction to change ringing is with doubles, ringers often seem keen to move away from 5-bell ringing as quickly as possible.
You may have heard ringers contemptuously say that there’s nothing worthwhile that can be done on five bells. Like many forms of disdain, such snobbery is often the result of ignorance of what is possible.
Book Review
The Pilgrim’s Guide to Devon’s Churches
Published by Cloister Books • Exeter 2008 • Price £7.99
I was recently given a copy of this colourful little book for bed time reading whilst on a tour in Devon. I found it easy to use and pleasantly informative. As it states inside the front cover – “With simple maps and a comprehensive index including 0S map references, this is a book for your glove-box or back-pack, whether you live in Devon or are one of our many visitors”. For a ringer it is a useful reference item to have alongside Dove’s Guide and John Scott’s Towers & Bells of Devon.
Beer Matters
The Innkeeper
The season of the Nativity Play is upon us, time for that annual ritual of anxious adults, conspicuously trying to look inconspicuous, cajoling hosts of diminutive angels and recalcitrant sheep into performing their allotted roles. This year, so the parish news-sheet informs us, children (and parents) are invited to dress up as their favourite character and any number of Marys, Josephs, “wise persons” and animals may take part. The prospect looms of an unseemly free-for-all featuring seven virgins of unspecified degrees of wisdom, 16 eastern sages (fair enough, the Bible doesn’t actually say there were three), a vast herd of oxen and a heavenly trio.
Y is for Yorkshire ’N’ Score by Simon Linford
Z is for Z-Course by Simon Linford
Thought for the week – 1
It is sometimes said that today there are ‘no more Characters’ – we are all so conformist that even those who set out not to conform, conform within the life-style of their choice!
Thought for the week – 2
An alternative approach to the Christmas Story
Last week I was allocated to the Social Work Department in the hilltop town of Bethlehem where I was asked to deal with a very bizarre case.
Puzzle Pages
A. Christmas Crossword
B. How Far To The Tower?
C. Colouring Block Puzzle
Orthopaedic conditions and church bell ringing – Part 2
by Ian J. Braithwaite, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Bell ringing after fractures and dislocations
Most of us have at one time suffered the effects of a musculo-skeletal injury. This may have been a bad bruise, a sprain or strain. It may have been more severe, a fracture or a dislocation. A severely sprained ankle or knee can be just as painful and disabling as a fracture.
