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NORTH EAST BRANCH DISPLAY BOARDS

Fifty years ago the recruitment of ringers was less of a problem than it is now. Most churches had a Sunday School, many had children in the choir and some had altar boys. So bellringers saw the young talent available and approached those and the parents they thought who might make ringers. Today it is more difficult, not only are there far fewer Sunday Schools and children in choirs but there are fewer parents in our congregations. So recruiting ringers relies largely upon personal contact.

Two years ago the North East Branch decided that it would have to raise its profile and concentrate on improving public awareness about ringing and on recruiting new ringers. We have the advantage of a Branch practice bell and simulator and we have three designated Branch Practice Towers and therefore we decided to focus on a publicity campaign with the aim of recruiting more ringers in the longer term.

Our thinking took us along a route of presentations and displays at church open days, agricultural shows and country fairs, coffee mornings, local history groups and other community based local interest groups. What we needed was good quality displays of relevant materials. We looked at what was available and came to the conclusion that although in most cases the content was satisfactory the actual presentation was often quite poor. We decided to commission our own display boards and to appoint a designer with experience of museum and gallery display work. After a disappointing false start when our chosen designer pulled out at the very last moment we found Alan Murray of Crediton who has worked with us over the last twelve months to produce our set of ten display boards, the content of which can be selected and arranged to suit each specific need.

We now have boards which describe how bells are cast, tuned and hung for full circle ringing; boards which describe the work of the Guild of Devonshire Ringers and the Devon Association, and boards which indicate where we ring, what we ring and why we ring. These boards are arranged in easily erected and dismounted systems which can be conveniently transported by car and erected in a few moments by one person.

Of course, no matter how good the displays are they will not b y themselves recruit new ringers. They need to be supported by enthusiastic ringers in attendance to answer questions and to provide supplementary information and handouts and to make contacts with local towers. The boards are readily available on a first come first served basis.

The new boards on display.

Perhaps a final word about cost. The complete system of ten display boards and the system which supports them together with the design work cost just over £5,000. The North East Branch allocated £500 towards the project. The remainder of the funds were provided by the Troyte Ringing Centre from its income over the past four years and included the award from the Founders' Company received by the Centre in 2007.

Mike Hatchett

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

BISHOP OF CREDITON MEETS THE RINGERS

1,100 years of Christian Mission in Devon

At the request of the Bishop of Crediton all bellringers from the Tiverton Deanery were invited to the Troyte Ringing Centre for tea as part of the “Bishops in Mission” programme. Bishop Bob met and thanked ringers for their service and dedication. During a short address he talked of the importance of rural communities and the necessity of retaining rural values and traditions such as bellringing as a way of sustaining a vibrant village life in troubled times.

On the afternoon of May 14th Bishop Bob began with a session at Bampton, where Mike Hatchett and Jack Ward demonstrated the use of the practice bell in training learners and in advancing method ringing. He was then taken by Rev John Stone to Huntsham Village Hall to join ringers from all over the Deanery for a splendid tea where he spent over an hour talking to individual ringers.

Sheila Scofield

TRAINING EVENT - 28th February 2009

Huntsham Churchyard was a mass of snowdrops when the North-East Branch held the latest of their traning days. Despite the cold weather the students and helpers were enticed out of the church during the lunch break for a photo. Pat had provided a hot lunch of soup and Chili while Mike had organised the day to help the learners make progress (and in many cases the helpers too!), from plain bob minor and triples to Ct Clements minor and St Simons triples. Unfortunately our attempts to stretch to St Clements major were a touch too far. Better luck next time Mike. More preparation and homework needed by the helpers.

A break in the proceedings.

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

LOCAL TELEVISION COMES TO BAMPTON

ITV broadcast a feature on 11th March showing the training of new recruits to the Cruwys Morchard band. Part of the training involved bell handling practice using the Bampton Practice Bell linked to the Abel Simulator. To see the broadcast click here.

TROYTE RINGING CENTRE COURSE

Dec 6th may have been cold outside but in the Troyte Ringing Centre things were getting warm. The conducting course, run by Mike Hatchett as a practical follow-up to the previous Wednesday theory evening, kept us all alert and frantically searching for clues in coursing orders beginning with plain bob doubles then minor and finally triples. Students on the day came from the North East Branch, Somerset and South Devon. We were all pleased to have a warm lunch break, thanks to Pat, in the middle of the day, not only to warm us up but also to give our brains a chance to rest. Now it’s back to home towers to try out our new skills. If only people would not swap over their bells we would be fine!

A break in proceedings….warm chilli & apple pie

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

NEW ITEMS IN THE GUILD LIBRARY

All the stock of the Guild Library is now in store in Tiverton. Members may borrow many items on application to the Librarian, Les Boyce. Please telephone him on 01884 256819 or e-mail: lesboyce@gmail.com .

The following new items are available for loan:

Books and Pamphlets

Steve Coleman
The bellringer’s bedside companion (5thed., 2005)
The bellringer’s early companion (2008 ed.)
The bob caller’s companion (3rd ed., 2008)
The method ringer’s companion (4th ed., 2008)

John Harrison
The tower handbook: Answers to 1001 questions about ringing Central Council, 1998

Pip Penny
Teaching unravelled: an evidence-based approach to teaching bellhandling
Central Council, 2008

Videos and CD ROMs

Central Council
Bells and bell ringing: A slideshow [Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.CD ROM].
Central Council, 2007

Pip Penny
Ringing practice toolkit: Foundation skills, doubles, minor, all change.
[CD ROM copy of the website at: http://www.cccbr.org.uk/education/practicetoolkit/ ]

George Perrin
The craft of bellringing: A film [DVD]
George Perrin, 2007

Troyte Ringing Centre
Huntsham bells. [VHS video record of the Huntsham restoration project]

Les Boyce

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

NORTH EAST BRANCH AGM

Our AGM was held at St Peter’s, Tiverton, on Saturday 4th October. Ringing before the service was interspersed by visits by members to St Peter’s ‘afternoon tea’ held in the Church as part of the Tiverton Festival week. We were pleased to be joined by the Guild President who also stayed for the Business meeting, excellent supper prepared and served by the local band and the members’ forum all held at the Baptist Church rooms. During the meeting 3 members of the NE Branch were presented with their Guild certificates and 5 new members were elected.

L to R - Chris Bolt (Huntsham), Les Boyce (Chair, presenting
certificates), Phillip Moss (Silverton) and Mike Heard (Tiverton, St Peter).

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

NORTH EAST BRANCH ANNUAL DINNER

32 members, friends and partners had a very enjoyable, relaxed meal in the Conservatory room, the Verbeer Manor, in Willand, on Saturday 22nd November. During the dinner Diane Bowstead was presented with her Guild certificate and the evening was rounded off by a quiz set by Les Boyce and Sheila Scofield. At the end of the night many of the ringers took the opportunity to see the First Guild Peal Book that was being passed to Mike who is gathering material for the next phase of the branch display boards.

Diane receiving her Guild Certificate. Dinner guests in the conservatory Dinner guests 'doing' the quiz

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

750th Bampton Charter Fair

Thursday 30th October 2008 saw the 750th Bampton Charter Fair Celebrations at St. Michael and All Angels Church when the Bampton Bellringers and other local ringers attempted not just one but two complete peals. That's an amazing 10,000+ changes across 6 hours. Each peal was to involve around 3 hours of continuous ringing - the one in the morning was successful (details below), but unfortunately one in the afternoon was lost after one-and-a-half hours.

Video cameras were fitted to both the ringing chamber and bell chamber so the public could watch this amazing feat live and also take a look at a display of bellringing material in the church.

There was another successful peal rung on the same day at Huntsham, All Saints to celebrate the Charter Fair:

DUNSTER/NORTH EAST JOINT

A joint event with colleagues “across the border” has become an annual fixture in the calendar. This year it was N.E. Branch’s turn to host the joint meeting with the Dunster Branch of the Bath and Wells Association. On Saturday 16th August, hampered with several weddings to ring for, a small group started the ringing at Huntsham mid-afternoon, then made their way to join the Bampton band and other members of the Branch to ring and have tea provided by the local ringers at Bampton. The evening was rounded off by a general knowledge quiz compiled by Quiz-Master, Mike Hatchett. With three teams taking part in a wide ranging and demanding test of local knowledge, food, childhood memories and world-wide questions, one of the Dunster teams won the competition, their reward being coasters from the Troyte Ringing Centre.

A Bampton style tea. Quiz-master Hatchett and the teams

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

NE BRANCH AT MID-DEVON SHOW

Lucky with the weather this year, after cancellation of the show in 2007, NE Branch made their presence heard in the Churches tent. With the first of the new display boards giving detailed information on the casting and structure of a bell, along with details of local towers we maintained interest most of the day. During quiet spells we were able to attract attention by ringing the model bell, loaned from St Petrock’s, with many people ‘having a go’. Not only was the event an opportunity to recruit, hopefully, a few more interested people for the Branch, but more importantly, a very successful Public Relations exercise. My thanks go to all who helped ‘man’ the stall during the day, not only answering sometimes technical questions but also showing their enthusiasm which will hopefully encourage others to begin the learn to ring too.

Belle and model bell. The new Troyte display

Sheila Scofield

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

SNIPPETS FROM THE PAST
– GLEANED FROM THE GUILD LIBRARY

125 years ago – 1883

From the St Sidwell’s Society of Ringers Minute Book

Several contentious issues arose in 1883 and this led to the calling of six extraordinary general meetings during the year in addition to the Annual Meeting held at Easter. Most meetings were held in the Belfry at St Sidwell’s, but the Society had a room (called the Institute) at 160 St Sidwell Street which it rented, although this was becoming a financial burden to the Society.

A summer “Wayzgoose” is proposed and members taking part in the outing will be asked to pay a sum each week.

After months of discussion with the Rector and Churchwardens a sum of £3 a year is accepted in payment for chiming on Sundays. Immediately a rule is proposed that “chiming members” should be fined 6d for absence or 3d for lateness at each service. [A significant number of the St Sidwell’s minutes refer to opportunities for fining members for various misdemeanours!]

In April it was decided to dispose of the Institute room and sell off the Bagatelle Board in which several members had a share. Several meetings are held about this and the board subsequently raised £8.0.0.!

A proposal to erect a peal board recording the “first peal ever rung by a band composed of entirely Exeter men” at St Sidwell’s in May 1881 was delayed while enquiries were made as to whether it was a true peal. A lengthy letter was received from the conductor, W.C. Marsh. This [quoting from the minutes] “may be briefly summed up as follows that the peal of Taylor’s 5040 Grandsire Triples was a true and correct one, not a bob or single more or less than there ought to have been and in its proper place. And he also informed the society that he would not take upon himself the paltry honour of conducting a peal that was false. He also mentioned that it was not his desire to have a peal board put up.” On the basis of this letter the members, who had also largely comprised the peal band, voted to go ahead with the board.

100 years ago – 1908

From the first Guild Peal Book

1908 started with the 200^th peal being rung for the Guild, this being Grandsire Triples at Emmanuel, Plymouth, conducted by Harry Myers. Of the 22 peals rung in the year 15 were of Grandsire Triples, four of Grandsire Caters and the remaining three were of Bob Major. More notable peals rung in the year included the first of Triples on the Stafford Eight at the Cathedral by members of the Exeter Cycling Club in 3 hours and 53 minutes, the first of Grandsire Caters on St. Andrew’s, Plymouth and the first peal by a lady member of the Guild, Miss R. Elliot, who rang the third to Grandsire at St. Peter’s Tiverton in May.

Leslie Boyce
Guild Librarian

 Reproduced from RINGING ROUND DEVON

MIKE HATCHET RINGS HIS 1000th

Mike Hatchett's Thousandth Peal:

On Monday, 16 June, with a peal in fifteen Minor methods at Wonston, Hants, Mike Hatchett achieved his 1,000th peal, fifty-four years and ten months after his first. It hadn't taken him quite as long as Len Stilwell's seventy years and two hundred and thirty-four days between first and one thousand, but still a "respectable" time compared with modern trends! Although he has lived in Devon in this millennium, he was formerly a resident member of the Oxford Diocesan Guild, with whom he rang his early peals.

Bill Butler also conducted his first peal - which was in eight Minor methods - at Horton, Bucks, and, comparing the two peals, I notice that just by chance, no method from the first was repeated in the one thousandth! I'm sure all his many friends will congratulate him on this achievement, and wish him every success in the future.

The band, from Left to Right: Bill Butler, Mike Hatchett, Tim Pett, Bobbie May,
Stuart Gibson, Geoff Dodd.

Bill Butler

Reproduced from www.campanophile.co.uk

JULY 2008

The headline mis-print makes it eye-catching don't you think?

Reproduced from THE RINGING WORLD

MERCHANDISING COMES TO HUNTSHAM

A collection of brand-marked items are for sale to support the Troyte Ringing Centre. Anybody interested in the souvenir goods then look out for them at training or social events or if your really keen then e-mail Sheila Scofield on sheilascofield@hotmail.com .