BELFRY GOSSIP

Great news, but too late for the October edition of Gossip. The Wellingborough Branch won the Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Ringers 8 bell striking competition held in September at Earls Barton Church. Six of the eight ringers in the team were from St. Mary’s. The winning trophy is presently on display in our belfry.

In keeping with the rest of the church, the ringers had a blitz on the belfry and pursued some domestic activities. As a result, two bags of rubbish were deposited elsewhere. We can now see the contents in our glass fronted cupboards; we can’t find where other things are, and in a week or two, we shall want that out-dated item we ditched. We’ve even hoovered upstairs among the bells! We now await Jean’s inspection.

People who did journey up the 66 steps to the bells, were members of the Rushden Historical Society, who had spent part of a morning learning about the church. Our captain had previously given a talk to them entitled "Bell Ringing, Past and Present", and they were then able to see how bells are hung and rung.

The September 11^th atrocities in the U.S.A., stirred and saddened the majority of people throughout the world. Since the 17^th Century, half muffled ringing has taken place at sad times. These events have been local, national and inter-national. Ringers very quickly and quite rightly, respond on such occasions. Although bells are mostly to be found in church towers, they have through the ages, often been used for secular purposes. In bye-gone days, the arrival of the mail coach, the local squire’s birthday, someone’s death, a coronation etc. have all initiated the ringing of bells. All our ringing during the weekend following September 11^th was half muffled, even for the visiting clergy ringers on their outing.

Through our web site, we occasionally receive e-mails from other parts of the world. A recent message came from Christ Church in Rye (New York). This church had received a message from St. Mary the Virgin in Rye, Sussex, announcing they were ringing a half muffled quarter peal for them in the wake of the American atrocities. Clicking onto our web site, the American church asked us what was meant by "half muffled" ringing. We were able to respond and our reply was going to be circulated to members of their congregation. The power and the usefulness of the Internet!

If you have toured around certain parts of Oxfordshire, the stone built cottages, farms, manor houses etc. cluster around the parish churches and create most picturesque villages. These, combined with the attractive countryside and the good weather, made our day’s outing a most pleasurable experience. Nearly all of our churches were in the White Horse Vale District. Most of the party met at the 8-bell tower of Buckland, where we endeavoured to get to grips with some of the odd struck bells. After a long journey, the church toilets provided a welcome relief. Onto Stanford in the Vale where we not only experienced a much lighter set of bells, but were provided with free refreshments which had been laid on for the very busy and numerous members of the congregation tidying up the large churchyard.

Lunch, in solid and liquid form, was taken at various hostelries. One carload found a pub in Lambourne and soon discovered it was obviously the in-place for the local stable lads. After lunch, the barber shop singers in the centre of Wantage were soon drowned out by the heavy, majestic sounding bells.

At Sutton Courtenay, the churchyard proved quite an attraction. Both George Orwell and Lord Asquith are buried there; Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth were investigating gravestones and a month earlier, the Queen Mother had attended the wedding of the niece of her lady in waiting. Our next ring before tea, was at Drayton where the Revd. F.E.Robinson was the incumbent sometime during the 19^th century. He was the leading clerical ringer of his time and must have spent as much time ringing peals all over the country as he spent in the parish. One of our own ringers had rung a peal there.

Tea was taken at various spots on the banks of the Thames where we watched a hot air balloon land in a cricket field while play was in progress. The day finished at St. Helen’s Abingdon, where we rang the only set of 10 bells on the outing and successfully managed a course of Cambridge Surprise Royal.

Our next half muffled ringing will be on Sunday November 11^th – Remembrance Sunday.