Central Council of Church Bell Ringers

Annual Report for 2002

1. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (“the Council”) was founded in 1891 and is a registered charity, no. 270036. Its address is that of its Honorary Secretary for the time being, namely The Cottage, School Hill, Warnham, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 3QN. The constitution and conduct of the Council is governed by its Rules.

2. The Council’s Trustees during 2002 were as follows:

   Until 3rd June	From 3rd June
   President
   Mr J A Anderson	Dr M J deC Henshaw
   Vice-President
   Dr M J deC Henshaw	Mr D E Sibson
   Hon Secretary
   Mr I H Oram	Mr I H Oram
   Hon Treasurer
   Mr E G H Godfrey	Mr E G H Godfrey

3. The Council’s bankers are Lloyds TSB, Westminster House Branch, Dean Stanley Street, London, SW1P 3HU. Its Independent Examiners are Mr S J Coleman and Mr R J Wallis.

4. At the close of the Annual General Meeting on 3rd June 2002 the Council’s membership comprised 10 Life Members, 18 Honorary Members and 205 Representative Members representing 66 affiliated societies. Since then one Life Member has died, a vacancy in Representative Members has been filled, and there have been three other changes in representation.

   Of those no longer members special mention should be made of those who had been members for 15 or more years: Mr J Kershaw (Lancashire Association) elected 1975; Mr C K Lewis (Chester Guild, Honorary Member, Life Member) elected 1948 and Miss S J Pattenden (Society of Royal Cumberland Youths) elected 1987. Also, omitted from last year’s report, Mr D R Pettifor (Manchester University Guild, Lancashire Association) elected 1984.

   Subject to any further changes, at the start of the 2003 Council meeting there will be 9 Life Members, 18 Honorary Members and 206 Representative Members.

5. The Object of the Council is to promote and foster the ringing of bells for Christian prayer, worship and celebration and in furtherance thereof:

   (i) To promote awareness of and educate the general public in the ringing of church bells and the art of change ringing;

   (ii) To make available advice, assistance and information to church authorities, ringers and ringing societies and to promote good practice on all matters concerned with bells and bell ringing;

   (iii) To encourage development of the art of ringing through innovation;

   (iv) To bring together ringers to discuss matters of common interest and to represent ringers both nationally and internationally;

   (v) To encourage high standards of performance in ringing;

   (vi) To recommend technical standards in change ringing and maintain such records as may be necessary to uphold these standards;

   (vii) To assist in the provision, restoration, maintenance and transfer of church bells.

6. The work of the Council in pursuing this object is for the most part carried out by its fifteen committees and by working groups appointed by them. Summaries of their activities during 2002 are given in the committee reports, which appear elsewhere on the Council’s agenda and are being published in the April 2003 issues of The Ringing World.

7. The Accounts for 2002 show Total Funds at the year end of £346,025, of which £171,062 is in Restricted Funds. The income for the year totalled £36,515, compared with £61,197 in 2001. The Trustees have the power to invest money and adopt such measures as seem to them necessary in the interest of the Council. They do not have any power to borrow money.

8. It is confirmed that the Council’s Assets, together with the expected income for 2003, are available and are likely to be adequate to fulfil the object of the Council in that year.

9. Reserves are held in the General Fund and are available for use:

   (a) to be invested so that income earned can be used for Committee expenses;

   (b) to ease cash flow;

   (c) to develop new projects.

   The Capital Reserve was set up by the Council to provide financial assistance in launching a ringing newspaper should The Ringing World cease to be published. The reserve is increased annually by transfers, in line with inflation, from the General Fund.

10. Funds are invested in low risk investments and bank accounts. The need for regular income from investments is considered important to support the work of the Council.

11. No significant fund-raising activity has been carried out during the year.

12. Grants from the Fred Dukes International Bell Fund are made in accordance with the terms of Mr Dukes’ legacy. Grants from the Council’s Bell Restoration Fund are made in proportion to the types of applications received and in accordance with priorities agreed by the Council and reviewed annually.

13. The Council had no employees during the year. All of its work is carried out on a voluntary basis.

I H ORAM
Honorary Secretary

April 2003

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Registered Charity Number 270036

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2002

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Registered Charity Number 270036

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2002

ERIC GODFREY
Hon Treasurer

March 2003

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2002

1 Accounting Policies

The accounts have been drawn up in accordance with the “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice” known as the Charities SORP 2000, issued by the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales.

2 Fundamental Accounting Concepts

The accounts have been drawn up in accordance with the going concern, accruals, consistency and prudence concepts as stated in Appendix 2 of the SORP.

3 Funds

The General Fund is unrestricted. The Education Courses Fund, Publications Fund and Capital Fund are designated funds. The other funds have been set up and maintained for restricted purposes.

4 Transfers between Funds

1. £1290 has been transferred from the General Fund to the Capital Fund in line with inflation.

2. £250 has been transferred from the General Fund to Friends of the Library Fund

5 Tangible Assets and Intangible Assets

The major tangible assets of the Council are the Investments in National Savings Income Bonds, The Fred Dukes International Bell Fund, which is invested in a CAF Gold Account and the Library Collection. The Library Collection is valued at a replacement cost of £50,712. The revaluation was undertaken by J M Farringdon in December 1998 when the value was £54,000. To this sum has been added purchases less disposals since of £951. The Library Collection is being depreciated for accounting purposes at 2% per annum by the reducing balance method. Depreciation for the year 2002 is £1,016 giving depreciation to date of £4,239. The policy is to revalue the Collection every five years. An asset register is maintained for other tangible assets. The policy is to treat assets of an individual cost of up to £1,000 as fully depreciated in the year of purchase. The major intangible asset of the Council is the copyright of Dove’s Guide.

6 Interest Receivable

This arises from investments in National Savings Income Bonds,Central Board of Finance of the Church of England Deposit Fund, CAF Charity Services Gold Account and bank deposit and current accounts.

7 Committee Expenses - General Fund

These were as follows

8 Grants

Grants were made by the Worshipful Company of Founders through CCCBR of a total of £7,844 to ten Ringing Centres for equipment. A further £215 was paid by the Worshipful Company of Founders for training of instructors from Ringing Centres. The Fred Dukes International Bell Fund awarded three grants totalling £4,010 of which two grants totalling £3,010 were paid during the year together with one awarded in 2001 of £1,500. The Bell Restoration Fund awarded 29 grants totalling £27,800 and 17 grants totalling £12,500 were paid.

9 Charitable Commitments

There were unfulfilled charitable commitments at 31st December 2002 in respect of grants awarded but not yet paid by The Fred Dukes International Bell Fund of £1,000 and by the Bell Restoration Fund of £24,600.

10 Publications Fund

Storage and distribution cost of £1,575 was paid to Council members.

11 Payments to Trustees

There were no payments to Trustees.

12 Emoluments of Employees

The Council had no employees during the year.

13 Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (Millennium Grants) Limited

The company was formed in January 1997 to receive and distribute grants to bell projects from the Millennium Commission. Copies of the Annual Report are available from the Secretary.

The Ringing World, April 25, 2003, pages 389 to 390

Education Committee

2002 has been a difficult year, with the committee reduced to half size at the rather unusual Council meeting in Norwich, by the lack of candidates to fill vacancies. The committee held four formal meetings, one at Sharnford and three at Towcester.

Courses

The committee was involved in delivering four courses for: Shinfield Ringing Centre, Swavesey, Peterborough DG (Towcester branch) and Ely DA. One was an MTM course (Management, Teaching and Maintenance), two were Listening Seminars and one was a maintenance course (led by Adrian Semken, after he had left the committee). At the end of the year we were particularly pleased that four MTM courses were booked for 2003, including two full week-end courses organized well ahead.

Publications

The Learning Curve, volume I - 1999-2001, a compendium of the first thirty articles published in The Ringing World, was published in the summer. Another new book: Guidelines for Officers is nearing completion. Work is progressing on replacements for: Beginners Handbook, Doubles & Minor for Beginners and Triples & Major for Beginners.

One publication was discontinued. After concerns that the Training Directory, jointly produced by the Education and Ringing Centres Committee, was not getting to enough of the people who would benefit from it, a review concluded that there are more effective ways of getting the information in it to its various target audiences. The discontinuation was announced in The Ringing World. Our thanks go to Gail Cater whose efforts had largely produced it in recent years.

Simulators

Loan of the simulator continues, at a low level. It may be borrowed from Heather Peachey.

Network for Ringing Training (NRT)

The network that we set up to focus on the needs of trainers is flourishing. Membership has passed 300 and the NRT discussion list is host to many useful exchanges between trainers at all levels of experience. 15% of the members do not have e-mail and are provided with monthly postal summaries of the discussion, with the opportunity to relay comments back. Only half of the members with e-mail find it practical to use the discussion list actively, and we have now arranged for the others to receive the monthly summaries by e-mail.

In November 55 members attended the first, very successful NRT Conference, hosted by the Towcester Ringing Centre. Everyone participated in four out of a choice of 11 discussion topics, including teaching bellhandling, teaching striking, teaching with simulators, teaching a whole new band and supporting trainers. There was a very positive perception of the need to improve standards.

Action on Trends Report

We have begun exploring more effective ways to help attract, train and develop young people. We have gathered some ideas on good practice, but not yet identified ways to put them into widespread effect.

Future plans and vision

The committee’s vision is to take forward the state of the art in ringing education and to help spread best practice to member societies and individuals by whatever means is most effective. Our on-going programme of work for 2003 includes:

• Producing new and replacement educational publications where needed. We have several on the stocks. Although recent progress has been slow, we hope to make inroads into the backlog in 2003.

• Delivering MTM and other courses in response to requests from societies and ringing centres. We will also adapt or develop new courses, as we identify the demand.

• Exploiting the NRT more widely. We wish to build on the continued success of NRT to help build a training community, and to stimulate more trainer focused activity, especially at local level.

• Services for learners. We believe there is a potential need for direct access services to support learners. We hope to explore the possibility of providing some sort of learner helpline.

Our thanks go to people outside the committee, notably Alison and Richard Barnett and Peter Wenham, who provide continuing support in the running of NRT.

Report of the Stewards of the John Carter Ringing Machine

Following the completion of negotiations with the directors of John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd the machine and the Cummins simulators have now been moved from the Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry to the Bellfoundry Museum at Loughborough.

The John Carter Ringing Machine is on permanent display at the museum and public demonstrations will be arranged two or three times a year, subject to demand. The machine will be taken to the Ringing Road Show at Lincoln in July.

The Ringing World, April 4, 2003, page 315

Methods Committee

The Methods Committee held two meeting during the year, in Whitchurch on 3 March and in Winchester on 5 October.

The definitive method collections on the Committee’s website (www.methods.clara.net) continue to be updated on a weekly basis. We are grateful to William J Hall for his continuing help in maintaining the accuracy of the collections.

A new edition of “Rung Surprise, Delight, Treble Bob and Alliance methods” containing methods rung to the end of 2001 was available at the Council meeting and we will be preparing a Supplement covering the methods rung during 2002.

We think that we have at last solved the technical problems of producing the “Four-way table of Minor methods” wall chart, which includes all the methods from “Treble Dodging Minor Methods”, and hope that it will be published in 2003.

Stocks of the 1980 collection “Plain Doubles Methods and Variations” will soon be sold out and we are planning a 4th edition of the Collection which will contain a wide range of Plain methods, more compositions for single methods and spliced compositions.

Our proposed amendments to the Decisions to cover differential hunters, reduce the controversy surrounding non-compliant peals and bring together the requirements for record peals were all passed. We particularly appreciated the support expressed by Council for our work.

We agreed that some tidying up of the Decisions would be desirable. For example, Council decided in 1950 that starting a method from a different change does not produce a different method but this is not explicitly stated in the Decisions, and there are other Decisions which could benefit from clarification. Subject to Council’s approval, we intend to work on this during the coming year.

Little time was available for detailed discussions of possible amendments to the Decision on Method Extension, although an interesting discussion paper was produced. We still anticipate that this work item will produce proposals for consideration at a future Council meeting.

Almost all the enquiries we now receive about method-related matters arrive by e-mail but we are still pleased to receive communications by post or telephone.

In our Report last year we anticipated Julian Morgan standing down from the Committee at the end of the triennium; in the event Frank Blagrove also stood down, having served on the Methods Committee for 42 years, including 3 years as Chairman. Then in November we were saddened by the news that Ken Lewis had died having served on the Committee for all but 6 years since 1948, including 12 years as Chairman. Their contributions are too many to list but we will always think of Frank as the “ideas man” and Ken as the “wise counsellor”. We would like to record our appreciation of all their work on behalf of the Committee.

Peal Compositions Committee

The committee currently holds no face to face meetings, but is in regular electronic contact via email.

The electronic collection has grown to over 2,000 peal compositions, and we hope to add more in the coming year. It is currently averaging over 5,000 hits (that is, delivering a page of content to a web browser) each month. It can be visited through the committee’s web page at

http://www.ringing.org/pcc
or directly by pointing a browser at
http://www.ringing.org/peals.

The committee is currently working on several new print collections. The replacement ten and twelve bell collection is nearly finished, and should be in production soon. Because of the quantity of material received it will be published as two separate collections, one of royal and the other of maximus and above.

A new Grandsire collection, covering all stages, was started in late 2002 and has progressed rapidly. A first draft has been produced, and is currently being reworked.

Also started in late 2002 is a modern replacement for the Stedman Caters and Cinques collection. Sufficient material for this collection has now been collected and proved, and a selection of what to include in the printed collection is being made.

We remain disappointed at the infrequency with which we are able to produce pages of compositions for publication in The Ringing World. To alleviate some of the difficulties we are now working to engage more members of the committee in the actual layout process. This is requiring some changes in the exact versions of software used, and we are grateful to the staff of The Ringing World for their help in working out how we can successfully deliver pages to them from multiple members of the committee using varying computer resources.

In an attempt to at least reduce the time until submitted compositions see publication in some form we have begun adding submissions to the web site without waiting for them to be published in The Ringing World, as had been the case previously. We hope that this will allow us in most cases to make compositions available within a few weeks of receipt.

Publications Committee

Three Four new publications were produced during the year. They were CC Rules and Decisions (2001), Organising a Bell Restoration Project (new edition), Learning Curves, and Rung Surprise to end 2001.

Nine publications were reprinted: Listen to Ringing Cassettes (CDs) 1 and 2, Learning Methods, Beginners Handbook, Ringing Circles, Triples and Major for Beginners (reset), Ringing Jargon Made Easy, Schedule of Regular Maintenance and Ringing Skills.

Bulk discounts were offered in March, and discounts on selected titles were offered at Christmas. A pull-out advertising and ordering insert was again placed in The Ringing World, and was again successful. Advertisements were placed in some Society annual reports.

The Council approved new Terms of Reference for the Committee at its 2002 meeting. The TORs now read:

“The Publications Committee is to ensure that information is available in the form of publications to further the object of the Council, and to exert overall responsibility for the form, content and layout of publications; and for marketing, sales and distribution.”

As a result the Committee has a wider remit than before. A letter explaining our intended response to the new TORs was prepared for transmission to Committee Chairmen. A proforma designed to keep originators informed of progress will be used for significant new publications in future.

Sales of many titles fell markedly, although some of our newer titles, particularly Learning Curves and Ringing Circles sold well. Income dropped sharply to £15,000 from £22,000 last year, mainly due to the expected drop in sales of Dove’s Guide. However, it is pleasing to note that Dove’s Guide sold well enough for a writeback of some of the previous stock write-off to be necessary. Overall the fund remains in a healthy state with an excess for the year of £2,400 and cash in hand of £21,000.

Stocklist at December 31st 2002

The Ringing World, April 4, 2003, pages 316 to 317

Bell Restoration Committee

The Committee met in London in February, July and October. Four new members were elected to the Committee at the Council meeting, and we were pleased to welcome their new ideas and expertise. Nigel Booth, Kate Cameron and Beverley Winter did not seek re-election and we thank them for their considerable services to the Committee in the past. The Council approved our revised terms of reference and change of name, but we were disappointed that our paper outlining the challenges for the future engendered minimal debate. Nevertheless, we have continued to take the work forward over the year, and where possible involved other Council Committees in identifying where there might be joint progress towards common goals.

Finding New Sources of Funding

In summary, the paper presented to the Council meeting highlighted a number of issues including the need for research; the need to make this a project about ringers as well as bells, i.e. bells must be both ringable and rung; the need to involve not just other Council committees e.g. Public Relations and Education, but also the need for the Council to raise its profile; the need for professional advice; and the need for the Council to have a well-known figure-head or patron.

During the year we have continued our dialogue with other committees, and have been pleased to welcome representatives of the Committee for Redundant Bells and the Keltek Trust to our meetings. We have found Laith Reynolds’ practical experiences of fund raising at State and national level in Australia particularly enlightening.

Our current belief is that we will not make substantial progress without professional help, and we will be seeking advice on how to approach this from various sources. We have always stated that this was a long haul project and the collection of advice and opinions continues.

The Committee continued to provide its core services to bell restoration:

Provision of Information and Advice

Once again the number of new parishes contacting the Committee for advice has fallen (1999 - 60, 2000 - 50, 2001 - 44, 2002 - 25). The early indications for 2003 are that things are beginning to pick up, and, with the possibility of a further grant from the Millennium Commission, we have continued to revise and improve the information available to the trade and to parishes, both on paper and on our web site. John Barnes attended the dedication at Bacton, Norfolk and Jackie Roberts the rededication at Rousham, Oxfordshire. The revised and updated booklet Organising a Bell Restoration Project was on sale at the Council meeting. A report of the key indicators from the Triennial Survey of Bell Restoration Funds has been sent to societies. Guidance on whether or not to register a whole society as a charity was circulated to members at the Council meeting and has since been updated and published on the web site and sent to society secretaries.

Administration of Funds

The Manifold Trust offered 10 grants totalling £39,000 during the year (2001 - 13 grants totalling £48,000). The Committee assists the Trust by the provision of administrative support.

Applications were invited for grants from the Central Council BRF. The total amount available for distribution was £27,829. Thirty two applications were received and the following grants approved: Abbeystrewy - £1,000, Aston Clinton - £700, Barby - £200, Carisbrooke - £500, Castlemorton - £800, Cogenhoe - £400, Charlton Horethorne - £2,000, Cold Ashby - £2,000, Hillandale - £300, Hilmarton - £600, Kingsbury Episcopi - £2,000, Kirkby Underwood - £300, Lapley - £500, Llandudno - £300, Llangattock - £200, Lockerley - £400, Lydiard Millicent - £1,000, Menangle - £1,500, Middleton - £2,000, Mottram-in-Longdendale - £300, Pickhill - £1,300, Potterhanworth - £600, St Stephen-in-Brannel - £1,000, Salisbury (St Thomas) - £2,000, Whetstone - £1,400, Wingfield - £200, Witchampton - £2,000, Wooburn - £1,800 and Camberwell - £500. As agreed at the Council meetings in 1997 and 1998 the criteria for allocating grants and loans are attached to this report. There are no recommendations for changes.

The Fred E Dukes International Bell Fund offered the following grants, decided in accordance with the terms of the Fund, to Australia: Lismore, St Andrew - £2,160, Manuka, St Paul - £850, and to South Africa: Hillandale - £1,000.

Future Work

In addition to continuing to take forward the work outlined above we are also looking at the availability of European funding. As we are unable to provide financial advice, such as the best place to hold charity accounts, we are investigating where such advice may be obtained so that we can point enquirers in the right direction. It has to be said that we do not get many enquiries of this sort, but our literature has previously suggested we can help and we need to be clear how.

Criteria for allocating CCBRF grants and loans

1.0 Applications will be considered for the following:

1.1 Restoration or augmentation work to existing bell installations, or the provision of new bell installations, in any country in the World where the bells are, or are to be, hung for full circle ringing.

1.2 Costs of structural and other ancillary work integral to the bell installation will be considered when these are in addition to work on the bell installation.

1.3 Loans or guarantees (when funds allow) to the bell restoration funds (BRFs) of societies affiliated to the Central Council, where the trustees may wish to make offers or promises of future grants in excess of the money currently available in their funds.

2.0 Offers of grants, loans or guarantees will normally be made from the Fund only if:

2.1 Support and approval for the project are to be given by the local ringing society, and

2.2 Support and approval for the project are given by the PCC or other appropriate authority, and

2.3 There is in place an existing band of ringers or the project plans include a firm commitment to recruit and train a band, and

2.4 Consideration has been given to the need to include any form of sound control within the project specification.

Priorities

3.0 Priority will normally be given to applications as follows:

3.1 Highest priority applications will be for churches ineligible for grants from the Manifold Trust.

3.2 High priority will be given where there is an existing band of ringers and the bells are in imminent danger of becoming unringable.

3.3 For augmentations priority will be given to projects to restore or provide a ring of 5 or 6 bells.

3.4 Projects with a total cost of less than £5,000 will have low priority.

Administration and Operation

4.0 The Bell Restoration Committee (BRC) will be responsible for administering the Fund. It will normally operate as follows:

4.1 Grants, loans and guarantees will be allocated after advertising in The Ringing World, and elsewhere if appropriate, for applications to be made. Offers will be made and will remain open for two years and then lapse. No payment of a grant will be made until the work has been carried out satisfactorily and the bill presented. The intention is for money in the fund to be used rather than accumulated, but no offers of grants, loans or guarantees will be made if no suitable applications are received.

4.2 As far as possible a balance will be struck so that grants, loans and guarantees are spread geographically and socially, and in proportion to the types of applications received, spread of centres of ringing and any other relevant factors. Also a balance will be struck among grants, loans and guarantees in approximate proportion to the requests received, but with each batch of applications assessed on their own merits.

4.3 Loans or guarantees will be subject to written agreements, with repayments unlikely to be over a greater period than two years, although shorter periods will be encouraged. The BRFs’ ability to repay will be assessed before any loans or guarantees are offered. It is not intended that interest will be charged.

4.4 The BRC may consult as necessary before offering any grant, loan or guarantee, including inviting comment from other parties, such as the local society affiliated to the Central Council.

4.5 Appeals against decisions of the Bell Restoration Committee will be determined by the Trustees of the Central Council. Such appeals must be made in writing to the Secretary of the Central Council within 3 months of the initial decision being made and the Trustees will then consider the application afresh.

Committee for Redundant Bells

34 churches within the Church of England were formally declared redundant during 2002. The total made redundant since the relevant Pastoral Measure came into force in 1969 has now reached 1671. Although the Church Commissioners tend to the view that the number of additional redundancies is likely to settle at around 25-0 annually (compared with the somewhat lower numbers in 2000 and 2001), there remains a steady and significant flow of new cases for consideration.

The many urban redundancies of the past three decades included a fair proportion of churches built to cater for (particularly 19th century) urban expansion, where the average number of bells per church may well have been relatively small. However there now appears to be a shift towards more redundancies in rural areas where it is likely that a much greater percentage of affected churches will be ancient foundations. These may well in turn hold the fruits of many centuries of bell “acquisition”, including both historic castings and a greater likelihood of rings or chimes of higher numbers of bells. The Committee for Redundant Bells (CfRB) will monitor this trend closely in the coming years to confirm or otherwise whether there is an increase in the number of bells affected by redundancy. Policies will be reviewed if necessary as a consequence.

Our contacts with the Church Commissioners, the Council for the Care of Churches, the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches and the Churches Conservation Trust have ensured a continued flow of information for which the CfRB is very grateful.

The start of the new triennium at the Norwich Council meeting saw the retirement from the committee of Roger Booth and David Kelly, and the election of Andrew Aspland as a new member. We acknowledge with thanks Roger’s diligent contribution to the work of the committee during 12 years of membership, while David remains actively involved in the sphere of redundant bells. Phil Watts was elected by the committee as its new Chairman in succession to George Massey, who held the position in a caretaker capacity for the previous year, in succession to Jane Wilkinson. The committee met on two occasions; at our November meeting we marked the sad loss of Jeffrey Kershaw, who died shortly after the Norwich Council. Jeff had served the committee with his hallmark diligence and wisdom since 1993 - the CfRB, and the Exercise, are the poorer for his passing. To fill this vacancy we have lately co-opted Jason Hughes.

During early 2002 the Committee circulated to all English territorial societies details of known Redundant Churches, with a view to auditing the current status of the bells associated with these churches. At the time of writing responses covering 19 of the 41 Church of England Dioceses have been received providing a wealth of helpful data and ensuring that where bells remain in redundant churches they are not “out of sight and out of mind”. The Committee’s grateful thanks is extended to those who have compiled these returns on behalf of their Societies.

Fortunately the re-use elsewhere of otherwise surplus and redundant bell castings continues to be a major feature of the management of the bell-stock across the Exercise, facilitated in large measure by the good offices of the Keltek Trust. Again the CfRB is delighted to commend the continuing work of David Kelly and the Trust.

The Committee has been conscious that the vast majority of its work has been focused upon the redundancy process within the Church of England. Consequently, early in 2003, all non-English Territorial societies were circulated with a request for an overview of the process of Redundancy within the various Christian denominations operating in their ringing jurisdictions. Advice has been sought on the significance or otherwise of church redundancies within each area, the extent to which bells are a factor to be considered and the extent to which each Society is engaged with the process locally. It is hoped that responses in due time will help broaden the horizons of the CfRB, and strengthen its ability to respond to the needs of the Exercise worldwide.

This wider dimension has been further highlighted by two, among several, contacts made to the Committee during the year. One from the Chaplain to the Bishop of Blackburn sought advice on the availability of redundant bells to pass to a Church in an African twin-Diocese to Blackburn; the second a direct communication from South Africa sought similar advice in support of Goedgedacht Farm, a rural community development farm with a recently built chapel, near Malmesbury in the Western Cape.

In addition to its work in promoting best practice and maintaining the profile of the Council and Exercise among relevant Church institutions, the CfRB has continued to nurture the work of John Baldwin in scoping and prototyping for a National Bell Register (NBR). While John is the first to admit that progress is hindered by his professional commitments and work as Dove Master, some useful information is already being gathered. It is becoming very clear that the creation and management of a meaningful NBR (even in a simple form that could act as a reference framework for disparate other or more comprehensive national, regional, thematic or specialist databases), is a major logistical and financial undertaking.

Rescue Fund for Redundant Bells

1. The full name of the charity is:- CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS RESCUE FUND FOR REDUNDANT BELLS

2. The charity is not incorporated. The constitution derives from rules adopted on the 29th May 1979 and registered with the Charity Commission on the 22nd October 1979. The Charity’s registration number is 278816.

3. The principal address of the Charity is that of the secretary namely:- 8 LEBANON GARDENS, LONDON SW18 1RG

4. The principal object of the Fund is to advance the Christian religion by the rescue of redundant bells for the purpose of their being rehoused elsewhere for ringing in churches.

5. The Managing Trustees of the Fund are the members of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers Committee for Redundant Bells namely:-

   Revd Dr J C Baldwin
   A R Aspland
   R J Cooles
   A J Frost
   G W Massey
   Revd Preb J G M Scott
   P A G Watts
   Mrs P M Wilkinson

   The Chairman of the fund is: Revd Preb J G M Scott

   The Honorary Secretary is: R J Cooles

   The Honorary Treasurer is: Revd Dr J C Baldwin.

   The Custodian Trustees of the Fund are the President, the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and the Chairman of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Committee namely:

   Dr M J deC Henshaw
   I H Oram
   E G H Godfrey
   Mrs K Flavell

The Committee’s report of the Fund’s activities for the year is as follows:-

There were no calls on the Fund this year.

The Ringers at Escrick have undertaken to continue to make payments on account of storage and insurance charges incurred by the Fund for the ex Birmingham Bells. This is greatly appreciated.

New promises of loans to be taken up if required are always welcomed.

The accounts for 2002 are set out separately.

R J COOLES
Hon. Secretary

Rescue Fund for Redundant Bells

Registered Charity No 278816

J C BALDWIN
22 January 2003

The Ringing World, April 11, 2003, pages 341 to 342

Records Committee

Correction to 2001 report

The correct name for the method named Matchedwell S.Max. on Feb 24 is Whitwick S.Max.

Biographies Committee

The following thirteen past and present members of the Council died in the year 2002.

The deaths of the following five members and former members have already been reported to the Council:

• ST. JOHN SMITH, Roger Douglas, Lancashire Association 1954-1962 and Derby Diocesan Association 1969-1974, died 29th January 2002, attended 9 meetings.

• MEADOWS, Rodney Brian, Oxford University Society 1951-1959 and Ancient Society of College Youths 1969-1974, died 15th March 2002, attended 13 meetings.

• HALLS, Gordon Allan, Derby Diocesan Association 1960-2002, died 27th April 2002, attended 42 meetings.

• CROSSTHWAITE, Cyril, Lancashire Association 1963-1986, died 8th May 2002, attended 22 meetings.

• RYLES, Charles Stanley, North Staffordshire Association 1966-1971, died 11th May 2002, attended 6 meetings.

The following nine members and former members have died since the last Council meeting:

• ALLEN, Patrick Henry, Gloucester & Bristol Diocesan Association 1984-1989, died 15th June 2002, attended 6 meetings.

• EDWARDS, Leonard Christopher, Gloucester & Bristol Diocesan Association 1972-1983, died 15th June 2002, attended 12 meetings.

• KERSHAW, Jeffrey, Lancashire Association 1975-2002, died 5th July 2002, attended 28 meetings.

• NIXON, Eric, North Staffordshire Association 1975-1982, died 12th July 2002, attended 5 meetings.

• JONES, Eric Malcolm, North Wales Association 1993-1996, died 20th October 2002, attended 4 meetings.

• LEWIS, Cyril Kenneth, Chester Diocesan Guild 1948-1950, Honorary Member 1951-1992 and Life Member 1993-2002, died 20th November 2002, attended 55 meetings.

• BYRNE, Reuben Louvain, Truro Diocesan Guild 1977-1981, died 7th December 2002, attended 3 meetings.

• SNOWDEN, Hilda Gwendoline May, Essex County Association 1945-1971, died 18th December 2002, attended 19 meetings.

During the year, the Committee has held two meetings.

Our search for photographs of old and present Council members is now bearing some fruit, but there are still a great number of members and past members for whom we have only an old black- and-white picture or none at all. We shall all be at the Council meeting, and we beg members to approach us either with a picture, or to ask us to take one. Photographs of and information about past members will also be very gladly received, and we shall be happy to let members know whether someone has ever been on the Council. Similarly, we have very inadequate records of many members and past members - none at all of some; and we would again ask current members to fill in a form now so that we have more up-to-date information.

We have plans to update the writing up of members who have died - there is quite a backlog due to uncertainty as to how to proceed; but we now propose to hold the records on disc with a view to printing them out instead of writing them up by hand. This will involve the purchase of an A3 printer and the necessary A3 stationery. Work is already in hand on the design of a suitable form. When this is achieved, we should be able to give out information much more easily, as well as enabling us to get up to date quickly.

We thank the two retiring members for the work they did, and welcome our two new members, who have gladly taken on their share of the work.

Library Committee

The Council, when it met at Norwich in 2002, appointed a new committee, although a number of faces stayed the same. John Eisel was reappointed Steward of the Library and three members of the former committee were elected to serve again, Bill Butler, Jean Sanderson and Chris Ridley. Two new members were appointed: Garry Barr and Paul Johnson.

Two meetings have been held. The first was held in July at Thatcham, where the new members were given the current position on the projects in hand, project leaders appointed and tasks allocated. A second meeting in October at Ullingswick enabled members to report on progress.

A new project was the establishing of a Library web-site. Paul Johnson has successfully set this up and will be maintaining it. For those wishing to know more about the Library and the work of this committee I recommend they seek it out. It may be reached via a link in the Council web-site or found at http://www.llangorse.clara.net/cclib/index.htm.

Our major project at the moment is the transferring of The Bell News to electronic format. Garry Barr is leading this and has had extensive discussions with experts in this field. It is an expensive undertaking, and we have had to balance the cost of an “all singing, all dancing” version against likely sales and the recovery of the initial investment. We have chosen a middle course which will provide a searchable index to the scanned original pages. We aim to produce this for the Christmas market in 2003.

Our ringers’ badge collection has been augmented with the gift of a few examples of early badges and the purchase of two others. The production of the badge catalogue has been completed. The Library Catalogue was produced during the year and has sold well; stock is now down to double figures. A tremendous amount of hard work went into the database and it is already regarded as an essential work of reference.

In our last report we mentioned the need for a learned journal comprising scholarly research on bells and ringing, suggesting that the type of articles we envisaged would include in-depth material which would make them generally unsuitable for publication in The Ringing World. This proposal has received mixed reactions, but we still feel it has merit and deserves further investigation.

Information and Communications Technology Committee

The transformation of the Council’s website into topic-oriented sections continues. A subsection for the Towers and Belfries Committee has been added to the Bell Projects section, and a new Learning to Ring section includes a subsection for the Ringing Centres Committee. Work is ongoing to incorporate the Education Committees webpages into the website. Plans are in hand to re-design the Home page and the menus to provide more adequate guidance to the growing content of the website.

Andrew Craddock continues with his involvement with the Felstead database project and, in conjunction with others, has ensured that this project is now “on-line” and historical peal data is available to anyone with internet access.

The Committee has maintained its Computer Software Catalogue and our thanks go to Fred Bone for continuing to oversee the web based version.

The Committee has continued to support John Baldwin who has kept the on-line version of Dove very much up to date. We are very grateful to John for all his hard work.

The Ringing World, April 11, 2003, pages 343 to 344, corrections July 11, 2003, pages 657 to 658

Administrative Committee

Since the 2002 Council meeting the Committee has met twice in London, in October and March. The arrangements for the 2003 Council meeting were discussed and agreed; the Committee has continued its practice of reviewing the work of Council Committees and received presentations from the Bell Restoration and Biographies Committees; among other matters considered were the following:

1. Incorporation of the Council

   A Motion to rescind the previous proposal appears on the Agenda. Bob Cooles had explained that the original reasons for seeking incorporation were no longer valid: he had anticipated that the review of the Council’s constitution and workings would have produced some radical changes: there might be full-time staff employed and small companies set up to deal with particular activities, all of which would have made incorporation a possibility, but that was not now the case.

2. Telecommunications Equipment in Churches

   As reported at the last Council meeting, details of the National Agreement with the preferred contractor, Quintel S4 Ltd, were published on 24th June. However those details contained scarcely any reference to bells; the Secretary of the Council for the Care of Churches (CCC) had assured the Secretary that the Parish Project Handbook, containing the guidelines to which the Council had contributed, was still in draft. Several months passed and as a result of various rumours further enquiries revealed that the Handbook would not now contain these guidelines. Further pressure on CCC led to a meeting, attended by the President, the Secretary and Jim Taylor (Towers and Belfries Committee), who had made the major contribution to the Council’s comments on the guidelines; representatives of Quintel were also present.

   CCC explained that the plan to send a detailed Parish Handbook to all parishes was not pursued, as many would decide not to proceed; Quintel was producing a Handbook for those parishes that were proceeding under the terms of the National Agreement. Jim Taylor has agreed to prepare guidelines on behalf of the Council, which would be targeted at specific audiences, such as Registrars, DACs and Chancellors, as well as ringers. Quintel accepted that its website could be improved and would consider input from the Council, with a link to the Council website.

   There was much discussion of access arrangements; the Agreement ensures that the normal life of the parish is not disrupted. Concern was expressed about parishes where there are no ringers, where the bells are unringable or where there are currently no bells; in these cases there should be provision in Quintel’s procedures for the local Society to be contacted. CCC has no influence over those parishes that already had installations or which go outside the National Agreement. Many technical issues were discussed and it was agreed that CCC and the Council should keep in contact on the matter.

3. National Bells Register

   Currently a pilot scheme, using manuscript information from the Winchester & Portsmouth Guild, was in progress in the hands of John Baldwin; unfortunately the work was proceeding slowly, due to John’s work commitments and to maintaining the “Dove” database. It was clear that far more resources would be needed; however, before any significant cost was incurred, it should be established who was to benefit from the work, as it was not necessarily the Council. Proposals will be brought to the Council meeting.

4. Heritage Lottery Fund

   The Repair Grants for Places of Worship Scheme was set up but specifically excluded conservation work to bells. The Scheme will fund urgent repairs to keep the fabric structurally sound, so work to a bellframe at risk of failure might qualify.

   The grant-giving programme, Your Heritage, gives grants between £5,000 and £50,000. The Secretary has been trying to ascertain what criteria apply to bell projects, so as to avoid parishes making abortive applications: HLF has advised that it relies on the guidance of CCC as to the type of conservation works that are eligible; the CCC has undertaken to provide some guidelines.

5. Council support for appeal against faculty

   This matter arose from the statement by Stewart Holbeche during consideration of the Towers and Belfries Committee report: that referred to a meeting with the engineer concerned, who had been asked to specify where damage was apparent - this he was either unable or unwilling to do. In granting the faculty the Chancellor had noted the lack of supporting evidence from the engineer; he allowed a 10-year limit instead of the normal 2 years. It was noted that the faculty does not stipulate that the work has to be done, merely gives permission if needed. As the parish had engaged the engineer, it felt it should take his advice; however it was clear that neither the ringers nor the bellhangers wanted the bracing installed and therefore the parish should not incur unnecessary expense. The Administrative Committee decided that the appeal to the Court of Arches should be supported; it was understood that leave to appeal had just been granted.

6. Report by working party on election procedures and the rights of Honorary Members

   The working party was set up arising from the concerns of many members at the way the elections had been rushed due to the shortage of time and the unsatisfactory result of many unfilled vacancies. In considering whether elections take too long at the first meeting of the triennium, the possibility of electing only one third of the Committees at each meeting did not appear feasible, since the Council is structured on a three-year cycle with many new members having been elected for that meeting. That the current process does not ensure the right people are elected can only be shown over a period of time; certainly the membership of Committees does change every triennium. Concern had been expressed over the perception that Honorary Members might be corrupting the Council’s democracy; this was considered to be unfounded. Lastly, the group considered whether the meeting agenda could be balanced better between the different meetings of the triennium: last year’s meeting was undoubtedly rushed, due to the number of motions and the length of the AGM of The Ringing World; it would interfere with members’ rights to restrict motions in any way - and to split the meeting over two days would oblige members to be present on both days. Further consideration would be given to a suggestion of changing the timing of the AGM of The Ringing World and shortening the lunch break; but no change to election procedures was proposed.

7. Ringing Trends - Census of Ringing

   The analysis of trends was hampered by a shortage of data, much being 14 years old; trends would be identified more easily with more frequent surveys. The recent National Census would provide a useful source of data, especially with the analysis of different centres of population. It was therefore proposed to carry out a census of ringing, linked to the National Census: to implement this proposal it would be necessary to identify someone, either within or without the Council, to lead the project.

8. Ringing Trends - reports from Committees

   (a) Education - The Committee was thinking how to project the image of ringing to young people, how to devise appropriate training for them, how to make ringing interesting and the related issues of how to recruit and retain.

   (b) Public Relations - There would be a Youth Forum at the Roadshow and there were ongoing discussions with the Editor of The Ringing World about something specific for young people; it was hoped to contact Universities before the start of the next academic year; it was intended to produce a leaflet for priests, to be circulated widely, and to find ways of approaching the theological colleges.

   (c) Ringing Centres - The current priority for the Committee was to complete the Founders’ project. The Committee was organising a conference in November for Centre operators, when it would be useful to seek their views on the encouragement of young people.

   (d) Towers and Belfries - The Committee had been asked to consider the merits of a detailed survey of the state of repair of bells installations nationally and had concluded that there was no merit in so doing; however it would be worthwhile undertaking an indicative survey via the on-line “Dove” on a yearly basis; this would be sufficient to give a trend for the number of unringables. The Committee emphasised that the condition of rings of bells was primarily the responsibility of PCCs.

9. Ringing Trends - Child Protection

   It was clear that there was no common application of The Children Act across Dioceses; there was no representation of ringers on the bodies drawing up guidelines; the Act seemed to be discouraging the teaching of young people; it was a very specialist area, needing people with the right knowledge to advise on behalf of the Council. Judith Rogers has professional experience and training of working under the terms of the Act as a Speech and Language Therapist; she has very kindly offered to help the Council produce guidelines for the use of ringers. A first draft has been prepared and work continues.

10. English Heritage

    Regular contact has continued, with a meeting on 1st October (a further meeting was the Committee). Problem cases had been dealt with satisfactorily. In addition to discussing items noted above (Heritage Lottery Fund Repair Grants Scheme and telecommunications equipment in churches) meetings have considered:

    Conservation Statement: Alan Frost had proposed alterations to the Towers and Belfries booklet “Tower Changes” upon which EH had commented - this would go back to that Committee for its comments, with the aim of having an agreed revised booklet ready for the next meeting with EH;

    Incomplete specifications at faculty application stage: EH had submitted an article to The Ringing World;

    2003 Roadshow: EH had been invited to have a stand, the invitation had been accepted and representatives were considering presenting a seminar.

11. Application to Millennium Commission for Enhancement Grant

    Last October the Commission announced that it was offering Enhancement Grants to the previous schemes. Ringing in the Millennium had been managed by the Directors of the Millennium Grants Company, who had surveyed all the unsuccessful projects from that scheme; some had raised other funds to complete their project but around 30 were interested in securing funding. A letter to The Ringing World invited others to express an interest, provided that they could meet the basic criteria as before, i.e. partnership funding of 50%, and could complete by December 2004. As a result a detailed application was submitted in January for £1.4 million, representing 70 projects at £20,000 each.

    Consultants have been appointed to appraise applications; answering their questions has not been easy, as they do not seem to appreciate that ours is an umbrella project. The Commission’s decision is not expected before May or June; if the application is successful, application forms will be sent to all those parishes expressing an interest. The previous Project Manager, John Cunnington, has confirmed willingness to act again. Thanks are due to the Grants Company Directors for their work in getting the application this far.

12. CCC and Bells

    The Towers and Belfries Committee had brought several matters to the Committee’s attention: a CCC statement on substitutes for conventional bells, issued without prior notice to the Central Council; a revised version of CCC Code of Practice, changed radically in format and layout; and tuning of listed bells. It was clear that there were considerable differences between the Committee and the CCC; the Administrative Committee supported arranging a meeting with CCC.

Towers and Belfries Committee

We welcomed three new members to the Committee in 2002 as a result of the new Triennium: Arnold Smith of Sheffield, James Clarke of Bideford and Adrian Semken of Coggeshall. By good fortune, these new members extend our spread throughout the country. The Committee in this form met three times, once at Evesham and twice near Oxford.

Our staple diet of tower inspections and advice on towers, bells and maintenance continues. It is interesting to see that sound management has become a more regular item for advice. This is generally to reduce the external sound of bells, but there have been some for internal management. Whether advice for this aspect has increased due to the public’s and ringers’ greater awareness of noise legislation, or whether it is due to an increasing understanding of the factors that control sound and therefore the greater chance of success is difficult to say. Two Committee members have become particularly proficient in this area. The Committee continues to play a major role in the twice-yearly Central Council/English Heritage liaison meetings.

Harry Windsor’s work on monitoring and evaluating tower movement came together in a successful crescendo at a seminar on the subject at Brailes in June. Brailes was an inspired choice for the venue, as it was possible to hear directly from Harry the theory about why bells excite towers and then ascend the adjacent tower to experience - in ample form - the reality. We were blessed with lovely weather, lovely surroundings, and attentive and interested audiences on both days. Indeed, the number of delegates from the bell industry was such on the “trade” day that a catastrophe befalling the building would have wiped out all the major players in the bell industry and many Diocesan Bell Advisors, too. The importance of this seminar was summed up in a remark made by one worthy of the bell industry, that it was incredibly rare to see all the trade mingling together under one roof on an equal footing. Harry highly deserves the plaudits that were directed to him subsequently, not only for the content of the seminar but also for all the organisation behind it, even down to the high standard of catering. Harry continues to investigate the interaction between bells and towers, so the subject will be one of great importance for some time to come. The associated development of electronic and computerised instrumentation to measure and monitor tower movement continues apace, again under Harry’s supervision.

A natural adjunct to the Brailes seminar is a series of experiments to alter the swing speed of an appropriate ring of bells. These experiments are being carried out by John Taylor & Co, working closely with the T&B Committee, to evaluate the practical options available for reducing tower movement and improving the go of such bells. We much appreciate the cooperation of members of the bellhanging industry, both in attending the seminar and in working with Harry in advancing this work. Hopefully, the results of these experiments will apply to other towers where the bells go badly because of tower resonance. Such problems are better predicted before rehanging work begins and Harry’s work with measuring tower movement will assist greatly where towers are potentially prone to this. Unfortunately, there have been one or two fairly high profile cases in recent years that show that tower resonance and bell swing times can coincide after major improvement works, causing disappointment to all concerned.

There were two very successful T&BC-run maintenance courses and a T&B-assisted one in 2002. Phil Watts organised one for the Salisbury Guild in April and in October John Scott organised one for the Bath & Wells DA in Wellington, Somerset. Help from other Committee members was received in both cases. Adrian Semken provided the maintenance module at an Education Committee-run course for the Ely DA.

Mobile phone antennae in towers still continue to make the news in many forms. The early concerns about radiation are abating. However, the physical, security and management problems of sharing the tower with a large amount of electrical and electronic equipment on a “24/7” basis have taken over with similar if not greater vengeance. This has become particularly sensitive now that the Church of England has signed an agreement with a contractor (QuintelS4) to be the preferred installer of the kit; and the rewards for housing it are not insubstantial. Unfortunately, the promise of an information document for Parishes from the Archbishops’ Council and the Council for the Care of Churches to outline (amongst other aspects) the interests of ringers, has not been forthcoming so far. The CCCBR decided to produce a similar document and Jim Taylor has been involved with drafting the necessary document on the CCCBR’s behalf.

Avid readers of the CCCBR’s web pages cannot fail to have noticed the inclusion of a number of the Committee’s published documents in this format. Jim Taylor took the initiative with this medium and, in conjunction with Peter Trotman, is making this a hugely important method of disseminating our information to as wide an audience as possible. Judging by the number of “hits” received, this site is proving very popular and this must be a good measure of its (and our) success. In addition, the Committee’s fan-fold information sheet is receiving a slight make-over, and we are privileged to be allowed to use some more of Christopher Dalton’s stunning photographs for this.

The Ringing World, April 18, 2003, pages 365 to 366

Report of the Steward of the Rolls of Honour

The two books, housed in a cabinet below the ringing room in St. Paul’s Cathedral, are in good order and the pages in each are turned weekly.

Following the decision at the 2002 Council Meeting to keep the books open for the inclusion of other names which already have, and may in the future, come to light, I am currently investigating the production of a supplement to be inserted into the 1914-1918 volume to record such names.

ANDREW STUBBS

Public Relations Committee

A number of the 1999-2002 Committee did not, for a variety of reasons, seek re-election this time: we are very grateful to Nick Davies, Wendy Daw, George Morris, Harold Rogers - still, fortunately, looking after the display boards - and David Thorne for all their hard work. It may be invidious to single one person out, but David’s term as Committee chairman covered the whole of the Millennium period, and we all - Committee, Council, and ringers in general - owe him much gratitude for the graceful and effective way he dealt with its many alarms and excursions. We had hoped he would seek re-election at Norwich; but in the event he did not: this, therefore, is our first chance formally to thank him.

The Jubilee

The thinking behind the committee’s approach to the Jubilee was based on the Queen’s own expressed wish that people should celebrate in their own communities. Thus it was decided to take the approach of encouraging ringers to focus on local rather than on national publicity. The main concentration, therefore, was on providing suggestions and materials, including Jubilee touches and adaptable press releases, for local use. Some effort was needed to convince Jubilee officials that ringing on the Sunday was unlikely to be seen by the public as unusual, but it finally proved possible to aim the main ringing effort that weekend to the Tuesday, when the national Thanksgiving Service was held.

Complaints Network

Following the formation of the new committee, Alan Chantler agreed to take over the co-ordination of the Complaints Network from Nick Davies. Absences abroad prevented them meeting, but Nick kindly delivered the documentation to Alan, who is now working on it. A key document is the Guidelines produced a couple of years ago and Alan is checking its currency and relevance. He is also trying to update the Directory of Experts. Meanwhile only three official contacts have been made and all have been dealt with, including giving appropriate contact details to the enquirer. Alan would prefer contact to be made via email to bells@chantler.net.

Newsletter

The newsletter aims to take news of the Council’s activities directly into individual towers and society branches. The Committee felt that it needs to be attractive and readable as well as informative and helpful. One edition of the newsletter was published this year: time is also being taken to consider whether the newsletter in its present form is the best way to convey the information.

Display boards

The Council’s sets of display boards are in the care of Harold Rogers and Janet Edwards, and can be borrowed by telephoning 0208 560 3921 or 01376 563447 respectively. Though old technology, they are an extremely useful aid in explaining bell ringing to the outside world. The boards have been borrowed some half a dozen times this year, and are particularly popular in the summer months.

The current boards are beginning to show their age; the Committee is investigating the purchase of more modern ones.

Web sites and printed publicity material

Most societies now have their own web sites. Frank Lewis is maintaining contact with the webmasters, so that information can be fed electronically to them for the societies. We are working with the ICT committee to make the Council’s website more accessible to non-ringers and thereby to support recruitment. This may also include a facility to guide non-ringers to local opportunities for learning to ring.

Reprinted recruitment leaflets are now available. We are very grateful to Wendy Daw, who, though retired from the Council, has kindly agreed to continue to distribute them. A leaflet, Bells In Your Care, for clergy and churchwardens has also been prepared.

The Nine Tailors

2004 is the 70th. anniversary of the publication of The Nine Tailors, and the Dorothy L.Sayers Society is planning to mark it. Janet Edwards is liaising with the Society, which wants the help of ringers in its celebrations.

Review

With new members making up half the Committee, the opportunity was taken for a look at strategies and objectives, aided by a paper from Stephanie Warboys. Leading on from that, the Committee looked at the “Trends” working party recommendations; and in response is embarking upon a study of how ringing is perceived by both ringers and non ringers, which should help in the presentation of ringing by everyone.

Younger ringers

This area of the committee’s work is progressing. One of the seminars at the Roadshow is being chaired by Sarah and will provide a forum for people aged under 30 to voice their ideas and opinions. This will provide some very valuable feedback on how the younger population would like to take ringing forward. Discussions have taken place regarding the use of The Ringing World and the internet to provide ways of communication among younger ringers, and we are considering how we could manage this. The feasibility study will provide valuable insight in to the problems regarding perceptions of ringing and the aim is to use this to consider how we might work around these problems.

Roadshow 2003

Preparations for the Ringing Roadshow 2003 at Lincoln in July proceed apace. Arrangements are in the hands of an expert local group led by Robin and Judith Rogers. The planning is meticulous; the scope impressive; the venue attractive; and all the ingredients appear to be in place for a magnificent day for ringers - and indeed for others too.

We are very sorry that the Rogers’ move from Lincolnshire meant that Judith stood down in January as a Lincoln Guild Council Representative, and consequently retired from the Committee: we are very grateful though that she is continuing as liaison until the Roadshow.

Ringing Centres Committee

The Committee has focused its efforts during the year on moving the Founders’ Project to its conclusion which was becoming delayed from the anticipated date. There has been a steady stream of applications for grants throughout the year. Publicity, mainly via The Ringing World, was increased in the latter part of the year resulting in 30 new enquiries. Some of these are likely to come to fruition in 2003.

The Worshipful Company of Founders

Meetings with the Founders continue to be cordial. Their interest in ringing remains keen, with at least two of them learning to ring. The annual competition for the Founders Prize for achievement by ringing centres in 2001 was assessed in 2002 by a group including the CC President and Vice President and awarded to The Fire Ring Centre. The prize of £500 was presented to John Turney in February 2003 at the Founders Annual Dinner at the Mansion House, London. Several ringers attended and wish to thank the Founders for their splendid hospitality. During the year the Founders have had a number of fine bronze plaques cast for the annual prizewinners and the first three of these were also presented at the Dinner.

Founders Grants Awarded

During the year nine new ringing centres were recognised and also awarded Founders’ grants of £8,100 in total. These were at Bampton (Troyte Centre), Barrow on Humber, Bradpole, Eckington, Edgmond, Enfield, Hailsham, Moulton and Rothwell.

The total number of CC recognised ringing centres reached 27, with 21 of them having received Founders’ grants. This is more than the original target. The Committee’s aim of a wide geographic spread of ringing centres is gradually being achieved and appears to be following the geographic distribution of towers throughout Britain. This means that there are fewer in the North than in the South. However, the first overseas ringing centre was recognized in 2002 - The Swan Bells in Perth, Western Australia.

The process of applying for a grant is by no means easy. It requires a lot of thought, planning and sometimes lobbying for local support. Most towers which apply for grants and to become CC recognised ringing centres are pioneers in their own area and do not have the benefit of local experience to help them. The Committee would like to pay tribute to their determination and enthusiasm. The Committee has benefited from experience and the process of assessing applications and awarding grants has become smoother. Many ringing centres expressed their appreciation of the Committee’s support in helping them to prepare their applications.

The Financial Position

Of the £50,000 offered by the Worshipful Company of Founders, it was the Committee’s original plan to allocate 60% in grants to individual towers to assist them in buying teaching equipment for purposes of setting up a ringing centre. At the end of the year almost £29,000 had already been allocated in grants.

The remaining 40% of the money was to be spent on training courses for those receiving a grant and running a ringing centre. Courses cover ringing centre management, teaching skills and use of equipment. Attendance is a requirement of receiving a grant. It is expected that when the scheme is completed a much greater proportion will have been spent on grants than was envisaged. This is because the wider availability of ringing centres has meant that they can be used for training courses at convenient locations thus reducing the need for money to be spent on accommodation in centres such as London, as was the case earlier. This has allowed more effective use of the money by distributing it more widely.

The Committee thanks the CC Treasurer, Eric Godfrey for continuing to look after the purse strings, even though he is no longer a member of the Committee.

Training Courses

Two training courses were held during the year - one at the Shinfield Ringing Centre and the other at the Workington Ringing Centre. We thank both of them for their cooperation and help in running the courses.

Ringing Centre Activity

Reports of ringing centre activity can be seen regularly in The Ringing World. Though most ringing centres are at an early stage of development it is already apparent that a great deal of effort and enthusiasm is being put into making them a success. The Committee asks ringing centres to submit a periodic report on their activities in order to maintain CC recognition. These reports outline the training that has taken place during the year. It is clear from these reports that ringing centres are developing in different ways in their efforts to meet local training needs. Often the support of the local society is evident and the Committee welcomes this.

Ringing Centres Network

Most ringing centres subscribe to an E-mail discussion list which is intended to provide mutual support. It is as yet in an embryonic form and its use needs to be developed in the near future.

Activity in 2003

As well as encouraging the development of the E-mail Network, the Committee intends to bring the Founders’ project to its conclusion.

Final applications for grants were requested by February 2003, with the intention of completing payments to individual ringing centres by the end of June. This deadline is very likely to be met. Training courses will go on until later in the year. At least three one-day courses have been planned with a final one at a later date. In November a Course/Conference is planned for as many ringing centre representatives as possible. The purpose is to share ideas and increase the level of networking between centres and to involve as many representatives as possible in discussing the ways in which ringing centres can move forward and maximize their potential.

The Ringing World, April 18, 2003, pages 367 to 368

Peals Analysis Committee

We have recorded a total of 5440 peals rung in 2002, of which 4912 were on tower bells and 528 on handbells. This is the highest recorded number of peals in a year to date beating the previous record of 5340 in 1994. This increase is associated with the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee, and also the peals in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and HRH Princess Margaret. There are no significant reductions in numbers of peals on any number of bells. Full details are included in the methods table that accompanies this report. The Oxford Diocesan Guild has retained its customary position as the leading society with 378 peals, while the Yorkshire Association rises to second place with 328 peals and the Lancashire Association remains third. The Cumberland Youths fall to fourth place and Bath and Wells retains fifth. Please see the separate table for details.

The Committee met briefly at the Council meeting in Norwich to agree the work plan for the year and in February in Kent to finalise records for 2002 and to agree the format of the report. We are grateful for the continuing work done by Andrew Craddock collating, editing and correcting the current peal data extracted from The Ringing World input system, which is being used to check our figures. We also thank those Society Peal secretaries who have helped by comparing their figures with our own and to those others, notably William Hall, who retain an interest in peal records and assist with our work.

Peals not complying with the Decisions on Peal Ringing

In accordance with the amendment to the Council’s decisions made in 2002 we have included in the Analysis those peals that do not comply with Decision D (Parts A-D) relating to peal ringing. One peal on handbells, although published as a “miscellaneous performance” (see RW p293 St Albans), is acceptable under new Decisions and not considered separately. Two other peals, published as miscellaneous performances and four published as peals do not conform with various Decisions on Methods (or calls) and are included in the Analysis. They are as follows: -

5016 Spliced Maximus (RW p.293, Birmingham St Martin) contains the block of changes termed C.2.9.2001B.F not conforming to the Decisions on Methods.

5021 Spliced 15 and 16 (RW p.766, Birmingham St Martin) contains a number of methods which do not conform to the Decisions on Methods.

5040 Minor in 2m (RW p.1091, Cambridge - handbells) contains Dixon’s Bob Minor which does not conform to the Decisions on Methods.

5040 Dixon’s Bob Minor (RW p.1139, Cambridge - handbells) does not conform to the Decisions on Methods.

5040 Ariston Little TP Royal (RW p.6 - 2003 Cambridge - handbells) contains a call not conforming to the Decision on Calls.

5040 Dixon’s Bob Minor (p31 - 2003, Maxey) does not conform to the Decisions on Methods.

We thank the Chairman of the Methods Committee for identifying some of those peals not conforming to Decisions on Methods and Calls.

Two further performances submitted as peals and published as miscellaneous performances were discussed at some length at our February meeting.

First, a peal was rung on the dumbbell simulator at the Marches Teaching Belfry at Hopton Heath (29/12/02). The “bells” were audible outside the tower and we have included the performance in the Analysis in what we believe to be the correct interpretation of the decision taking in Norwich.

Nonetheless the “bells” are not conical instruments (the broadest definition of a bell). We believe that its inclusion has profound implications for the definition of ringing and recommend that the Council should debate its inclusion in the Analysis or at least the wider implications involved.

Second, a peal of “Jump Minor” was rung on 28/9/02 and attributed to the Cambridge University Guild. We have not included this performance elsewhere in the Analysis since what was rung does not conform to the definition of a change ringing method given in Decision (E) of the Council’s decisions since the connection between successive rows cannot be made by the transposition of adjacent pairs of bells. This situation is so significantly at odds with Decision E. A 1 that we considered it to require a redefinition of the meaning of change ringing, and to be not in the spirit of the changes to the Council’s decisions made at the 2002 meeting. Taken to a logical conclusion a “peal” of 5040 rounds could be submitted and would be included in the Analysis.

We believe these two situations to be an unintended effect of the amendment to the Decisions made in 2002 and that they should prompt a re-examination of the Decisions.

A letter from the Chairman of the Methods Committee appears elsewhere commenting on corrections necessary for peals of Doubles to conform to reporting rules. All have been included in the Analysis.

Methods and change on year

The accompanying table incorporates a summary of the more popular methods with an analysis of the year on year change in the numbers of peals rung on each number of bells. “Single Surprise” means the total rung in single Surprise methods other than those listed specifically. There are no methods in this category rung 20 or more times, and it will be seen that Jubilee Surprise Major has been listed separately this year for obvious reasons. An “Other” category is included for completeness.

Towers

The following 81 towers had 10 or more peals in 2002: (67 in 2001)

The highest placed new entrant to the list is Belper, while the highest placed tower in 2001 which does not appear in the 2002 list is Bermondsey.

First pealers and firsts as conductor

There were 306 first pealers in 2002 (255 in 2001) and 37 first as conductor (35 in 2001). We congratulate all those who have contributed to these statistics, particularly where several firsts were included in one peal.

The leading societies

The following societies rang 150 or more peals:

These nine societies were also the top nine societies in 2001. The Hertford County Association regains its place as the leading society for handbell peals from the Chester Diocesan Guild although, notably, 80% of the total peals for the latter Guild were in hand. The top eight societies above rang 37% of the tower bell peals, and 41% of the handbell peals. More striking is the observation that, similarly to 2001, the top 8 tower bell ringing societies rang 38% of the peals, whilst the top 8 societies that rang handbell peals rang 70% of them. A total of 16 societies rang more than 100 peals in 2002 compared with 15 in 2001.

Corrections to the 2001 Analysis

There are several alterations to the 2001 Analysis as detailed below, primarily caused by late submission. To meet our deadlines, we have to report on the data as received by The Ringing World at the end of February. Any changes notified later are included in the following year.

Corrections relate to tower bells except where specified.

The methods analysis for 2001 should be amended as follows (tower bells unless stated) - Sixteen (handbells) +1, Spliced S Royal +1, Stedman Caters +1, Bristol S Major +1, London S Major +1, Minor (7m) -1, Minor (Other) +1.

Revised totals for 2001 are: tower bells 4530, handbells 492, total 5022.

Details of the adjustments are available from the Chairman.

The Felstead Project (joint with ICT Committee)

During the year the Felstead web site has been moved. The committee wishes to record grateful thanks to Simon Feather who set up this site initially and to Don Morrison who is hosting it now. Corrections are continuing to be made to the Felstead data and new peal information is added into the database on a regular basis by Andrew Craddock.

A CD containing Felstead and post-Felstead data up to the end of 2001 was issued to all the data input volunteers. This is also being kept up to date by Andrew and thanks are due to him for this work.

The committee has discussed the future of this project and identified several questions which need to be resolved with other committees.

It is hoped to be able to report further on this at the Council meeting.

The Ringing World, April 25, 2003, pages 391 to 393

The Ringing World

(Limited by Guarantee)

Chairman’s Report 2002

2002 will be remembered as the year in which The Ringing World implemented a number of fundamental and necessary changes in both direction and approach that were designed to bring as many operational aspects as possible under the direct control of the Board and staff.

The office move to Andover in March 2002 not only addressed increasing concerns over the unsatisfactory working conditions prevalent in the Guildford premises but also enabled the paper to make best use of recent technological developments in desktop publishing techniques, which in turn have broadened the scope of the printing production process. As advised in last year’s report this development included the appointment of Chris Caryer as Compositor as well as moving the print contract from Seven Corners Press to Visa Press Ltd, a firm of print brokers who have managed the printing of the paper since the 24th May 2002 edition.

Unfortunately the Board has experienced considerable difficulty in reaching an agreement with the Karren Group, the present owners of Seven Corners Press, as to the amount of the final settlement account. The Board has no wish to become embroiled in the threatened legal proceedings; however as a charity the Company is under a legal obligation only to settle accounts invoiced for which the company is clearly legally liable. There is a substantial discrepancy between the figure claimed and the amount our financial advisors consider as due. The outstanding amount appears to be historically based from an indeterminate number of past years and yet no monthly statement issued by Seven Corners Press has indicated any long-term debt. To date they have been unable to provide any documentation to support their outstanding claim.

In the newsletter circulated to members of the Company in December 2001, the Board established a series of key objectives for 2002. 15 months later I am pleased to report that the new office has been established and appropriately equipped, new administrative personnel recruited, flat-pack mailing has been successfully introduced and the paper is now prepared and set “in-house” in a print-ready format that is electronically sent to Visa Press.

Another key 2002 development involved the transformation of the Bellfounders’ Gift Page into a formal sponsorship agreement in which Whitechapel Bell Foundry Limited & John Taylor Bellfounders Limited jointly and equally agreed to sponsor The Ringing World for a period of twelve months commencing 1st April 2002. Co-ordination meetings have subsequently been held with both Foundries and as a result of the positive relationships that have developed over the initial period they have recently agreed to extend the agreement for a further 12 months. Both their financial support and their active interest in the future success of the paper is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.

All of the above developments were systematically implemented by the Board prior to the 2002 Annual General Meeting. Sadly too little time was spent at the AGM giving due recognition for the time and effort that these recent changes had required. Instead as a result of some remarks made from the floor, none of the directors were prepared to stand for re-election; the meeting therefore elected a new Board of directors. Those of us who were subsequently elected were soon faced with the daunting task of assuming responsibility not only for the continued publication of the paper but also the future well being of its dedicated staff. As a result the immediate aim of the new Board was to establish a sound understanding of the current operations and business practices. We are indebted to both Michael Henshaw and Ian Oram who provided us with much needed continuity during this period. The Board also agreed to resist any temptation to implement significant change unless considered to be business critical.

At the Board meeting held on 23rd June, the following responsibilities were allocated to the new directors:

Soon after its election, the Board identified that over many years most of the Company’s financial relationships had been established on personal business contacts of previous directors. Smith & Williamson indicated that they were unwilling to agree a fee and wished to resign as the Company’s auditors. The Camberley Branch of Barclays Bank then gave notice that the current favourable banking arrangements would be withdrawn with effect from 31st December 2002.

Clearly the prospect of paying full bank charges on an account involving numerous small value transactions would have resulted in considerable additional cost that the Company could ill afford. Not surprisingly the Board considered the immediate review of all of the Company’s financial arrangements as of utmost importance and concern. As a result two firms of Chartered Accountants were invited to tender for the audit contract. Having reviewed the presentations and quotations submitted, the Board decided to appoint Saxby & Sinden. A formal motion endorsing this appointment will be put at the 2003 Annual General Meeting. As part of their presentation Saxby & Sinden recommended the introduction of a new internal accounting system designed to replace the existing outdated and cumbersome system that required time-consuming manual inputs involving 140 different stand alone spreadsheets. The new system was installed and on site training took place in November. Clear advantages already identifiable include a reduction in the office time spent on accounts, a reduction in external financial advice charges, and timely access to financial information. As to the future banking arrangements of the Company, I am pleased to report that the Andover Branch of NatWest offered to match the original favourable arrangements previously provided by Barclays Bank. As a result the Board authorised the transfer of the Company’s accounts to NatWest with effect from 1st January 2003 and the closure of the Barclays Bank account in April.

The financial outcome for the year shows a deficit of income over expenditure of £25,900, which includes relocation costs of £20,961. Subscription receipts were in line with budget. The average fourth quarter weekly sales of 3,645 was slightly less than third quarter figures but higher than the first half of the year. This indicates that circulation has been relatively consistent during the year. During the period there was an impressive 32% increase in donations received. However in contrast there was a 40% reduction in investment income and a 3.5% increase in expenditure. The Company’s reserves have reduced by 18% but the Board considers that the relocation expense incurred constitutes a necessary and appropriate investment to secure the future of the paper.

The primary area of cost overrun related to production costs. A review identified that the significant increase in the number of published peals and quarter peals during the year had contributed to this. In order to maintain the overall balance of the paper between editorial and the publication of peals and quarter peals, as well as reduce the increased cost of publishing too many twenty-eight page issues, the Board decided to change the layout of the peal pages. Steps have also been taken to streamline the way in which electronic submission of both peal and quarter peals can be effectively handled without the need for costly reformatting and retyping.

The Board has established a Working Party to undertake a general review of the Company’s Memorandum & Articles of Association and to consider whether they are consistent with current Charity Commission best practice guidelines. The Board is most grateful to Andrew Stubbs and James Smith who have both agreed to join this group. A consultation document on their findings will be circulated by October 2003, which it is hoped will lead to a proposal for a revised constitution to be considered at the 2004 AGM.

On 13th December 2002 current members of the Board and staff together with the President and Secretary of the Central Council met for dinner at the Royal Overseas League to express our thanks to Andrew Stubbs, Andrew Wilby, Michael Church, Maureen Frost and Chris Rogers for their immense contribution and dedicated service to The Ringing World. Andrew Stubbs was elected to the Ringing World Committee in 1978 and was joined three years later by Andrew Wilby and Michael Church. Amongst many projects undertaken by the paper since their election, they were all actively involved in the transformation of the management of the paper from a committee of the Central Council to a limited liability company on 27th May 1983. Between them they accumulated sixty-five years experience working in the business of running The Ringing World. Maureen Frost joined the Board in 1995 with specific responsibility for advertising including the establishment of the new sponsorship agreement with the Bellfounders. Chris Rogers joined the Board for only a few months having previously served as the Company Secretary for eight years. However with his customary efficiency and attention to detail he assumed management responsibility for the move from Guildford to Andover. Although recent times have been difficult, it is important to remember that most of the times were good. The Exercise as a whole owes them all a debt of gratitude for their hard work over so long a period. The new Board also wishes to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for all the assistance we have received from the former directors during the handover.

On 13th January 2003 Stella Bianco tendered her resignation from the Board. Her decision was entirely due to personal reasons including an imminent house-move and it coincided with her decision to resign office from all of her other outside interests. During her brief time on the Board, Stella was given the task of developing a marketing strategy and managing the Company’s involvement in the 2003 Ringing Roadshow. Since her resignation Stella has kindly agreed to continue to direct our plans and resources for the Roadshow. The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Stella for her valuable contribution and wish her well for the future.

Last but not least I would like to express our thanks to both Robert Lewis and Paul Trend for their continued dedicated service and enthusiasm. Not only have they faced the testing times of a major office move but also the uncertainty and shock of working for a new Board of directors with different skills, experiences and personalities. It is of course almost entirely due to Robert, Paul, Chris and their team that despite these challenges The Ringing World continues to publish a quality paper. To them all and to the many others who contribute in so many different ways to the continuing success of the paper, I offer my sincere thanks on behalf of my fellow directors, Company members and of course from our readers across the world.

GEORGE E. J. A. DOUGHTY,
Chairman

31st March 2003

The Ringing World, May 9, 2003, page 438