Central Council of Church Bell Ringers

Annual Report for 2003

  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 2003 were as follows:

    PresidentDr M J deC Henshaw
    Vice-PresidentMr D E Sibson
    Hon SecretaryMr I H Oram
    Hon TreasurerMr E G H Godfrey
  3. The Council’s bankers are Lloyds TSB, Westminster House Branch, Dean Stanley Street, London, SW1P 3HU. Its Independent Examiners at the time of preparation of the Accounts were Mr S J Coleman and Mr R J Wallis. Since then Mr S J Coleman has resigned as a member of the Council and is therefore no longer eligible to continue as an Independent Examiner.

  4. At the close of the Annual General Meeting on 26th May 2003 the Council’s membership comprised 9 Life Members, 18 Honorary Members and 205 Representative Members representing 66 affiliated societies. Since then one Honorary Member is now a Representative Member, there have been six other changes in representation and there are two vacancies.

    Special mention should be made of those who had been members for 15 or more years:

    Mr S J Coleman (Surrey Association, Honorary Member, Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association) elected 1979, served until 1985 and was re-elected 1990 and Mr I V J Smith (Sussex County Association) elected 1979, served until 1983 and was re-elected 1993. Thanks are due to them for their contribution to the Council.

    Subject to any further changes, at the start of the 2004 Council meeting there will be 9 Life Members, 17 Honorary Members and 204 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 2003 are given in the committee reports, which appear elsewhere on the Council’s agenda and are being published in the April 2004 issues of The Ringing World.

  7. The Accounts for 2003 show Total Funds at the year end of £367,285, of which £194,513 is in Restricted Funds. The income for the year totalled £62,958, compared with £36,515 in 2002. 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 2004, 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 2004

The Ringing World, April 30, 2004, page 415

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Registered Charity Number 270036

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2003

General FundEducation CoursesBell Rest. FundF Dukes Internat. Bell FundPubli- cations FundFriends of LibraryCapital FundTotal Funds 2003Total Funds 2002
Income and Expenditure£££££££££
Incoming resources:
Affiliation fees206020602061
Subscriptions175917591949
Interest receivable5142239002393263488920910153
Sales147471781492515781
Towers & Belfries Seminar001345
Road Show receipts10893201110940
Sales of Jigsaw Puzzles222222566
Sales of video182182111
Courses and seminars480480290
Legacy15566155662000
Stock written back328132812128
Donations036603660131
Sundry income460605200
Total incoming resources1873750320549239318291248506295836515
Resources expended:
Council meeting264426442698
Committee expenses447524429950184075
Courses and seminars678678341
Cost of publications sold901390138662
Cost of on-line Dove1881880
Towers & Belfries Seminar001266
Road Show expenditure13170131700
Library projects115115386
Library maintenance559559843
Office equipment01013
Grants1402233401736217010
Advertising24825325352894
Storage and distribution160016001575
Stationery, postage & telephone619102338621122
Insurance127062118911786
Donation to Dove Memorial Fund150015000
Stock written off5935930
Stock written off and disposed of307307358
Depreciation of Library Collection001016
Sundry expenses2773448
Independent Examiners’ expenses242438
Total resources expended2222968514022334016558125905809345131
Net I/c resources before transfers-3492-1826527-9471733122604865-8616
Transfers between funds-1675250142500
Net incoming resources-5167-1826527-9471733147614254865-8616
Revaluation of Library Collection16395163950
Net movement in funds-5167-1826527-947173317871142521260-8616
Balances at 1st January 20039487526932832679081264716365550924346025354641
Balances at 31st December 20038970825113485378134282048152652349367285346025

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Registered Charity Number 270036

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2003

General FundEducation CoursesBell Rest. FundF Dukes Internat. Bell FundPubli- cations FundFriends of LibraryCapital FundTotal Funds 2003Total Funds 2002
Fixed Assets£££££££££
Tangible assets
Investments at cost376517763452349167634168079
Library Collection676006760050712
Total fixed assets37651007763406760052349235234218791
Current Assets
Stock374531840636374
Debtors130717114781289
Cash on short term deposit and at bank530292511348535002499613645129534123987
Total current assets5433625113485350028912139630135075131650
Current Liabilities
Creditors
Amounts due within one year22797083730244416
Net current assets5205725113485350028204139260132051127234
Total assets less current liabilities8970825113485378134282048152652349367285346025
Funds
Unrestricted897088970894875
Restricted348537813481526194513171062
Designated251128204523498306480088
Total Funds8970825113485378134282048152652349367285346025

ERIC GODFREY
Hon Treasurer April 2004

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2003

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. £1425 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 £67,600. The revaluation was undertaken by J M Farringdon as at December 2003.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

20032002
££
Administrative540391
Bell Restoration432394
Biographies4050
Education1049620
Information and Communications259259
Peals Analysis0107
Public Relations11951083
Redundant Bells5970
Ringing Centres64275
Towers & Belfries472682
Total44753881

8 Grants

Grants were made by the Worshipful Company of Founders through CCCBR of a total of £12,753 to seventeen Ringing Centres for equipment. A further £2,220 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 £2,840 of which two grants totalling £2,340 were paid during the year together with one awarded in 2002 of £1,000. The third grant of £500 was to a project which has now been abandoned.This sum has been added to the sum available for grants in 2004. The Bell Restoration Fund awarded no grants in 2003. 15 grants awarded in 2001 and 2002 totalling £14,022 were paid during 2003.

9 Charitable Commitments

There were unfulfilled charitable commitments at 31st December 2003 in respect of seven grants awarded but not yet paid by the Bell Restoration Fund of £9,900

10 Publications Fund

Storage and distribution cost of £1,600 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 30, 2004, pages 416 to 417

Committee for Redundant Bells

The Committee for Redundant Bells (CfRB) has sought to advance on a number of fronts during 2003, with varying degrees of success.

Our dialogue with central Church of England organisations has continued. As in previous years the Committee is most grateful for privileged access to key information to support its deliberations. Among other things the information indicates that a further 33 C of E churches were declared redundant during 2003. This is in line with recent trends and the Church Commissioners now believe that the level may settle at between 25 and 30 new redundancies annually.

At our February meeting we were pleased to receive confirmation that David Kelly, a former member of our Committee and now heavily involved in the relocation of surplus and redundant bells through the work of the Keltek Trust, had agreed to become a consultant to CfRB. We also discussed redundancy “beyond the Church of England”. This is in recognition that as a Committee of a world-wide organisation we needed a better understanding of the situation with regard to redundant churches and bells in other denominations and countries. As a result, in March we wrote to all non-English territorial societies inviting them to submit a synopsis of their local situation as a baseline for future engagement. We are grateful to Colin Lewis (South African Guild) and Doug. Nicolls Nichols (ANZAB) for summaries of their experiences in this sphere. We encourage those who have not yet responded from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, North America and other parts of Africa to please make contact with the Committee Chairman.

We supported concerns raised by the Towers and Belfries Committee that new Council for the Care of Churches (CCC) guidelines on the use of substitutes for traditional bells within English churches might create a loop-hole that would encourage increased use of recorded and electronically generated bell sounds. These concerns have been raised with CCC, but as yet are not resolved to mutual satisfaction. In November the Chairman represented the Committee at the CCC’s “Joint Forum for Conservation 2003: Bells and Bell Frames” held at Church House in London. As has been widely reported in The Ringing World, the well attended meeting covered a wide range of topics associated with bell-related conservation and a number of potentially contentious points were raised. Among these, CCC proposals to extend the criteria for listing bells and bell frames are being considered by CfRB as part of a collected CCCBR response.

Advice was provided to the Llandaff and Monmouth Association regarding the terms of an agreement with the Church in Wales for the removal of the bells from a redundant church in its area. The church has been leased by a private individual who has objected to their removal. It appears that this situation too remains unresolved.

At the Council Meeting in Llandudno John Baldwin gave a comprehensive presentation of his work (under the auspices of CfRB) to prototype a National Bells Register. Council noted the projected effort and costs in establishing a formal register and more importantly in maintaining it, and concluded that they could not be justified by the potential return to the Exercise. Hence the initiative was brought to a close as a formal activity of the Committee at the present time.

Also at Llandudno, we reported on the progress of an England-wide audit of the status of bells of churches declared redundant in past years. We advised that some 30% of English territorial societies had responded, but that fresh information on more recent redundancies was expected from the Church Commissioners, and that this would be circulated as soon as available. The expectation was that this would enable societies who had not yet replied to incorporate the new information within a single response. Unfortunately work to process the new data, collate it with previously circulated information and enable simple and comprehensive responses, has taken longer than anticipated. This work remains an outstanding action.

The CfRB does now have a set of pages on the Central Council’s web site. We are indebted to Peter Trotman, the Council’s Webmaster, for his considerable help and support in achieving this goal just before Christmas 2003. While work remains to “tidy up” aspects and some content remains to be added, the pages should now provide a focus for those seeking background information and contact details of the Committee, the environment in which it operates, and its work.

As a footnote, one immediate return from the launch of these web pages was a contact from the Curator of the National Museums of Wales. The specialist Historical Buildings Unit of the NMW’s Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagans, Cardiff is currently working on its most ambitious project to-date. This involves the re-erection and refurbishment of the redundant medieval church of St. Teilo from Llandeilo Tal-y-bont, Pontardulais near Llanelli in West Glamorgan. This is the first time that a church has been moved to an open air museum in Britain, and is probably the first time a solid masonry church has been so relocated anywhere in Europe. The rebuild aims to restore the church to its appearance circa 1570. The CfRB connection? The Museum is seeking a contemporary “redundant” bell of about 1 cwt (19.5" diameter) with Welsh connections for the western gable bell cote!

PHILIP WATTS (Chairman)
ANDREW ASPLAND
JOHN BALDWIN
ROBERT COOLES
ALAN FROST
JASON HUGHES
GEORGE MASSEY
JOHN SCOTT
JANE WILKINSON

Information and Communications Technology Committee

The ICT Committee members were very pleased indeed to see that the Committee’s vacancies were filled at the 2003 meeting, with the re-election of Don Morrison and the co-option of Alan Chantler and Mike Till. Each of them have already made a valuable contribution to the Committee’s work.

As indicated at the AGM one of our major priorities has been the CCCBR website, Peter Trotman has put many hours of work into updating the site, bearing in mind the comments made at Llandudno. The redesigned Home page for the Council’s website was published in October, together with a new Welcome page designed to attract the attention of non-ringers. The Home page now consists primarily of links, including one for each Council Committee and groups of related links for specific topics such as: “What is change ringing?” for non-ringers; “Learning to ring”; ringing publications; and compositions and peal records. The Education Committee’s webpages formerly hosted by Fred Bone were incorporated in December, followed by the webpage for the Committee for Redundant Bells. The former are maintained by Frank Lewis, who also acted as Webmaster for the Ringing Roadshow section of the website. The left menu style of navigation developed for the Education Committee’s pages is now being retrofitted to the rest of the website. A search facility has been added in response to popular demand.

Mike Till has taken on board a supporting role with the Felstead Database this year, picking up emailed corrections and acknowledging them, adding any helpful comments where he can. In due course he will be taking up the details of some of the corrections and researching their validity so that they can be used to amend the database, if appropriate. He has been a respondent to queries from people with corrections for Felstead. Some of the issues raised by correspondents have been settled and several others have been queued for attention later. There have also been a few queries from people who have clearly stumbled across the web page and have been interested enough to ask about the content and this has been welcome communication.

The Committee has maintained the on-line version of the Felstead database which can be found at http://www.ringing.org/felstead. At the time of writing (23rd January 2004) there are brief details of 285,493 towerbell peals in the database. The database does not contain details of any handbell peals.

Work continues on “cleaning” the data and we are very grateful to those ringers who have emailed us at felstead@ringing.org to alert us of errors, omissions and inconsistencies. Work continues on designing a more comprehensive database to include full details of both towerbell and handbell peals.

The Committee remains willing to play a supportive role in terms of assisting Committees to create or maintain and host a web presence for their own activities, as well as providing other technical advice regarding ICT provisions in their own areas of expertise.

MIKE CHESTER (Chairman)
ALAN CHANTLER
ANDREW CRADDOCK
DON MORRISON
PETER TROTMAN
MIKE TILL

The Ringing World, April 2, 2004, page 330

Bell Restoration Committee

The Committee met in London in February, in Llandudno in May and in Surrey in October. During the year Roddy Horton ceased to be a member of Council, and therefore of the Committee. We thank him for his work for the Committee, particularly in revising some of our literature. There were, unfortunately, no nominations to fill the resulting vacancy.

Finding New Sources of Funding

We have continued to debate the way forward on this action which the majority of societies supported in the survey we carried out some years ago. As mentioned in our report to Council last year we have concluded that real progress requires activity by the Council, not just by our Committee, and although there are some signs of progress, the issues at stake are of major import and achieving action on many fronts is proving to be time consuming. We have tried to find funds which would enable us to seek professional fund raising advice, but have so far drawn a blank.

We hope to have dialogue with the Education and Ringing Centres Committees on matters of joint interest. But in the meantime we have been actively seeking sources of funds not available to individual parishes or societies. This includes applying to grant making trusts which fund national rather than local schemes as and when such trusts come to our attention. We continue to try and raise awareness of the importance of legacies.

Ringing Roadshow

Experience from previous Roadshows meant that our stand was probably our best so far, thanks to the efforts of all Committee members who had worked very hard. It was as a result of a suggestion made by this Committee that English Heritage had taken a stand, and being next door to them had worked in both our favours. £200 was raised for the CCBRF from the quiz, which had provided an excellent opportunity for engaging with people.

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

Provision of Information and Advice

As predicted last year there has, for the first time in a number of years, been an increase in the number of new parishes contacting the Committee for advice (2000 - 50, 2001 - 44, 2002 - 25, 2003 - 35). Sadly, the Council was unsuccessful in its bid for further Millennium funding, and John Barnes has started to followup disappointed applicants to offer them our services. We have worked on the revision to our Guide to Parishes where we have suffered the perennial difficulties of trying to get too much information into too small a space. Snippets from the Triennial Survey of Bell Restoration Funds have appeared in The Ringing World. Twenty five Funderfinder searches for suitable grant making trusts were carried out. We believe that we have found someone who is able and willing to provide unregulated financial advice to the Committee and to parishes.

Administration of Funds

The Manifold Trust offered 9 grants totaling £35,000 during the year (2002 - 10 grants totalling £39,000). The Committee assists the Trust by the provision of administrative support.

Following the allocation of funds from the Central Council BRF in 2002 it was decided that insufficient funds remained for meaningful grants to be given to the likely number of applicants. It was therefore agreed to hold over the small amount remaining in the Fund until 2004 when it was hoped that further funds might be available. 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 Menangle, Australia - £1,450; Hillandale, South Africa - £890; and Pewaukee, USA - £500. Subsequently the Pewaukee project was abandoned, the offer of a grant withdrawn and the sum of £500 added to the amount available for grants in 2004.

Future Work

In addition to continuing to take forward the work outlined above we intend to talk with other Committees about a possible joint meeting with the “trade” to explore areas where closer liaison might be of mutual benefit. We should soon have available guidance on how to make good applications to lottery funds, particularly the Your Heritage scheme administered by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

KATE FLAVELL (Chairman)
JOHN BARNES
PETER BENNETT
KEN DAVENPORT
CAROL HARDWICK
DAVID KINGMAN
IAN ORAM
LAITH REYNOLDS
JACKIE ROBERTS (Secretary)

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 BRF’s 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.

Report of the Stewards of the John Carter Ringing Machine

During the year public demonstrations were held at the Bellfoundry Museum on the 8th February and 15th November. The Machine and a Cummins simulator were demonstrated at the Ringing Roadshow at Lincoln on the 26th July and attracted a lot of interest.

Five maintenance sessions were arranged prior to the demonstrations to improve the reliability of the machine.

We wish to thank Robert Bracegirdle of the Bellfoundry Museum for publicity and to Colin Banton of John Taylor Bellfounders for transporting the machine to Lincoln.

ALAN BAGWORTH
JOHN ANDERSON

Report of the Steward of the Rolls of Honour

Both Memorial Books and their cabinet, housed adjacent to the College Youths Library in St Paul’s Cathedral, are in good order.

The First World War volume has been temporarily removed to enable a supplement to be produced, as agreed at the 2003 Council Meeting. Work on this supplement is proceeding.

ANDREW STUBBS

The Ringing World, April 2, 2004, page 331

Education Committee

The Committee met four times, once at Rothwell and three times at Wellesbourne. We ran a stand at the Ringing Roadshow to promote our work. Six newly elected members returned us to full strength, but sadly one ceased to be a Council member before she was able to attend a meeting.

Courses

The Committee delivered eight courses for local societies and ringing centres (four each MTM (Management, Teaching and Maintenance) and listening).

Publications

Work on new and replacement publications has been slow to progress. The replacement for The Beginners Handbook has moved forward a little, and we intend to give it more priority in 2004. Guidelines for Officers is nearing completion, and we hope to complete it early in 2004.

We suspended work on Basic Methods and (provisionally) Intermediate Methods. These were intended to succeed Doubles and Minor and Triples and Major, both of which had come to the end of their print run. They would have built on the old, but been split by method complexity rather than numbers of bells. The existing books have now been re-set, so the new ones are lower priority.

We are sponsoring publication of Kaleidoscope Ringing by Gordon Lucas, which should be available in 2004.

We agreed with the Publications Committee to work to a two year cycle for publishing the compendium versions of The Learning Curve. The second volume covering 2002-2003 was delivered to the Publications Committee at the end of the year.

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 continues to flourish. Membership is approaching 400 and traffic on the discussion list is 60% up on previous years. About 60% of members subscribe to the discussion list, with regular summaries sent to other members by e-mail (or post for the 50 or so members without e-mail). The quality of discussion between members is high, with many difficult problems receiving sympathetic and helpful support.

Plans are in hand for the second NRT conference at Warwick in May 2004.

Action on Ringing Trends Report

We explored the problem of how to find more effective ways to attract, train and develop young people. We produced a working paper describing problems and the ways in which they might be addressed. It has been circulated to other appropriate Committees and interested parties, including Sarah Andrews’ group of young ringers. We plan to make it more widely available for comment.

Future plans and vision

It takes time to absorb 50% of new people, but we hope to achieve more than we have in the last year or so. 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 2004 includes:

Our thanks go to people outside the Committee, notably Alison and Richard Barnett, Peter Wenham, Greg Russel and Margaret Perrot, for continuing support in running NRT.

JOHN HARRISON (Chairman)
BETTY BAINES
GILES BLUNDELL
BARRIE DOVE
STUART FLOCKTON
GEOFF HORRITT
CATHERINE LEWIS
FRANK LEWIS
HEATHER PEACHEY
ERNIE RUNCIMAN (Secretary)
MIKE WINTERBOURNE

Methods Committee

The Methods Committee held two meetings during the year, in Whitchurch on 2 March and in Kensal Green 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.

We had a rather windy site for our stand at the Ringing Roadshow in Lincoln but welcomed many visitors during the day. We demonstrated our web-enabled method collections and the A0 size Four-Way Tables of Treble Dodging Minor Methods. The Tables generated a lot of interest and we sold 26 copies at a special introductory price. Unfortunately subsequent production problems have meant that the Tables are not yet generally available.

A Supplement to Rung Surprise, Delight, Treble Bob and Alliance methods covering the methods rung during 2002 was available at the Council meeting and we will be preparing a further Supplement covering the methods rung during 2003.

Progress was made in developing an XML specification for exchanging method information between computer applications and we are grateful to Dr Martin Bright for his help.

For some years we have been considering amendments to the Decision on Method Extension although other work pressures meant little time was available until the past year. In our report last year we also acknowledged that some tidying up of the Decisions was desirable, especially the Decision on Methods and Calls, and we agreed at our October meeting to propose a motion covering both these items at the Council meeting in Colchester. A work-in-progress article appeared in The Ringing World of 27 February 2004 (p.195) and was also put on the website and advertised on the Change Ringers’ mailing list. We are grateful for the feedback we received from Philip Earis, Graham John, Don Morrison, Edward Martin and Martin Bright.

As usual we replied to many enquiries about method-related matters received by electronic mail, post or telephone.

Present and past members of the Committee met on Saturday 17 May at St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford, and rang a peal of Bristol Surprise Major in memory of Ken Lewis (RW p.539), using one of Ken’s compositions.

TONY SMITH (Chairman)
ANDREW ALLDRICK
ROGER BAILEY
PETER NIBLETT
PHILIP SADDLETON
STEF WARBOYS

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 3,500 peal compositions, and appears to be frequently consulted by a wide variety of users. 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 also continues work on several new print collections.

The new Grandsire collection, covering all stages from doubles to sixteen, has been completed and handed off to the Publications Committee.

Progress has been slower than expected on both the replacement ten and twelve bell collection, to be published in two volumes, and the replacement Stedman Caters and Cinques collection. The former is in what we hope is the final proof reading stage. The latter remains at the stage of selecting compositions for a first draft from the voluminous material collected.

Work has also started on a new collection of compositions aimed at handbell ringers.

Composers with material to contribute are encouraged to contact Roger Bailey <rb@doc.ic.ac.uk>.

Throughout most of 2003 we remained disappointed at the infrequency with which we were able to produce pages of compositions for publication in The Ringing World. However, we believe we are now past these difficulties, including changes to who on the Committee works on this and the software used. Monthly publication of pages of compositions have now resumed. We have also supplied several months’ worth of pages ahead of time to The Ringing World, and plan to remain several months ahead in the future. We believe this will smooth over any unforeseen difficulties in future, and ensure regular publication.

We remain grateful to the staff of The Ringing World for their constant help and support in this effort.

DON MORRISON (Chairman)
RICHARD ALLTON
ROGER BAILEY
STUART HUTCHIESON
IAN McCULLOCH
JULIAN MORGAN
STEPHEN PETTMAN
PHILIP SADDLETON

Publications Committee

Two new publications were produced during the year. They were CC Rules and Decisions (2002) and Rung Surprise Supplement (to end 2002). In addition facsimile editions of Beginners Grandsire and Beginners Plain Bob, which were last produced over half a century ago, were offered for sale. These two booklets sold very well and we are grateful to the Waddington family for their permission to republish them.

Eight titles were reprinted: Raising and Lowering, Doubles and Minor for Beginners, Ringing Circles, The Learning Curve Vol 1, Listen to Ringing CDs 1 and 2, Learning Methods, and Bell Handling Video.

Bulk discounts were offered in March as usual, but it was decided not to make any special offers at Christmas. Advertisements were again placed in some Society reports. Our stall at the Ringing Roadshow was well patronised and takings were over £2,300.

Income from sales, at £14,750, remained at around the 2002 level, although we note with some concern that many of our titles are now very dated. We are pleased to report that sales of “Dove 9” and of the Change Ringing Histories were such as to require another stock write-back of £2,700. The value of stock held fell by over £2,000 because of sales of high value items and as a result of our continuing policy to order small print runs. A donation of £1,500 was made to the Dove Memorial Fund. Overall the fund remains in a very healthy state, with an excess of income over expenditure of £1,700, and with £25,000 cash in hand.

JOHN COUPERTHWAITE (Chairman)
DEREK HARBOTTLE
DEREK JONES
JEAN SANDERSON
BARBARA WHEELER

Public Relations Committee

The most significant landmark this year was of course the Roadshow in July, when nearly two and a half thousand ringers and friends flocked to the Lincoln Showground. An enormous amount of work by the team led by Robin and Judith Rogers, with Tony Evans, Dorothy Robinson, Peter Sharp, and Michael Stracey, went into making it the tremendous success it was, and we are extremely grateful. Now the mantle of the Elijahs has fallen upon Peter Davies; and we have high hopes for Ringing Roadshow 2005, at Newbury Racecourse, with the blessing of the Oxford Diocesan Guild. Finding a suitable site for something as important as a Roadshow is not an easy task: finding someone gallant enough to be the local organiser is even more difficult, and we are especially grateful to Peter for being prepared to tackle it.

A leaflet for clergy and churchwardens which provided basic bell facts and suggested sources of further information - Bells In Your Care - was published in the summer, and distributed in large numbers to all the dioceses so that each incumbent could have a copy. All the reports we have had have been appreciative. A new information and recruiting leaflet is in process to replace the one published for Ring in 2000. We are very grateful to Wendy Daw, who continues to distribute the current leaflet.

Having looked carefully at the Committee and all its works, some trouble has been taken this year to establish what might be called structures and infra structures. We now have a regularly updated working list of society general and district secretaries, available as well to other Council committees; a list of press and broadcasting contacts; a web page; and a collection - to which contributions would be most welcome - of press references to ringing.

It was, incidentally, very disappointing that the Radio 4 You and Yours piece about the second Ringing in the Millennium bid - the Committee was involved with organising the interviews - was followed by the bid being turned down by the Millennium Commission.

It is abundantly clear to us that, because the Council works for and through the ringing societies, contact with society PROs is extremely important. An e mail group has therefore been set up by Frank Lewis, and forums are being arranged so that ideas and information can be shared.

Work is under way on a “shoebox” of materials available for use by the societies and others, which it is hoped will ultimately include PowerPoint presentations and a set of materials suitable for use on display boards. The intention is that the materials themselves could be sent, either electronically or by post, thus avoiding the need for the movement of actual display boards around the country. We are certain that there remains a need for such displayed material.

The seventieth anniversary of the publication of Dorothy L. Sayers’ novel, The Nine Tailors, falls in 2004, and despite lacking sponsorship from either the publishers reprinting the DLS books or any of the large bookshops, there is plenty of ringing being planned worldwide for this event. Two peals have already been rung at Thorverton in Devon and there are others planned at All Saints, Basingstoke, and Terrington St.Clement, one of the churches upon which “Fenchurch St.Paul” is thought to be based. Special ringing has also been arranged at other churches in Britain, in Washington DC, and in Perth, Australia. The peal at Basingstoke is for nine “Taylors” to ring in celebration of The Nine Tailors on the anniversary of DLS’ birthday, June 13th 2004. A peal of Kent Treble Bob Major is being planned for Terrington St.Clement on May 3rd 2004.

Youth matters have been the province of Sarah Andrews, currently the youngest member of the Council. A tentative electronic chatlist, “Mini Ringerz”, for ringers below the age of twenty five, has been set up through the kind offices of John Camp, to whom we are extremely grateful: its value is being assessed. The young ringers seminar at Lincoln was very well attended; and it was encouraging that Sarah’s survey there showed that most young ringers tell other people that they ring, and the response is always positive, though varying from “unusual”, through “a bit odd” to “eccentric”.

Alan Chantler maintains the Complaints Network. During the past twelve months there have been seven cases referred to him for comment and advice.

The case at Duffield, where a man allegedly threatened the ringers with a rock, is still unresolved, the court hearing having been postponed for further investigation. Advice has been sought regarding church clocks chiming all night in Dublin, Fakenham and Royal Leamington Spa. Some local residents have complained that the bells of Liverpool Cathedral are rung on Sundays. Alan has also been asked for advice concerning new housing developments near active towers at Shepshed and Long Buckby. In all cases he has been able to provide satisfactory information and advice. It is perhaps worth noting that it is well worth ringers taking the trouble to liaise sensibly with developers and estate agents on these matters, providing information about ringing patterns, timings etc. This has proved to be much better than dealing with the complaints afterwards.

Work on the revision of the complaints guidelines is proceeding slowly. It is intended to place a summary on the CCCBR web site, together with appropriate contact details for more information.

During the year we welcomed John Loveless, who was elected to the Committee at Llandudno, to take the place of Judith Rogers. Harold Rogers, though no longer a Committee member, still generously takes care of display boards for us.

JANE WILKINSON (Chairman)
SARAH ANDREWS
ALAN CHANTLER
JANET EDWARDS (Secretary)
FRANK LEWIS, ROBERT LEWIS
JOHN LOVELESS
SUSAN SMITH, ADRIAN UDAL
STEPHANIE WARBOYS, ROBERT WOOD

Library Committee

This is the second report of the triennium and two meetings have been held, the first in March at New Malden, and the second in October at Thatcham. In general, work on all our projects has continued, although progress has been slow in some cases.

The transferring of The Bell News to electronic format was held up for months owing to the project leader not completing any Committee work; after our November meeting another member of the Committee made time to progress it. Since then the Oxford Diocesan Guild’s copies have been borrowed, scanned and returned and work has started on building the software for the interface. In the next six months members of the Committee will carry out quality assurance of the raw scanned data and check each page for completeness of content and the quality of the reproduction, a lengthy and time consuming job. One of the problems to be solved is the ability of the electronic index to take users to the appropriate page reference, given that the Bell News had a number of duplicate pages for certain years. The project has been costed and will retail as three sets of double CD at £25 per set. We hope to produce the first set by the end of the year and the second and third sets during 2005.

The members all attended the Ringing Roadshow in July. We had a large number of visitors to our stall, the main focus of which was “What is it Worth?” This was a selection of books and objects connected with ringing, the attendees being asked to judge their potential value. A small prize was awarded to the visitor who was nearest to the Librarian’s sealed estimate. Visitors were also invited to bring their own books and handbells if they required advice or information about them.

One of the Library’s objectives is to act as an information source. To further this a condensed version of the library catalogue is now being added to our web-site. All of the Friends essays, apart form the latest, have been added, and consideration is being given to adding the badge catalogue. Some examples of the illuminated manuscripts we propose to include on our CD may also be added to encourage support of this venture when we begin it later next year. The site may be reached via a link in the Council web-site or found at http://www.llangorse.clara.net/cclib/index.htm.

Bound copies of the ringers’ badge catalogue have now been produced and are available. A similar catalogue is proposed for the collection of society certificates some time in the future when time permits. Meanwhile, the Library’s collection of certificates is still growing.

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, and after further investigation we have decided that there is insufficient support at the present time and will leave it to a future Committee to pursue.

Other projects, either on hold at present or still under discussion, include CDs on illuminated peal books, early Ringing Worlds and the first issues of Church Bells. There is a need for a combined periodical index, a catalogue of historical prints with a ringing theme and extracts from 18th century newspapers.

BILL BUTLER (Chairman)
GARRY BARR
JOHN EISEL
PAUL JOHNSON
CHRIS RIDLEY
JEAN SANDERSON

Biographies Committee

The following eight former members of the Council died in the year 2003:

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

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

During the year, the Committee has held one meeting; another was planned, but no one could make it on the day.

An additional member has been co-opted during the year - Julia Lysaght - who has taken over Pat Halls’ job of reading the Ringing World each week. Martin Turner has continued with his task of computerising Tom Lock’s hand-written records: when this job is completed and amalgamated with the other records it will make life a good deal easier. Jane Mason is engaged in designing a suitable sheet on which to print out the obituaries.

Following last year’s Council meeting, an A3 printer has been purchased and installed; it is still a little temperamental, but produces a good finished product. A supply of acid-free paper (A3) has been purchased.

Derek Sibson has promised to photo-copy the existing records, but problems of transporting the three books have so far not been solved.

BRIAN THRELFALL (Chairman)
PATRICIA HALLS
JULIA LYSAGHT
JANE MASON
ANGELA NEWING
MARTIN TURNER

The Ringing World, April 9, 2004, pages 357 to 359

Ringing Centres Committee

This year the Committee has concentrated on two main factors, firstly bringing to a conclusion the allocation of grants from the £50,000 Benefice made available by the Worshipful Company of Founders and secondly the first conference of ringing centre representatives.

The Founders Company Grants

The original aim was to allocate 25 grants from the £50,000 Benefice. At the conclusion, 32 grants had been allocated. The publicity and advertising since the last report was successful and since then several more ringing centres have become CC Recognised and have received Founders Grants. These are Aston Clinton, Bryanston School, Longwood, Oadby, Prittlewell, St. Albans (St. Peter’s), Wolborough and Wolverhampton.

Another aim was to have a network of ringing centres throughout the country with ideally at least one in every society. Reasonable progress has been made towards this though there is still some way to go. There are still far more ringing centres in the south than in the north.

Regular meetings with the Founders will in future be less frequent though they remain keenly interested in ringing and the future of the project.

The First Ringing Centres Conference

This was held on 15th November at the superb and conveniently located venue of St Nicholas Church, Warwick. The morning programme included contributions from ringing centres about such varied topics as recruitment, PR, training and retention of ringers and making ringing more attractive. Examples of experiencein the areas of working with schools, summer schools and kaleidoscope ringing were expounded, and discussion was lively.

The afternoon focus was about the future direction of ringing centres. It took the form of syndicate groups discussing how much support the Committee should give, what ringing centres should be doing to make an impact, and how ringing centres should measure their performance.

Fifty people were present and 23 ringing centres were represented. This was the first time that ringing centre representatives have had the opportunity to come together to share ideas. The Founders Company funded the event from the £50,000 Benefice and our thanks go to them for giving us this opportunity. Thanks also to Bob Cater for doing much of the arranging, to the Coventry Diocesan Guild Social Committee for the excellent catering and to all the ringing centre representatives who contributed in their various ways. Another conference is likely to held in the not too distant future.

The Founders Prize

The annual competition for the Founders prize for achievement by a ringing centre was won by Hailsham. The competition was judged by Derek Sibson (Vice President of the Council), Phil Gay (member of the Ringing Centres Committee and Keele Ringing Centre manager) and Gail Cater (Chairman of the Ringing Centres Committee). Hailsham is to be congratulated on the successful work that they have done. The £500 prize and commemorative bronze plaque was received by Christine Baldock on behalf of the Hailsham Ringing Centre. It was presented at the Ringing Roadshow at the Lincoln Showground by the Master of the Founders Company, Mr N. V. Turnbull.

New Founders Prize

The Founders have generously offered an additional £500 annual prize for the encouragement of young people in ringing. The ringing exercise is most grateful for this timely offer and the Ringing Centres Committee will announce more information about this during 2004.

GAIL CATER (Chairman)
ROGER BOOTH
ALAN FROST
PHILIP GAY
DAVID POPE
ERNIE RUNCIMAN

Stocklist at December 31st 2003

This table should have appeared alongside the Publications Committee Report on p.358 last week.

TitleSales to
31 Dec 2003
Stock at
31 Dec 2003
Beginners Handbook37434
Towards Better Striking94204
Raising and Lowering134206
Ringing Jargon Made Easy2274
Beginners Grandsire66370
Beginners Plain Bob70233
Doubles and Minor for Beginners158284
Triples and Major for Beginners77108
Ringing Circles655170
Ringing Skills71143
The Learning Curve Vol 1250119
Listen to Ringing Cassette/CD 111/3419/12
Listen to Ringing Cassette/CD 213/3934/2
Beginners Guide to Change Ringing on Handbells73175
Change Ringing on Handbells58434
The Tower Handbook93154
Learning Methods169285
Standard 8 Surprise Major65194
Method Splicing145
Method Construction1322
Understanding Place Notation44231
Will You Call a Touch Please, Bob?10357
Service Touches9873
Conducting Stedman4766
A Tutors Handbook42143
Tower Captains Handbook324
One Way to Teach Handling4962
Teaching Beyond Bell Handling4379
Teaching from Rounds to Bob Doubles5355
Simulators and Teaching39157
Starting a New Band9171
Bell Handling Video340
Recruiting Posters1341
Recruiting Leaflet (PRAG)241
Recruiting Package40
Towers and Bells Handbook2656
The Bell Advisor18211
Schedule of Regular Maintenance90278
D-I-Y Guidelines22220
Organising a Bell Restoration Project63124
Sound Management18204
Change Ringing History Vol 163363
Change Ringing History Vol 26295
Change Ringing History Vol 363339
Centenary History of the Central Council47140
Giants of the Exercise10119
Dove’s Guide3032172
Belfry Offices11120
Organising an Outing34155
Belfry Warning Notices1070
Striking the Right Note74
Church Towers and Bells2128
CC Rules and Decisions (2002)437
Doubles Collection2331
Collection of Minor Methods17272
Collection of Plain Minor Methods1354
Treble Dodging Minor Methods1488
Collection of Principles17116
Plain Methods (2nd Edition)686
Rung Surprise etc to end 2001/Supplement 20022/1964/81
Handbook of Composition1775
Collection of Compositions in Popular Major Methods3127
Collection of Universal Compositions (for Treble Dodging Major Methods)2082
An Index to Compositions in The Ringing World (1941-1996)/(1993-1996)0/0143/114

The Ringing World, April 16, 2004, pages 384 to 385

Records Committee

A. First peals on tower bells.
January
15056Wicken Hybrid Maj.Peterboro DG
15152Duddleswell D.Maj.Sussex CA
15096Lincolnshire S.FourteenWin & Ports DG
45088Anne’s New Kettle S.Maj.Ely DA
55184Snowden D.Maj.SRCY
65040Godolphin S.Roy.Leicester DG
105024Gryffindor S.Maj.Ely DA
105088Sebat D.Maj.Lancashire A
115042Zeuxis S.Max.S Northants S
145184Tigger S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
165184Kirby Muxloe S.Maj.Southwell DG
175152Triduum S.Maj.Peterboro DG
195088Lugana D.Maj.Lancashire A
215088Copt Oak S.Maj.Freehold S
215152Blithbury D.Maj.Lich & Dist S
245024Hufflepuff S.Maj.Ely DA
245088Volunteer D.Maj.Saint Michael’s S
255040Minehead S.Roy.Bath & Wells DA
255088Gary D.Maj.Lancashire A
255042Rickmansworth S.Max.S Northants S
275026Zatisall D.Maj.Coventry DG
285080Ireby S.Roy.Southwell DG
February
25216Milton D.Maj.Oxford DG
45088Othorpe S.Maj.Freehold S
45120Zimnicea S.Maj.Southwell DG
55068Colsterworth A.Maj.Peterboro DG
65024Old Sodbury D.Maj.Bristol S
85040Dembleby S.Roy.Southwell DG
95088Barolo D.Maj.Lancashire A
105088Vache S.Maj.Oxford DG
145088Adar D.Maj.Lancashire A
185088Roald Dahl S.Maj.Freehold S
185152Hill Ridware D.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
215024Ravenclaw S.Maj.Ely DA
225024Backwell D.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
225024Ibsley S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
255024Xpoynential S.Maj.Freehold S
255012Catmose A.Maj.Peterboro DG
265152Double Celebration S.Maj.Yorkshire A
275024Valpolicella D.Maj.Lancashire A
March
15056Nunton S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
45088Newton Burgoland S.Maj.Leicester DG
125088Standedge D.Maj.Yorkshire A
145088Nisan D.Maj.Lancashire A
155024Kinlet Hall S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
185280Quirrel S.Maj.Freehold S
205090Shorrock S.Maj.Lancashire A
285058Whilton H.Maj.Peterboro DG
315088Mdina D.Maj.Leicester DG
April
15088Quaffle S.Maj.Freehold S
35088Misterworth D.Maj.Lancashire A
35056Willoughby Waterleys S.Maj.Southwell DG
75040Carnwethers S.Roy.Leicester DG
85088Hawkesbury S.Maj.Peterboro DG
105280Flax Bourton D.Max.Glos & Bris DA
105088Barnsley S.Maj.Yorkshire A
115088Zif D.Maj.Lancashire A
195042Marchsprings S.Max.S. Northants S
225024Bishop Stopford D.Maj.Peterboro DG
2611016Dorset A.Roy.Bath & Wells DA
265040Harecroft S.Roy.Leicester DG
265040Llanbadarn Fawr D.Roy.ASCY
May
65056Dawson Falls D.Maj.Freehold S
65010Doubledigit A.Roy.Kent CA
65152Black Cats S.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
95088Sivan D.Maj.Lancashire A
115056I Can’t Believe It’s Not Yorkshire S.Maj.Yorkshire A
125088Chipperfield S.Maj.St. James’s G
145040Withies S.Roy.Leicester DG
155152Burnopfield D.Maj.Southwell DG
175024Doberian S.Maj.Salisbury DG
215056St Mary Abbots D.Maj.Yorkshire A
225040Old City S.Roy.Glos & Bris DA
225088Salice Salentino D.Maj.Lancashire A
225024Yeadon S.Maj.Oxford DG
245136Winter Garden D.Max.Yorkshire A
315088Woodgett S.Maj.Oxford DG
June
15040Red Dressing Gown D.Roy.St. Thomas S
25152Cotesbroc S.Maj.Peterboro DG
75056Yarg S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
95184Owl S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
105152Rowlands Gill D.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
105088Innermessan S.Maj.Freehold S
125056Quickswood S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
135088Tammuz D.Maj.Lancashire A
145088Darton Exercise D.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
165088Jacqueline D.Maj.Leicester DG
165152Chenies S.Maj.St. James’s G
175152Pipe Ridware D.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
185088Double D.Maj.Yorkshire A
205024Badby S.Maj.Dur & New DA
215088Lee Wood D.Maj.Lancashire A
245080Thimbleby S.Roy.Southwell DG
275152Long Buckby S.Maj.Peterboro DG
285152Capheaton S.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
295088Gordon D.Maj.Lancashire A
July
15090Tresta A.Roy.Kent CA
15152Edgecombe S.Maj.Freehold S
25088Roundhay S.Maj.Yorkshire A
75088Mynyddislwyn S.Maj.Llan & Mon DA
85152Umbridge S.Maj.Freehold S
115088Ab D.Maj.Lancashire A
125088Freeman’s D.Maj.Coventry DG
125056Geraldton S.Maj.Worcs & Dist. A
125120Lyndsey S.Maj.Oxford DG
155152Trelawney S.Maj.Freehold S
165088Rook and Gaskill S.Maj.Yorkshire A
195136Nottinghamshire D.Max.Southwell DG
215040Headingley S.Max.Yorkshire A
215088Gharb D.Maj.Leicester DG
225088Edithmead S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
235088Ibberton S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
275040Himalaya S.Roy.Lancashire A
315024K2 S.Maj.Lancashire A
August
15088Llhotse S.Maj.Lancashire A
15040Hillary S.Roy.Lancashire A
25056Tensing S.Maj.Lancashire A
75056Kewstoke D.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
85088Elul D.Maj.Lancashire A
105088Rosso Piceno D.Maj.Lancashire A
125088Roo S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
125056Zabini S.Maj.Freehold S
205056The University of York S.Maj.Yorkshire A
215056Orcheston S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
2411104Ruishton S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
255088Old Spot D.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
255024Octogenarian S.Maj.Ely DA
265152Codsall D.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
285088Jarn Mound S.Maj.Oxford DG
295152Wesley S.Maj.Peterboro DG
305088Pennsylvania D.Maj.N. American G
305184Tattersalls S.Maj.Oxford DG
305088Old Buckby S.Maj.Peterboro DG
305040Raspberry Crumble S.Roy.St. Thomas S
315024Firkin T.B.Maj.N. American G
September
25024Dumbledore S.Maj.Freehold S
25040Barming Heath D.Roy.Kent CA
25024Ulladulla S.Maj.Peterboro DG
25152Hill Ridware S.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
65184Anglia A.Roy.Essex A
75088Heywood H.Maj.Lancashire A
95040Pennifold D.Roy.Oxford S
125088Ethanim D.Maj.Lancashire A
145088Wotton-under-Edge 750 Charter D.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
185024Potterspury S.Maj.Oxford DG
195152Ireton D.Maj.Peterboro DG
235088Aragog S.Maj.Freehold S
235080Xereby S.Roy.Southwell DG
235120Saintbury S.Maj.Worcs & Dist. A
245120Walmgate Bar S.Maj.Yorkshire A
255088Gharb S.Maj.Oxford DG
275152Kirk Yetholm S.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
295088Zafiro S.Maj.St. James’s G
305152Byrness S.Maj.Lich & Dist. S
October
15088Yedingham S.Maj.Yorkshire A
55088Sixtieth S.Maj.Lancashire A
85000Withywood S.Roy.Peterboro DG
85040Century A.Maj.Amersham G
105088Marchesvan D.Maj.Lancashire A
125088Kalamazoo T.B.Maj.N. American G
135040Anjeric S.Roy.Leicester DG
145376Eeyore S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
155040Kilopeal S.Roy.Leicester DG
155024Bootham Bar S.Maj.Yorkshire A
185000Clun D.Roy.Lancashire A
185042Ketteringham D.Max.Lincoln DG
185088Ohio D.Maj.N. American G
235152Darmstadtium S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
235056Vernham Dean S.Maj.Oxford DG
255024Quarr Manor S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
275000Concorde S.Roy.Win & Ports DG
275024Seething S.Maj.St. James’s G
315056Earls Barton D.Maj.Peterboro DG
315024Powys S.Maj.Ely DA
315088Fothergill S.Maj.Lancashire A
November
25088Willow Court S.Max.St. James’s G
85184Bakewell T.B.Maj.Derby DA
85160Ringing Chat D.Roy.Yorkshire A
125088Farsley S.Maj.Yorkshire A
145088Chisleu D.Maj.Lancashire A
185088Yoicks S.Maj.Freehold S
195056Monk Bar S.Maj.Yorkshire A
205040Donnington Castle S.Roy.Oxford DG
225152Marley Hill D.Maj.Non-Association
225056Irchester D.Maj.Peterboro DG
225000Hartington S.Roy.Yorkshire A
235088Toscana S.Maj.Lancashire A
245088Lower Place S.Maj.St. James’s G
285040Bledlow Ridge A.Maj.Amersham G
295040Ripon S.Roy.Yorkshire A
December
25152Zonko S.Maj.Freehold S
45040Newbury Town S.Roy.Oxford DG
125088Tebeth D.Maj.Lancashire A
155050Demi-Centenary B.Maj.Yorkshire A
175056Micklegate Bar S.Maj.Yorkshire A
185120Highclere Castle S.Maj.Win & Ports DG
205088Sequor Ut Ducam D.Maj.Peterboro DG
275042Quickcayes S.Max.Peterboro DG
275088Eisey S.Maj.Glos & Bris DA
285184Jungfraujoch S.Maj.Oxford DG
295112Concorde A.Roy.Glos & Bris DA
315056Hessle S.Maj.Yorkshire A
B. First peals on handbells.
January
195088Derwent S.Maj.Non-Association
February
165088Dorking S.Maj.Univ. of London S
March
35184Oswald D.Max.Leicester DG
55040Double Resurrection Cyclic B.Roy.Cambridge UG
May
115088Cumberland B.Maj.SRCY
July
305002Maypole A.Max.Oxford DG
August
175096Aileen’s L.B.Maj.N. American G
September
135088Ariel S.Max.St. James’s G
175040Uppington S.Max.Oxford DG
October
65120Primrose S.Maj.Leicester DG
December
125088Doppler S.Maj.Middx CA & Lon DG
155088Kitty Hawk S.Maj.Middx CA & Lon DG
C. Record peals on tower bells.
February
910080Okehampton S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
2210000Triton D.Roy.St. James’s G
March
910528Cavendish S.Maj Bath & Wells DA
291008014 methods T.B.Min.Liverpool US
April
2611016Dorset A.Roy.Bath & Wells DA
June
717280Cambridge S.Maj.Win & Ports DG
August
2411104Ruishton S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
November
914976Belfast S.Maj.Bath & Wells DA
D. The following methods were rung in peals of spliced.
Jan11Dryad A.Max.
Jan11Porter A.Max.
Jan18Chain-link Differential A.Max.
Jan20Claret S.Max.
Jan20Carmine L.A.Max.
Feb1Brigstowe L.A.Max.
Feb15Marlborough Street S.Maj.
Feb15Vine Street S.Maj.
Feb15Free Parking S.Maj.
Feb15Strand £220 S.Maj.
Feb15Fleet Street S.Maj.
Feb15Trafalgar Square S.Maj.
Feb15Fenchurch Street Station S.Maj.
Feb15Leicester Square S.Maj.
Feb15Coventry Street S.Maj.
Feb15Waterworks S.Maj.
Feb15Piccalilli S.Maj.
Feb15Go to jail S.Maj.
Feb15Regent Street S.Maj.
Feb15Oxford Street S.Maj.
Mar9Ackhorne A.Roy.
Mar9Aldwark S.Roy.
Mar9Clifford’s Tower Differential S.Roy.
Mar9Duncombe Place A.Roy.
Mar9Exhibition Square D.Roy.
Mar9Foss Islands S.Roy.
Mar9Lendal Bridge L.A.Roy.
Mar9Museum Gardens S.Roy.
Mar24Sorbet L.A.Maj.
Mar25Superlative S.Sixteen
Mar29Cawston L.B.Max.
Apr25Yorkshire A.Maj.
Apr26Blofeld A.Roy.
Apr26Dr No Differential S.Roy.
Apr26Goldfinger S.Roy.
Apr26Kananga S.Roy.
Apr26Oddjob L.A.Roy.
Apr26Ourumov S.Roy.
Apr26Scaramanga A.Roy.
Apr26Zorin S.Roy.
May31Rushden L.A.Maj.
Sep6Burgundy L.A.Max.
Sep6Hebe A.Max.
Oct25Mandarin Differential L.A.Max.
Oct26Nick Nack Differential L. Roy.
Oct26Largo A.Roy.
Oct26Elektra A.Roy.
Oct26Drax L.A.Roy.
Oct26Jaws L.A.Roy.
Dec3Davey L.A.Maj.
Dec6Quattro A.Max.
Dec31Go S.Maj.
Dec31Old Kent Road S.Maj.
Dec31Whitechapel Road S.Maj.
Dec31Kings Cross S.Maj.
Dec31Angel S.Maj.
Dec31Euston Road S.Maj.
Dec31Pentonville Road S.Maj.
Dec31Just visiting S.Maj.
Dec31Pall Mall S.Maj.
Dec31Electric S.Maj.
Dec31White Hall S.Maj.
Dec31Northumberland Avenue S.Maj.
Dec31Marylebone Station S.Maj.
Dec31Bow Street S.Maj.

Correction

The first peal of Little Grandsire Caters rung on July 7th 1956 has been found to be false and should be replaced by 5049 rung on April 5th 1985 for the Society of Sherwood Youths.

DEREK SIBSON (Chairman)
RICHARD ALLTON
FRANK BLAGROVE
GRAHAM DUKE

Administrative Committee

Since the 2003 Council meeting the Committee has met twice in London, in October and March. The arrangements for the 2004 Council meeting were discussed and agreed; the Committee has continued its practice of reviewing the work of Council Committees and received a presentation from the Public Relations Committee; among other matters considered were the following:

  1. Telecommunications Equipment in Churches - the Council had been encouraged by the responses from QS4 (formerly Quintel): the Secretary was notified of each new application; notification to the Council was included in QS4’s Handbook, which also had provision to contact the Council and/or the local ringing society where there were no local ringers. QS4 had supplied the Council with a Confidential copy of the Parish Project Handbook: this had enabled the Council to produce a leaflet to supplement the Handbook, specifically drawing the attention of ringers to matters requiring their action; a similar paper was to be prepared for Diocesan Chancellors.

    It had been noted that there had been a poor take-up of the new mobile phones, so that the rate of new applications had reduced and there was less urgency in resolving any difficulties. However there was concern about the operators not covered by the National Agreement. A small group would monitor developments.

    It was clear that the installation of telecommunications equipment had an effect on tower acoustics, both internally and externally; members of the Towers and Belfries Committee had expertise in the matter of acoustics and would produce a paper to assist ringers.

  2. Council support for appeal against faculty - two of the Officers and Adrian Dempster had met the tower captain; as a result of this the Officers had agreed to meet Adrian’s professional costs for commenting on the engineer’s report (which had led to the parish applying for the faculty), preparing a statement based on any new issues to come out of this and also based on the work he had already done as a member of the Towers and Belfries Committee. Subsequently, the parish appointed a new engineer, to review whether additional bracing was necessary; an inspection took place on 6th October and as Adrian knew of this, he decided not to start his work, pending the result of the engineer’s visit. The new engineer concluded that additional bracing to the frame was not necessary and so no work by Adrian was needed and no cost incurred by the Council.

  3. Public Liability Insurance - significant increases in the cost of PL insurance had again raised the question of the Council assessing the possibility of a group policy for all affiliated societies. The liability market remained very difficult, certainly much worse than when the previous exercise was carried out, so it did not make sense to repeat that; losses in recent years had been horrendous, so that many companies were no longer providing liability cover. The Guildford Guild had decided not to renew cover: a premium of £1,875 was to be charged for £5 million cover - the Guild could not afford this; a similar situation existed in Middlesex; it was expected that many Societies would just not renew cover.

    It was necessary to understand the purpose of such cover: what risk were ringers hoping to cover?; was the cover held by parishes inadequate? A church policy provided limited cover; it would protect the church from claims against the incumbent and PCC for negligence. Negligence caused by others would not be covered; so, for example, on a training day with visitors from other churches, the PCC could not be held liable, unless the building was dangerous. If a Society did not have cover, a church’s insurance might respond; alternatively, most household contents insurance included PL cover; otherwise, a Society might be held liable - however, it was unlikely that a claim would be pursued, if it was known that no insurance cover was held.

    Rather than focusing only on insurance cover, the sensible approach was to reduce risk: to aid discussion Kate Flavell prepared a paper on Risk Prevention. The Towers and Belfries Committee Guide to Good Practice on Health and Safety in Bell Towers was a useful start, but this was produced some six years ago and there had been many developments in the Health and Safety field since then, with a particular emphasis on the duty of care: a different approach was needed. There were many areas in daily life where people were careless, where sensible and safe practices could avoid accidents.

    It was acknowledged that complicated issues arose from the discussion and further work was necessary in order to produce appropriate guidelines for ringers. More detailed information on Health and Safety should also be provided and it was agreed to produce a discussion document for the next meeting.

  4. Ringing Trends - Census of Ringing - a small group had been considering the matter of carrying out a census of ringing, but unfortunately no-one had been identified to lead the project. The group had considered the issues surrounding such data collection and had recommended that an appeal be made for ringers to submit surveys or survey information, which might include their experiences in collecting and analysing data. The group concluded with a proposal to set up a new Council Committee in 2005 to develop and execute a census in 2011. Terms of Reference for a Ringing Trends Committee were discussed and agreed; a Motion appears on the agenda.

  5. Ringing Trends - reports from Committees

    (a) Education - the Committee had published a detailed discussion paper, which tried to address the problems of recruitment and retention of young people and how to make training attractive.

    (b) Public Relations - an E-List for young ringers had been set up, to cater for ringers below the age of 25.

    (c) Ringing Centres - discussions continued on the use of the Founders’ Company offer of an annual prize of £500 for young people; what was intended was something to encourage young people in ringing; it would not be given to an individual, rather a group of people, either young or adults.

  6. Ringing Trends - Child Protection - since the brief report at last year’s Council meeting, a considerable amount of time had been spent in the preparation of the Council’s guidelines. At the end of October these were sent to the CoE National Adviser for Child Protection to seek her endorsement; she responded with numerous suggestions for changes. These were considered and a revised version sent to her at the beginning of January; again this was returned with several major changes made.

    In the meantime, it was known that the Church of England was working on issuing its own national guidelines; some months earlier, the National Adviser had promised to send the Council a copy for our comments, but this never happened. At the end of January these guidelines were published: initial examination showed that far stricter procedures were to be introduced.

    As there were significant differences between the two sets of guidelines, a meeting was arranged with the National Adviser on 10th February: little progress was made. The House of Bishops’ guidelines were formally launched on 12th February.

    The Council’s guidelines were at variance with the House of Bishops’ procedures, particularly concerning the number of ringers to be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the application process. It was recommended that these guidelines should comply with local arrangements as far as possible, as it was known that not all dioceses have adopted the House of Bishops’ procedures, which in any case are not mandatory. It would be helpful if Society Officers could meet with Diocesan Child Protection Advisers to agree a more practical approach; it was understood that the National Adviser had experienced difficulty in persuading other Advisers to agree the policy.

    A decision was made to write to the Archbishops; this was done by the President on 25th February, outlining the concerns of ringers, the lack of consultation with either the Council or the Royal School of Church Music, the number of people to go through the CRB process, etc. Up to 20th March no response had been received.

    The help of Robert Lewis in giving publicity to the Council’s view on the CoE proposals was acknowledged. Much correspondence had followed in The Ringing World; it was noted that only one letter supported the Bishop of Sheffield’s stance: it was obvious that he did not appreciate the mobility of ringers. Some ringers had sought to compare ringing with choirs: it was pointed out that a choir would usually have little knowledge and interaction with that of the next parish - ringing crossed all boundaries, if there was a problem individual who moved, ringers would know; others felt a clear distinction from choirs should be drawn, since there were known to be past problems there.

    Attention was drawn to the possibility of multiple CRB disclosures being required, if ringing activities were in more than one area. Others pointed out that clearance as a teacher, for example, did not exclude a person from having to be checked again for another activity. Members were warned that everyone needed to be protected against malicious claims, which could be made years later; care had to be taken that someone, who had not been checked, was not left in sole charge of a young person.

    After altering one item and accepting that the layout could be improved, to emphasise that the Council does support Child Protection, it was agreed the Council’s guidelines be approved; presentation was very important: if it was intended to circulate all parishes with bells, it could cost £10,000 to do the job properly and the Officers would have the support of Committee members to spend that amount if needed.

    On behalf of the Committee the Secretary thanked all who had worked on the guidelines - Judith Rogers, Kate Flavell and Pat Newton - but particularly the President, who had taken the initiative in all the actions needed subsequent to the publication of the House of Bishops’ policy.

  7. Application to affiliate from the Guild of St Brigida Bellringers of Geldrop - although the Guild could only chime its bells to methods, the application fell within the Council’s Rules. There was, however, concern that the Guild represented just one tower. It was suggested that the Guild might join with the chimers of Dordrecht, but others were still unhappy that an application from chimers was even being considered. It was concluded that the Committee could not recommend the application, as was required under the Council’s Rules; the Secretary would suggest to the Guild that it consider withdrawing its application at this time.

  8. English Heritage - regular contact has continued, with meetings on 9th October and 4th March - EH had been pleased to be invited to the Roadshow and felt the day had been very useful. The survey techniques presented that day would be the subject of a future article in The Ringing World.

    The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was being continued, although there was pressure from the EU to disallow such VAT concessions.

    There had been lengthy discussions at both meetings about Great Malvern, where the ringers wanted a new frame and EH would prefer to repair the existing as an example of a Taylor “tall-A” frame. The present position was that the PCC had put the whole project “on hold” but in the meantime EH was trying to locate another installation with similar conditions, in order to justify its position.

    In response to comments received, the Council had raised the matter of the cost to parishes of carrying out surveys of the existing frame etc; there were no clear instructions from EH as to what was required and expensive abortive work might be done; EH acknowledged that it should produce a specification.

  9. Council for the Care of Churches - it had been agreed that the Council and CCC should meet twice a year, hopefully for the mutual benefit of the two bodies: meetings had been held on 8th July and 16th January. Concern had been expressed at the lack of consultation sought by the CCC on several matters, especially the notice on substitute bells and the re-issued Code of Practice for Conservation and Repair of Bells and Bellframes. To some extent CCC accepted the criticisms, whilst pointing out that CCC’s publishing section decided the layout of all their publications. To help ringers’ understanding of the role of CCC an article on its work was published in The Ringing World. Concern about CCC’s substitute bells document resulted in CCC undertaking to write to DAC secretaries to ask how the guidelines were being observed.

    It was clear that CCC did not seem to appreciate the significance of augmentations in relation to the technical advances in ringing; CCC had invited the Council to suggest factors that could be taken into account when the CCC assessed proposals for augmentations. CCC had added this agenda item at short notice; on reflection after the meeting it was felt that the existing Code of Practice gave sufficient guidance.

    The Your Heritage Scheme continued to award grants for bell work, where consideration had been given to making a project accessible to the public; CCC made recommendations having regard to conservation aspects.

    CCC had distributed to all interested parties a consultation document on its proposals for listing bells and frames: replies were required by 4th May. The Towers and Belfries and Redundant Bells Committees were working on the matter and the views of other ringers would be welcomed; it was hoped that an agreed composite reply would be possible. The next meeting with CCC on 18th June would be primarily devoted to this topic; CCC would also be meeting representatives of the trade. It was noted that the original Code of Practice had been agreed by a working party; both the Towers and Belfries Committee and the trade thought that should be reconvened, but CCC had refused. Continued endorsement of the Code of Practice would depend on the outcome of the consultation process being acceptable to the Council.

Ex officio:
MICHAEL HENSHAW (President)
DEREK SIBSON (Vice-President)
ERIC GODFREY (Treasurer)
IAN ORAM (Secretary)
PHILLIP BARNES (Peals Analysis)
BILL BUTLER (Library)
GAIL CATER (Ringing Centres)
MIKE CHESTER (Information and Communications Technology)
JOHN COUPERTHWAITE (Publications)
GEORGE DOUGHTY (The Ringing World)
KATE FLAVELL (Bell Restoration)
JOHN HARRISON (Education)
DON MORRISON (Peal Compositions)
CHRIS POVEY (Towers and Belfries)
TONY SMITH (Methods)
BRIAN THRELFALL (Biographies)
PHILIP WATTS (Redundant Bells)
JANE WILKINSON (Public Relations)
Elected members:
JOHN ARMSTRONG
MICHAEL CHURCH
ROBERT COOLES
ALAN FROST
DEREK JONES
ANTHONY LOVELL-WOOD
SIMON MEYER
ANGELA NEWING
BERYL NORRIS
CHRIS ROGERS
ANDREW WILBY

Towers & Belfries Committee

The Committee members have had another busy year with inspections and reports on bell installations. In addition the Committee met three times in 2003, at Oddington Grange near Oxford, Stratford-upon Avon and in London.

Following on from the seminar on tower movement at Brailes in 2002, Harry Windsor has continued this work. The July meeting was held at Stratford-upon-Avon so that members could see the equipment under development and meet Mr Bernard Bollands of Si-Plan Ltd, who has been working on it with Harry. Some of the equipment was displayed on the T&BC stand at the Roadshow. The next issue will be to decide on the best way to make the technology available to parties interested in using it, and this was under discussion at the January 2004 meeting.

We have been part of the regular contact the CC makes with English Heritage through the twice-yearly liaison meetings. Alan Frost has been our representative on the CC party that now meets with the Council for the Care of Churches (CCC) on the same basis. The Committee was represented at the CCC’s Bell Preservation Seminar in November. We are commenting on the criteria for listing bells for preservation, the tuning of listed bells and the listing of “rings of excellence”. We commented about the CCC’s circular on bell substitutes and recorded bells.

With regard to our own position as a Committee and as individual members we have investigated the question of professional indemnity. As this is effectively unavailable, we have tightened up our own procedures as a result. In particular we are reinforcing our insistence on a written invitation from the Church authorities before making an inspection or offering advice.

Three of our members, Jim Taylor, John Scott and Arnold Smith, helped with the latest of a series of Bell Maintenance courses for the Bath & Wells Association, held this time in the Bridgwater area: the Association already has bookings for another.

Jim Taylor, the President and the Hon Secretary have worked very hard in liaising with all parties involved with the CoE agreement on installing mobile phone antennae in church towers. Although the approved contractor is now better informed about ringers’ interests, there is still concern that the installation of large equipment, possibly extra flooring and “24/7” entry requirements has the potential to cause major disruption to bells and ringers if no local ringing representation is made at the beginning of a proposal to install. Unringable and rarely-rung bells are a particular concern, as such early representation could easily be lacking.

Bell maintenance and condition surveys still form the major part of our inspections. Sound control queries continue to be significant. A spin-off from the telecom aerials work was the realisation that the introduction of large equipment with possibly extra flooring can alter internal acoustics substantially. Other subjects discussed include GRP louvres, galvanizing, the design of stays and advice about bellropes.

Health & Safety queries are beginning to trickle in and this may be an indication that more ringers and PCCs are realising that H&S is a real and serious issue. It is our intention to hold a Seminar on Health & Safety in Towers in 2004.

Jim Taylor and CC webmaster Peter Trotman continue to keep our website up to date. This is now an essential tool for disseminating information. Many T&BC publications now appear on the web. Paper versions do continue to appear. Our fan-fold information sheet has been updated and we thank Chris Dalton for the use of one of his classic photographs (this time of St Peter’s, Evercreech) with which to grace the front. The ever-popular “Tower Changes” is currently being reprinted after an update in conjunction with English Heritage.

As part of the Ringing Trends initiative, we receive annual updates derived from on-line Dove (thanks to John Baldwin) of the distribution of unringable rings across the country, and monitor it. As might be expected, the unringables are generally at the smaller numbers end. These rings are generally in rural areas where ringing can be spasmodic or nonexistent and cash for restoration is scarce. Current figures show a small increase in 2003, but not such as to suggest a distinct upward trend.

CHRIS POVEY (Chairman)
PETER BENNETT
JAMES CLARKE
GEORGE DAWSON
ADRIAN DEMPSTER
ALAN FROST
HUGH PETTIFER
JOHN SCOTT
ARNOLD SMITH
ADRIAN SEMKEN
BERNARD STONE
JIM TAYLOR
PHIL WATTS
HARRY WINDSOR

The Ringing World, April 23, 2004, pages 404 to 407

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
    J. Hughes
    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 and a further payment has been received this year.

The Committee anticipates working with the Keltek Trust Bell Rescue Fund to help ensure appropriate re-use of redundant bells to facilitate bell restoration and installation schemes.

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

The accounts for 2003 are set out separately.

R. J. COOLES
Hon Secretary

Rescue Fund for Redundant Bells

Registered Charity No 278816

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2003
20032002
££
Incoming resources
Interest receivable168176
Part payment from Escrick5000
Resources expended:
Direct charitable expenditure00
Net incoming resources668176
Balances at 1 January 200356055429
Balances at 31 December 200362735605
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2003
Current assets
Debtor: Escrick00
Cash at Bank and on deposit62735605
Total current assets62735605
Current liabilities
Interest free loans00
Net current assets62735605
Funds
Unrestricted62735605
Total Funds62735605

J C BALDWIN
3 February 2004

The Ringing World, April 30, 2004, page 417

Peals Analysis Committee

We have recorded a total of 5084 peals rung in 2003, of which 4457 were on tower bells and 627 on handbells. This contrasts with the record year of 2002 when 5448 were rung. The reduction was proportionally higher for peals of Triples, Minor and Doubles compared to higher numbers. 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 352 peals, while the Yorkshire Association remains in second place with 337 peals and the Lancashire Association remains third. The College Youths rise to fourth place displacing the Cumberlands who fall to fifth. Please see the separate table for details.

The Committee met in February in Truro to finalise records for 2003 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 are pleased to note the reduced number of errors and duplicate peals in 2003. We also thank those Society Peal secretaries who have helped by comparing their figures with our own.

Peals not complying with the Decisions on Peal Ringing

In accordance with the amendment to the Council’s decisions made in 2002 we have identified those performances published as peals that do not comply with Decision D (Parts A-D) relating to peal ringing. There was one such peal in 2003:-

5040 Minor in 7 methods (RW 2004 p.81, Cambridge St Benet) contains four methods (Mersey Ferry, Double Stromboli Bob, Richard’s False Course and Great Grandsire) not conforming to the Decisions on Methods

We thank the Chairman of the Methods Committee for identifying this peal, which we have not included in our analyses.

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 15 or more times, and it will be seen that Cornwall, Jubilee and Uxbridge Surprise Major are no longer listed separately this year since numbers of peals in these

methods have fallen. An “Other” category is included for completeness.

Towers

The following 76 towers had 10 or more peals in 2003: (81 in 2002)

96Loughborough (Bell Foundry)
51Meldreth
42Thatcham
41Belper (St Peter)
40Walsoken (Coleridge Campanile)
36Leeds (R.C. Cath)
35Burnley
33Oxford (St. Thos)
29East Ilsley, Marston Bigot (Pig-Le-Tower), London (Shoreditch), South Croydon
26South Petherton
25Bishopstoke, Maidstone (All SS), Pebworth
24Blackburn Cathedral, Thorverton
23London (St Mary le Bow)
22Newmarket (Mindinho-le-Tower)
21London (St Sepulchre), Milton (Oxon), Wandsworth (Holy Trinity)
20Oxford (St Mary Magd), York (St Laurence)
18Leicester (St Mary-De-Castro), Newcastle Cathedral, Northallerton, Walkden
17Birmingham (St Philip), Maidstone (St Michael AA), Ticknall
16Bristol (St Stephen), Burton Latimer, Moulton
15East Huntspill (Little Orchard Campanile), Keele (Woodlands), Mavesyn Ridware, Rotherham, Sproxton, Windsor (St John Bapt), Worsley
14Grundisburgh, Maiden Newton, Willesden
13Bushey, Harrogate (St Wilfrid), Saltby, Stratton St Margaret, Worcester (All Saints)
12Amersham, Chilcompton (St John The Baptist), Downham, Hanbury (Worcs), Limehouse, Towcester
11Aldeburgh, Barton Seagrave, Birmingham (St Martin), Birstwith, Escrick, Kingsbury (Warks), Middleton (Lancs), Old Stoke (The Wolery), Pinhoe, Rothwell (Northants), Terling, Whitley Bay, Withycombe Raleigh, York (St Martin le Grand)
10East Farleigh, Farnworth with Kearsley, Leicester Cathedral, London (Cripplegate), Southampton (St Barnabas), Warnham (Bell Meadow Campanile)

The highest placed new entrants to the list are Maidstone (All SS) and Pebworth, while the highest placed tower in 2002 that does not appear in the 2003 list is Spitalfields where there were no peals in 2003.

First pealers and firsts as conductor

There were 241 first pealers in 2003 (306 in 2002) and 26 first as conductor (37 in 2002). 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:

TowerHandTotal
Oxford Diocesan Guild29755352
Yorkshire Association31918337
Lancashire Association2350235
Ancient Society of College Youths19721218
Society of Royal Cumberland Youths2035208
Bath & Wells D.A.1812183
Peterborough D.G.1671168
Hertford C.A.6190151

These eight societies were also the top eight societies in 2002. The Chester Diocesan Guild was the leading society for handbell peals with 116 peals, 80% of its total peals. The top eight societies above rang 36% of the total peals in 2003. A total of 18 societies rang more than 100 peals in 2003 compared with 16 in 2002.

Corrections to the 2002 Analysis

There are several alterations to the 2002 Analysis as detailed below, primarily caused by late submission, but also in the light of decisions made at the 2003 Council meeting in Llandudno. 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.

Cambridge University GuildMajor +1 (h’bell)
Society of Royal Cumberland YouthsMajor +1
Derby Diocesan AssociationCaters +1
Hereford Diocesan GuildMinor -1
Lichfield & Walsall A.S.Minor -1, Major -1
Middlesex County Association & London Diocesan GuildMajor +1
North Staffordshire AssociationMajor +1
Swansea & Brecon Diocesan GuildCaters -1
University of Bristol SocietyCaters +1
University of London SocietyMinor +1
Winchester & Portsmouth D.G.Doubles +1
Non-AffiliatedMajor +1, Caters +1
Non-AssociationMinor +1, Major +1

The methods analysis for 2002 should be amended as follows (tower bells unless stated) - Grandsire Caters +1, Stedman Caters +1, Spliced S Major +1, Lincolnshire S Major +1, Yorkshire S Major +1, Plain Bob Major +1 tower and +1 h’bell, Minor (2-6m) +1, Cambridge S Minor -1, Doubles (2+m) +1

Revised totals for 2002 are: tower bells 4919, handbells 529, total 5448.

Details of the adjustments are available from the Chairman.

The Felstead Project (joint with ICT Committee)

A meeting was held in Llandudno between the three people who are most responsible for updating the peal data at present. Tim Pett makes corrections to the original Felstead data, Andrew Craddock amalgamates these corrections with the post-Felstead peals and submits them to the web site which is looked after by Don Morrison.

A plan of action was drawn up, mainly aimed at bringing consistency to the method names and identifying and dealing with hoax, false and other peals whose existence must be noted while they are identified as being not true and correct peals. This was felt to be important before moving the data to a proper database system. For various reasons, very little progress has been made on these tasks. In the meantime, corrections are made when time permits and the aim is to do all corrections within a period of six weeks from receipt. New peals are added to the web site normally once a week.

Thanks are due to Mike Till who has taken on the task of responding promptly to everyone who submits corrections.

PHILLIP BARNES (Chairman)
JEREMY CHEESMAN
MICHAEL ORME
ROBERT PERRY
TIMOTHY PETT
DAVID SALTER
MARTIN TURNER

2003TOWERHAND 
Society455/
6
677/
8
899/
10
101111/
12
1213141515/
16
16Tower
Total
56789101112Hand
Total
Society
Total
Ancient Society of College Youths   83 481112823167 11 5197   33112221218
A N Z A B 2 53 101 1        22   1    123
Bath & Wells 3 175 10010 2410 12     181   2    2183
Bedfordshire   233 173 1  4     51   1    152
Beverley & District12 2 122          10        010
Cambridge University   5  101 31       20 32 10221 4767
Carlisle                  0        00
Chester   7  191 2  1     30 44 48 20 4116146
Coventry 2 2  262 11 2     36 7 2613  3773
Society of Royal Cumberland Youths   113 1175 443 20     203   4 1  5208
Derby   101 544 51 2     77 211626  27104
Devon Assn    1             1        01
G of Devonshire Ringers 1 304 466 243 6     120        0120
Dorset 2 221 101 2  5     43 3 1    447
Durham & Newcastle   111 402 15 14     74 1 414  1084
Durham University       1          1        01
East Derbyshire & West Notts.                  0        00
East Grinstead & District                  0        00
Ely 81403 662          120 2 1    3123
Essex   242 241 5  1     57        057
Gloucester & Bristol 4 107 875 86 6     133 1 3 2 612145
Guildford 3 147 438 91 3 1   89 1 1    291
Hereford 29 314 201 2        87        087
Hertford 7 175 232 42 1     61 831411  90151
Irish 2 4  31 1        11        011
Kent 4 133 686 251       120   1    1121
Ladies                  0        00
Lancashire 2 106 1349 691 4     235        0235
Leeds University                  0        00
Leicester   162 442 52  3     119 7 414 319138
Lichfield & Walsall 1 44 91 2        21   4    425
Lincoln16 141 22  1  1     46 3 2 1  652
Liverpool Universities 1 2  1     1     5        05
Llandaff & Monmouth 2 191 82 15 4     42        042
London County   1  239 6        39        039
Middlesex & London   24 336 31       49 3 21 6  3079
National Police                  0        00
North American   1  71 2        11 7 7 2  1627
North Staffordshire 1 7  121 1        22        022
North Wales   12 21 1        7        07
Norwich 3 184 201 11       48 13 1 1  1563
Oxford Diocesan 11 803 1632 312 5     297   1231921955352
Oxford Society 3 112 248 173 2     70   1 1  272
Oxford University    1 31 3        8   1    19
Peterborough528 434 563 26  2     167 1      1168
St David’s         1        1        01
St Martin’s   25 121 74118  211541 1 4   660
Salisbury 10 1710 161 2        56        056
Scottish 113  6  1  1     13        013
Shropshire      3           3        03
South African 1 1              2        02
Southwell42 203 555 15  9     113 1      1114
Suffolk 5 316 175 12 2     69        069
Surrey 2 37 132 15 5     38   1    139
Sussex   84 246 5        47 1 1    249
Swansea & Brecon 8 55 51          24        024
Transvaal                  0        00
Truro 1 313 83 4        32        032
University of Bristol   3  11    2     7        07
University of London   1  7  1        9   4    413
Veronese                  0        00
Winchester & Portsmouth 4 256 235 28  3 2   96 3 10 2  15111
Worcestershire & Districts 2 66 853 44 6     116   1 1  2118
Yorkshire 8 5124 1528 422 32     319 1 5731118337
Zimbabwe                  0        00
Central Council      3  1        4        04
Non Affiliated 7 748 1957 3710 261    365 37 312 447412
Non Association 3 1118 4922 2216 17 1   159   3    3162
 111812789215120681931592108327715316445712533207268216396275084

Analysis of Peals by method and change on year

TOWERHAND
20022001plus/minus20022001plus/minus
Sixteen660000
Septuples/Sixteen110000
Septuples312000
Fourteen532000
Sextuples110000
Maximus
Single Surprise557065
Bristol Surprise6660125
Cambridge Surprise495325
Yorkshire Surprise474144
Spliced Surprise221954
Other Spliced242213
Other141499
Maximus Total277279-239354
Cinques/Maximus35-2000
Cinques
Stedman98102147
Grandsire91420
Other1200
Cinques Total108118-101679
Royal
Single Surprise15916598
Cambridge Surprise8775412
Yorkshire Surprise827699
Spliced Surprise816568
Bristol Surprise594523
London No 3 Surprise575129
Plain Bob1312169
Lincolnshire Surprise232547
Kent/Oxford022612
Single Delight141910
Other171133
Royal Total5925464682802
Caters/Royal12-1000
Caters
Stedman106110179
Grandsire849884
Other3910
Caters Total193217-24261313
Major
Single Surprise600713917
Spliced Surprise3253582515
Yorkshire Surprise2252111820
Bristol Surprise165165912
Plain Bob67905357
Cambridge Surprise113117610
Single Delight11211611
Rutland Surprise777133
London Surprise747943
Lincolnshire Surprise666784
Kent/Oxford17124944
Superlative Surprise616043
Double Norwich385013
Pudsey Surprise363231
Glasgow Surprise252904
Belfast Surprise171312
Other50591314
Major Total20682242-174207213-6
Triples/Major15-4000
Triples
Stedman8810827
Grandsire8411910
Plain Bob333400
Other10900
Triples Total215270-5537-4
Minor
7 methods332368149
8+ methods15922312873
2-6 methods1231515030
Plain Bob58702622
Cambridge Surprise618456
Single Surprise263241
Single Delight9161214
Other21341418
Minor Total789978-18925317380
Doubles/Minor220000
Doubles
2+ methods14419300
Grandsire252100
Stedman81211
Plain Bob21000
Other2200
Doubles Total181238-57110
Minimus1156--
TOTAL44574919-46262752998
GRAND TOTAL50845448-364

The Ringing World, April 30, 2004, pages 429 to 431

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