REPORT ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF LEGITIMATE METHODS.

DEFINITIONS.

Adjacent Places.- Thirds place is adjacent to 2nd, 4th is adjacent to 3rd etc. That is each of these places follows immediately after its predecessor.

Cross Section.- A Cross Section is the passing of the treble in Treble Bob Methods from one dodging position to the next.

Grandsire Bob Place.- The extreme internal working bell place, next to the hunt or hunts, when all the working bells are together, is called the Grandsire Bob Place. It is made across the parting of the leads, and joins two leads together without belonging to either.

N.B.- This Report has nothing to do with Bobs or Singles, but deals exclusively with Plain Leads.

N.B.- The arrangement of the Triple changes in Major, etc., is dealt with in the Appendix to the Report on Methods page 25 in Rules on Methods 1891-1903, and is therefore not dealt with in this Report.

REPORT.

Reference to the Report on Legitimate Methods will shew that all Methods are founded upon Principles, that a Principle is a round block in which all the bells do the same work, that a Principle may be used as a Method if it be true, and that Methods may be formed from Principles by retaining one or more bells as Hunts, and replacing the rest by Working Bells. These Working Bells all do the same work in the Course, while the Hunts repeat their work in the Course as many times as there are Working Bells, dividing the Course into the same number of Plain Leads.

Thus in any system of Classification we have first of all two main classes.

1. - PRINCIPLES used as Methods.
2. - METHODS founded upon Principles.

Let as examine the Principles first.

They divide into three classes, the first of these is Original having no internal places; the second, which has Adjacent places made together, e.g. 3rd and 4th in Forward, Imperial; the third which has internal places, but they are never Adjacent places made together, Court, e.g. Stedman and Duffield.

1. - PLAIN HUNT PRINCIPLE. Original.
2. - IMPERIAL PRINCIPLES e.g. Forward.
3. - COURT PRINCIPLES, e.g. Stedman, Duffield.

METHODS founded upon Principles.

These divide themselves naturally into classes according to the Principles upon which they are founded.

1. - Plain Methods. Founded on the Plain Hunt Principle; in which the Hunt or Hunts work a plain hunting course.
2. - Treble Bob Methods. Founded upon the Treble Bob Hunt Principle; in which the Hunt dodges in every dodging position up and down.
3. - Alliance Methods. In which the path of the Hunt is any symmetrical combination of I. and II.

Others have been published, and are referred to in the Appendix.

1. - PLAIN METHODS. These divide first of all into two Variations, as every Method having one Hunt can be varied by adding another Hunt and arranging the places according to the following rules.

   Rule a. Any place made in the Method with one hunt ABOVE the Hunt must remain at the same distance from the BACK when the second Hunt is added.

   Rule b. Any place made in the Method with one Hunt BELOW the Hunt must remain at the same distance from the FRONT when the second Hunt is added.

   EXAMPLES:

   Bob Minimus.	Grandsire Doubles.
   1243 | a 1234 |	12345 | a 21354 |
   Double Bob Minimus.	Double Grandsire Doubles
   1243 | a 1234 | 2143 2413 4231 | b 2431 |	12345 | a 21354 | 23145 32415 34251 43521 | b 34512 | 43152
   Thirds place from the back above the Hunt or Hunts. Thirds place from the lead below the Hunt or Hunts.
   Reverse College Single Minor.	Reverse College Single Triples (called Darlaston Bob.)
   432156 341265 | a 314256 | 132465 | a 123456 | 214365 | a 241356 | 423165	3514276 3152467 | a 1325476 | 1234567 | a 2143576 | 2415367 | a 4251376 | 4523167
   a. Thirds place from behind above the Hunt or Hunts.
   Double Norwich Major	Double Norwich Caters
   12345678 21436587 | a 24135678 | c | 42316587 | b | 24361578 | 42635187 | d 24365817 | 42638571	123456789 214365879 241638597 | a 426135879 | 462318597 | b c | 643281579 | | 463825197 d | 648352917 | 463859271 648395721
   a. 5th place from behind above the Hunt or Hunts. b. 3rd " " " " " " " " c. 3rd " " lead below " " " " d. 5th " " " " " " " "

   Numerous other examples might be given, and from them it can easily be seen that those two rules apply universally, and therefore the difference between one and two hunts is not a new method but only a variation. Thus Bob and Grandsire are two variations of the same method. Reverse College Single Minor (commonly called College Single), and Darlaston Bob Triples are two variations of the same methods. Double Norwich Major and Double Norwich Caters are two variations of the same method. Hence we divide Plain Methods into two variations.

   I.- Plain Methods.

   1. - Plain Bob Variations.
   2. - Grandsire Variations.

   Now we classify those Methods by their places, and since the places of any Method in variation A bears a simple relationship to the places in the same Method in variation B, we can classify variation A, and then the Method in variation B will belong to the same class. These Methods all divide into three Classes; Bob, Imperial, and Court.

   1. - Bob Methods. In these Methods the Grandsire Bob Place is always made across the parting of the leads.

      1. In single methods above the hunt or hunts.
      2. In reverse methods below the hunt or hunts.
      3. In double methods above and below the hunt or hunts.

      e.g. Plain Bob and its fellow Grandsire, Double Oxford.

   2. Imperial Methods. In these Methods Adjacent places are always made together, with or without the Grandsire Bob Place, e.g. Canterbury Pleasure Minor.

      123456
      214365
      241635
      426153
      462513
      642531
      465231
      645213
      654123
      561432
      516342
      153624
      135264

   3. Court Methods. These never have the Grandsire Bob Place or Adjacent places made together.

      e.g. Court Bob Minor, Reverse and Double, College Single Minor and Reverse, Court Bob Triples, Reverse and Double, Norwich Court, Single, Reverse and Double, Major, Caters, Royal, Cinques and Maximus.

2. Now it is obvious that when we come to the next Group - Treble Bob Methods, that they will also fit into this classification, and every Treble Bob Method must be Bob, Imperial or Court: e.g. Superlative is a Bob Method; Oxford, Kent, and Imperial Bob are Imperial Methods; Drew’s Court Surprise Royal is a Court Method; but it is also obvious that this by no means covers all the ground, and we find that the old writers divided these methods into Treble Bob and Surprise, and the old idea seems to have been that a Treble Bob Method was a very simple one, while a Surprise Method was very intricate, and yet these old writers seem to have realised that there were other methods which they called Delights, Exercises, Merchants’ Returns, or whatever name suited their fancy, but they never laid down any rule for classifying them; this then is the problem which we have to face.

   We start then with the classes Treble Bob and Surprise, and all that we know about them is that the first is very simple, and the second very intricate; what do we mean by simplicity or intricacy in a Method.

   The classification adopted in the Glossary sought for this simplicity or intricacy in the path of a working bell through the Plain Course, but it is perfectly obvious to any one who tries to build a method that this is only a secondary quality, we get our plain lead by arranging our places, and the path of a working bell is the result of this. Hence we seek for the simplicity or intricacy of a Method in the arrangement of the places in the plain lead not in the path of one bell.

   Let us then take some typical examples of Treble Bob Methods, mark their internal places, and see what we can find out about their real nature.

   Take half a lead of Kent Treble Bob, and mark all its places.

   	123456
   	213465
   	124356
   	214365
   Cross Section
   	241635
   	426153
   	421653
   	246153
   Cross Section
   	264513
   	625431
   	624513
   	265431

   We see that all its places are made when the Treble is in one or other of the dodging positions, 1-2, 3-4, or 5-6; and never at a Cross Section between those dodging positions, and it is important for us to remember that these places are necessary for the truth of the Method, because the Treble Bob Principle is false in itself.

   Let us now took at Cambridge Surprise. Here we find the Grandsire Bob Place and over the Hunt in front and 5th under the Hunt behind; also places when the treble is dodging in each of the dodging positions on 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6; but in addition to those places fourth’s place is also made when the treble crosses the section from 1-2 into 3-4, and thirds place when she crosses from 3-4 to 5-6, Now these places are quite different from any of the others and it is evident that in Treble Bob Minor Methods we have three classes those in which a place is made at both Cross Sections in the half lead; those in which a place is made at only one Cross Section; and those in which a place is never made at any Cross Section.

   CAMBRIDGE SURPRISE.

   	a	|	124365
   		|	123456
   			214365	|	b
   			124635	|
   	c	|	216453
   		|		Cross Section.
   		|	261435
   b	|		624153
   	|		621435
   	c	|	264153
   		|		Cross Section.
   		|	624513
   			265431	|	b
   			256413	|
   			524631		|	a
   			256431		|

   1. Grandsire Bob Place.
   2. Treble Bob Place.
   3. Cross Place.

   It only remains to extend this to 8, 10 and 12 bells, and we have a complete classification for Treble Bob methods.

   1. Surprise Methods.- In these a place is made at every Cross Section on 6, 8, 10 or 12 bells. e.g. Cambridge Surprise Minor, Major, Royal and Maximus.
   2. Delight Methods.- In these a place is made at every Cross Section except one, on 6, 8, 10 and 12 bells. e.g. Coventry (called Surprise) Minor.
   3. Exercise Methods.- In these a place is made at every Cross Section except two, on 8, 10 and 13 bells.
   4. Pasalltria Methods.- In these a place is made at every Cross Section except three on 10 and 12 bells.
   5. Pasallatessara Methods.- In these a Place is made at every Cross Section except four on 12 bells only.

3. Alliance Methods.

   These can be classified either like Plain Methods or Treble Bob Methods.

CLASSIFICATION.

1. PRINCIPLES used as Methods.

   1. Plain Hunt Principle. No internal Places. Original.
   2. Imperial Principles. Adjacent Places made together e.g. Forward.
   3. Court Principles. No Adjacent places made together. e.g. Stedman, Duffield.

2. METHODS founded on Principles.

   B I. Plain Methods (Variations	| A. Plain Bob).	|
   	| B. Grandsire.	|

   1. Bob Methods.
   2. Imperial Methods.
   3. Court Methods.

   B II. Treble Bob Methods.

   1, 2, 3 as above in B I, and

   1. Surprise Methods. 6, 8, 10, 12 bells.
   2. Delight Methods. 6, 8, 10, 12 bells.
   3. Exercise Methods. 8, 10, 12 bells.
   4. Pasallatria Methods. 10, 12 bells.
   5. Pasallatessara Methods. On 12 bells only.

   B III. Alliance Methods.

   Always the same as B I, and sometimes as B II.

APPENDIX.

Other Methods have been produced founded upon different Principles, e.g., the treble to ring a double dodging hunt, or an alliance of a double dodging bunt and a single dodging hunt, or an alliance of a double dodging hunt and a plain hunt, or an alliance of all three. These can all be classified like Treble Bob or Alliance.

Again, Forward Principle or Duffield Principle can have methods founded upon them by making 2nds or 7ths or both when the treble leads or lies her whole pull. Forward Bob Major, Duffield Bob Major, Single, Reverse, and Double etc., etc.

The Bell News and Ringers’ Record, April 28, 1906, pages 38 to 39