Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers to the Ringing Bells of Britain and of The World

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The note shown is the 'theoretical one', relative to A=440Hz unless indicated otherwise, and assuming a diatonic ring except where we have noted the tuning as being non-standard within the standard Dove entry.

Learn to ring – CCCBR Learn to ring – CCCBR

Major restoration in which the cast iron “H” frames were cleaned and rebuilt on galvanised steel RSJs. Very old bells may even eventually get one-eighth-turned, and if that configuration also wears too heavily, the bell is often set aside for display because of its probable age and rarity value. Finally, we have set up pages to allow the reader to browse truss types and layout types, although we still recommend that reference is made to Chris Pickford’s book Bellframes, A practical guide to inspection and recording when contributing updates.

Many different societies have been formed, bringing together people from the same geographies or similar interests – all of them being pretty much an excuse to do more ringing! Where an authority has described a bell as mediæval with no more specific date, we enter this as c1499; similarly, pre-Reformation bells are entered as c1599.

Dove’s Guide for Church Bell Ringers - CCCBR Dove’s Guide for Church Bell Ringers - CCCBR

Where a ring has accidentals (semi-tone bells), for example 2♯, 5♯, or 6♭, we take the note value from the corresponding bell in the ring and add a sharp or a flat as applicable. Equally, modern bells with flat heads can be turned through other amounts, although there is a limit as to how many supporting holes can be drilled through the crown of a bell. The clappering in 7th and tenor is being re worked to produce better grading (timer shafts and clapper throws altered). If you feel what is showing is incomplete or incorrect, then use the 'Edit Details' link on the tower details page to send us a correction along with an explanation. The manner in which each bell is hung is indicated as follows: FC hung for full-circle ringing in the style used for English change ringing S hung for swing chiming D hung dead, i.Thus, for instance, where a ring of 3 in B♭ is tuned as 1,2♭,3 of a ring of 3, we add a flat to bell 2 and show the notes as B♭,C♭,D. Anticlockwise; no mains electricity to provide lighting on stairs or ante chamber to protect bat population. Adjustable crown staples are being fitted to all bells to eradicate odd struckness with all existing clappers refurbished. Please note that the photo on page 17 of the Central Council’s Towers and Bells Handbook (1990) does not show a Doncaster head, as it claims – it shows conventional canons of an angular form.

Dove Help: Bells details - CCCBR Dove Help: Bells details - CCCBR

Bell ringing also has opened up the opportunity of going to new and exciting places which I always look forward to. Usually the key of the ring is shown as it is provided to us, even when they key has more than seven sharps. Ring adapted to allow front six to be rung from an accessible gallery whilst retaining ability to allow all ten bells to be rung from the present ringing chamber. Where the note shown is prefixed by an asterisk, this indicates that its note is actually more than 50 cents away from its expected value, working on the basis of international pitch and allowing for any stated variation of tuning from the diatonic sequence. A recent young (teenage) ringer says this about ringing: “Over the past 2-3 years I have learned a lot, and it has helped me improve my social skills and confidence as well as team integration.Thus, for a ring of 8 in in C♯ (whose key signature has seven sharps), bell 2 is shown as B♯ and bell 6 as E♯. But, taken with those already collected, these additional parameters would seem to go completely towards meeting the general agreement of a meeting of interested parties held in May 1999 at Leicester University as to the desirable scope for any National Bell Register. It should be remembered that many rings were tuned to old pitch standards and the tenor note was expressed accordingly. I learnt to ring over forty years ago and I still get the same buzz that I did when I first started. We have presented it to 2 decimal places because diameters have traditionally been quoted in quarters, or even sixteenths of an inch.