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Royal
Naval Guild of Bellringers |
Outing
Reports |
WILTSHIRE
On the cold, crisp,
blue –sky morning of Saturday 4th March 2006 about twenty RNGB
members gathered at Sutton Veny, Wiltshire for the first ring of the day.
The AGM ringing tour and day ably organised by Barbara and Dennis of
Salisbury. While the bells of Sutton Veny were hard work for their weight,
members took interest in the sight of over a hundred Commonwealth graves
of Servicemen in the churchyard. Many of these were of young Australian
Servicemen who died of Spanish Flu after the First World War.
The next tower in the
Wylye Valley was Heytesbury with its 21cwt ring of six bells and where a
pleasant view of the valley was afforded from a parapet before a descent
into the ringing chamber. Call changes, Grandsire and Stedman Doubles were
rung here and Plain Bob Minor.
After a leisurely
lunch together we enjoyed the easy-going 8cwt ring of six bells at
Stapleford. The gathering here took on a Tri-Service look as a local
member of the RAF Guild put in an appearance. A member of the Army Guild
also joined us for part of the day. Cambridge Surprise Minor was rung well
here along with Plain Bob Minor, Stedman and Grandsire Doubles.
A journey into
Salisbury centre next, to ring at St Martin’s. This was also the location
for the service with the tea and AGM in new, comfortable rooms nearby.
Ringing on eight bells at St Martins included call changes, Grandsire
Triples, Plain Bob Major and Yorkshire Surprise Major. The Service was
taken by Father Roger Hawkins who has had links with the Services during
his career and gave an interesting address. He also joined us for tea and
the AGM.
The RNGB President,
John, had to step down from office mid-term due to a somewhat enviable
posting to Washington DC. Joe has now taken the reins once more as Guild
President. John was thanked for his years as President – a job he has
tackled with enthusiasm and commitment. Concern was voiced about the
falling number of members, lack of recruits coming from the serving ranks
of the Royal Navy and the long term future of the Guild. However this last
year has been a good year in the life of the RNGB through both ringing and
social occasions. The Trafalgar Weekend in Norfolk, near Lord Nelson’s
birthplace was enjoyable for the ringing and especially the formal dinner.
Ringing successes during the year included two peals, an 1805 Date Touch
of Grandsire Triples and several Quarter Peals.
The AGM next year is
to be in Kent.
DRW
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Frantic and heavy going at
Heytesbury! (BM) |
NORTH NORFOLK
The 200th anniversary of the
Battle of Trafalgar provided the setting for the successful 2005
Trafalgar ringing weekend in the North Norfolk area.
The first tower of the Friday evening where the RNGB
regulars assembled was St Botolph’s, Grimston (6). There was no power in
the church, but fortunately it was still light enough to have a good
first ring. The members continued on to the historic village of Castle
Acre, with its Cluniac Priory to ring at St. James’ (6). An interesting
church with a blocked in south doorway, allegedly large enough for a
knight on horseback to enter the church for a blessing before his
battle, without having to dismount.
On Saturday, the RNGB regulars were joined by two
Army Guild members at St. Nicholas, Wells-next-the-Sea (8) and a plain
course of Trafalgar Surprise Major was successfully rang on these
‘springy’ bells. It was at this church that a certain John Fryer was
buried. He was cast adrift with Captain Bligh in the infamous Mutiny on
the Bounty and later became the sailing master on the HMS Royal
Sovereign at the battle of Copenhagen in 1801.
The members then travelled on to St Withiburga’s
(6), situated within the grounds of Holkam Hall and the vista from the
tower gave excellent views not only of the Earls of Leicester’s home,
but the sea also. The bells had recently been rehung and retuned after
the chestnut beams had been replaced with a new steel framework.
(Chestnut had been used originally rather than the more widely used, and
sturdier, oak).
The coach then travelled down
some rather muddy and narrow Norfolk lanes to view Burnham Thorpe, the
site of Nelson’s birthplace (the parsonage has since been demolished)
and also the church in which Nelson was christened and his father was
rector.
Thanks to the coach driver’s
excellent knowledge of these Norfolk roads the guild members arrived
safely at The Feathers, Dersingham for a good lunch, followed by ringing
a 2 minute walk away at St Nicholas (6), where a touch of Kent and
London was successfully rung.
The penultimate tower was St
Nicholas in King’ Lynn (8), situated close to the docks. This was a
redundant church with an interesting wooden steeple. A short distance
away was the final church, the 10 bell tower at St Margaret’s (whose
bells were rehung in 2005). This proved to be a good final ring,
although one unlucky guild member broke a clapper!
The enjoyable day was brought to
a close with a celebratory meal at The Ramada Jarvis Hotel at King’s
Lynn. The service and the food were excellent and the evening was
rounded off by the president, John Stott, giving an informative speech
about the life and career of Nelson. John Dallen, continued this naval
theme with a humorous ditty called ‘Gunner Joe,’ recited in the memory
of Francis Milner, (an ex Guild member and former treasurer). Further
reminisces of naval life continued before the party retired to the bar
for the remainder of the evening.
Our thanks to all those involved in
organising this very enjoyable and especially significant Trafalgar
weekend – Clare Hynde for arranging the towers on both days and Bill
Skilleter and Chris Gooch for ensuring the meal was a great success.
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A happy group, after a good day's
ringing and looking forward to a well earned meal!. |
| SURREY AND HAMPSHIRE
The
Royal Naval Guild held it's annual quarter peal day on 2nd April 2005. Unlike
most regional associations, the RNGB members hail from all over the country,
so meetings and outings take a bit of organising and success is that much more
pleasing as a result. The band met at Yorktown near Camberley at 10 o'clock
and went into a quarter of Grandsire Triples based on Parkers and conducted by
James Ingham. Then onto nearby Hawley and an equally successful 1280 of Plain
Bob Major conducted by Tim Wraight. We then drove out to the six at Ottershaw
where, following lunch we rang for our final quarter of the day, 1260 Plain
Bob Minor conducted by Mark Robins. This very successful and enjoyable day's
ringing was also in thanksgiving for the life of Stan Earl, longstanding
member of the Guild.
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The successful Quarter Peal day band
pictured at SS Peter and Paul, Hawley.
Left to Right; Paul Brown, Doug Linington, Tim
Wraight, Mark Robins, John Stott, Diana Wraight, James Ingham, Mavis
Whitehead. |
SOUTH WALES
This
was the second visit to Wales by the RNGB, the first being in 1994.
The advance information about this weekend, arranged by Bill Thomsett
and John Stott, was labelled Issue 4, which gives some indication of the time
and effort taken by the organisers to get this trip off the stocks.
A glance at the tenor weights of some of the towers to be visited
conjured up visions of Welsh campanologists robbing sheep of their bells to
provide the trebles for these rings! All
in all there was much to anticipate.
As
seems customary for these weekends, Chris Gooch had recommended excellent
accommodation and negotiated special rates for the weekend at the Priory Hotel
in Caerleon. However I doubt if
even he had arranged for one couple to have a four poster bed in a bedroom
large enough for a ship’s company dance, but it certainly was a wraight good
fix for the ‘honeymooners’ involved!
We
drove down from the far east (Huntingdonshire) in the dry until we reached the
Welsh border at which point the rain set in, and stayed that way for most of
the outing. Does it always rain
in Wales? The first tower was
Magor, where ringing took place in the chancel and the choir stalls stand on
rollers set in the floor so that they can be moved back to make room for the
ringers. Magor were a pleasant
six, almost heavy by later standards with a tenor of 7-2-20.
Ringers were in fairly short supply here as due to the weather the old
Severn bridge was closed and there were horrendous queues on the M4 making
people late. One ringer took 2 ½
hours from Bristol!
The
next parish of Lllanwern gave its name to the vast steelworks on the other
side of the railway. The advance
information (Issue 4) said that Llanwern had a ring of six “recently
augmented”, but perhaps that should have read “de-augmented” as there
were only five bells. They had
been augmented from three in the 1990s and were, for a five, quite pleasant.
We had been granted an extension in ringing time here to try for a
quarter peal, but the attempt did not last overlong.
Next
morning it was still raining but a coach had been arranged, hired from Emerald
Coaches, which seemed rather incongruous for Wales although it was a local
firm and not from across the sea. The
driver certainly knew his way around and found the churches (some of which
were quite off the beaten track) with ease, so it was not surprising to hear
that he had driven a group of bellringers from Oxford around the district
previously. Those of us not
staying at the Priory Hotel were also given the news that Dennis and Barbara
Martin had arrived the night before to a phone message and they had had to
return home immediately. Dennis and Barbara were much missed on the outing.
The first tower was Llantarnam where the tenor weighed
in at 4-2-14, and the size of the ringing chamber explained why the bells were
so light. Ringers had to attend
in relays to ring as there was space only for eight people in the ringing
chamber at any one time. What a
superlative little ring of bells they were – Whitechapel 1973 at their best,
and we even managed London Surprise Minor on them.
Llanfrechfra
(easier to write than say!) was the next tower. A plain exterior hid a pretty, well-kept interior with some
lovely stained glass windows. A
ring of eight with a tenor of 5-2-27, originally a ring of six by Blews
augmented with two trebles by Taylor in 1937.
Unfortunately the trebles had been hung below the original six so they
rather overpowered the other bells in the ringing chamber, but apparently
sounded quite nice from outside. Coffee,
biscuits and Welsh cakes were laid on in the vestry at the far end of the
church. This made recruiting
ringers for various methods difficult as obviously the welcome refreshments
and chance of a chat were more attractive than the delights of Oxford Bob
Triples, which would just not go.
As the coach began to head down the lane from the church, a quick
role-call revealed that one of the organisers was missing.
Bill had been in the graveyard, looking for the grave of an old
school-friend and had almost been left behind, unnoticed in our rush through
the rain to the coach.
With a full complement we returned to Caerleon to ring
at the church of St Cadoc. This
gave an opportunity for the Secretary to return to his hotel to change his
clothes, which somehow he had got soaked through.
The bells were a slightly heavier ring of six by John Taylor in 1953,
with a tenor of 8-2-1, and
were a very pleasant ring. The
boxes needed restraining however, as one attacked the treble ringer, testing
the efficacy of his fairly recent heart surgery.
(Nice to see you looking so well Tim.)
In the programme (Issue 4) we were assured that the
organisers had carried out quality and quantity inspections of the venue for
lunch, and were promised a treat for £4.95 each.
However, either Bill and John had eaten them out of supplies, or the
proprietors were commercially naïve with their pricing for the pub had gone
out of business earlier that week! We
went to the Rising Sun at Highcross instead, where we could choose between a
small portion and normal portion. What
a large portion would be like is beyond imagination, as a normal portion was
enormous, and very good.
Suitably set up for the afternoon visit to the heaviest
ring of the day we were driven through rain coming down in stair rods to
Bassaleg. The RNGB rang here in
1994 when the tower was equipped with a ring of six steel bells.
Those bells are now at Vicker Naylor’s museum in Sheffield, and
instead there is a very good ring of eight bells, with a tenor of 14-1-17,
which were transferred from All Saints church in Newport when that church fell
down. St Basil’s Bassaleg
certainly got the best of that deal, and I think the RNGB did justice to the
bells with some good ringing.
St Mellons in the suburbs of Cardiff was next. As was now customary our coach driver dropped us as close as
he could, for which we were very grateful in view of the weather.
Here again hot drinks and biscuits were laid on and were most welcome.
Very civilised, I must say! Here
on the heaviest ring of six of the day a touch was rung by fathers and
progeny, a first for the guild I think.
Finally we went to Llanishen, another parish swallowed
up by the suburbs of Cardiff. This
was the lightest ring of the outing, a six by Whitechapel, tenor 3-3-20, which
had replaced a heavier ring from the Llewellins & James foundry in 1977. Various methods were rung and a touch was rung by past and
present Guild officers.
Then
back to Caerleon. For some there
was a long drive home, but for the majority an evening of revelry in the
hotel. We are very grateful to
Bill and John for arranging such an interesting and enjoyable weekend of
ringing, and organising refreshments and lunch.
Also thanks go to our coach driver who drove us through the most awful
conditions yet kept us to our programmed times of arrival and departure. Finally our thanks go to the people who turned out in such
awful weather (even if they are used
to it!) to open churches, and especially the ladies who arranged the
availability of hot water, and Welsh cakes, at the towers where we had
refreshment. The President has
promised us another visit to Wales in ten years time – do we have to wait
that long?
DL
We also have a little 'ditty' sent in by Ian and Gill
Bland!
(With apologies to 'Did'n't we have a loverly time the day
we went to Bangor')
Did'n't we have a loverly time
The day we joined the Navy
There was ringing galore
When we met at Magor
And friends were delighted to be re-united.
We rang at Llanwern
And found with concern
We'd have to change our programme
It was a surprise
When the six were a five
But the bells rang out
Saturday morn saw a terrible storm
As the rain poured down in torrents
But let nothing dismay
We coached all the way
And spirits were high as the stars in the sky.
The bells were quite light
But that was alright
We rang from Plain to London
We went on our way
And had a good day
And the bells rang out.
The Priory was good with plenty of food
We did the menu justice
From a day in the towers
And ringing for hours
We all were ready to take our ease
Tim and Dee had a treat
In the honeymoon suite
And invited us all to a party
There were six in the shower
And six in the bed
As the bells rang out.
So thanks once again, we make it quite plain
We had a super outing
The group photograph
Caused many a laugh
We hope it all came out quite well
We'll join you again
If you don't complain
When next you have a function
There's one thing quite clear
We'll see you next year
While the bells ring out.
VALE OF WITT OUTING AND AGM
Around 25 members of the RNGB navigated
successfully from their various home ports to North Wiltshire. The weather was
gloriously sunny and a profusion of snowdrops, crocuses and primroses made
cheerful splashes of colour in the well groomed churchyards we passed through.
Our first stop was Chiseldon with an interesting access, and we much
enjoyed this pleasant six. The church boasts a fine Millennium window by Jude
Tarrant of Southsea; lovely, swirling lines and beautiful little vignettes of
appropriate landmarks in the church's life.
On to Wanborough, which has been augmented
since my last visit and were a good 8. Our last tower of the morning was
Bishopstone; a very short draught and definitely 'different'.
The Rose and Crown at nearby Ashbury was our
excellent lunch venue. Bearing the forthcoming tea in mind I resisted the
tempting puddings, and was glad when the time came to move on!
After lunch we rang at Ashbury. Whether it
was the anti-clockwise bells, or too much refuelling, the ringing was not very
impressive and we continued to Shrivenham hoping to do better. Did we? Not too
sure.
Several of the rings were very loud and the Quarter Deck voices of the
conductors could not always be heard clearly, but the Ringing Master's overall
impression of the striking wasn't very flattering.
The local Army Chaplain from RMCS Shrivenham conducted a short service, and
then it was the bun fight. As usual an excellent and varied spread was
provided and James came up trumps with his marmite sandwiches, without which
no AGM tea would be complete. Finally we had the meeting and then home after a
most successful and enjoyable day. Very many thanks to John Stott for all his
excellent arrangements.
EC
WESTWARD HO!
As I set off for North Devon on a damp, grey Friday morning my car radio issued dire warnings of heavy rain, strong winds and hazardous driving conditions for that afternoon and, indeed, the whole weekend. But as I got further west the sky cleared, and by the time I reached Barnstaple it was a beautiful afternoon. So those of us who had arrived in time (and did not get stuck in the horrendous Barnstaple traffic) enjoyed the early evening ringing at Swimbridge and Landkey in fine weather – followed, for some, by a delicious meal in the “Ring-0’-Bells” at Landkey.
It was a misty moisty morning when some 25 of us mustered outside the Barnstaple Hotel a good five minutes before the boat (I mean bus) was due to leave at 0900. A prompt departure meant that we were early at the first tower, Bishop’s Tawton – an excellent six when we took the trouble to strike them. While there the sun began to break through and light up the dew soaked cobwebs which festooned the gravestones. Then, as the mist began to clear, Tawstock church and the wooded hillside on the other bank of the river Taw were gradually revealed. Thus, by the time we reached Pilton, there was not a cloud in the sky and the magnificent view from the top of the tower towards Bideford and Hartland Point vied for our attentions with the fine heavy eight. So much for the weather forecast!
After Pilton our bus took a leafy valley road to the Muddiford Inn for a good lunch (for which the organisers had happily allowed plenty of time) after which we set off for Ilfracombe. As we breasted the high ground to the south we had some wonderful views, this time of Lundy Island to the west and the South Wales coast and the Black Mountains to the North. Down in Ilfracombe the delights of the harbour, tourist shops and ice cream parlours provided competition for the bells
of St Philip and St James – and the many memorials to 19th century naval officers and mariners were an interesting distraction at Holy Trinity.
Then to Georgeham, the last tower of the day, where the highlights were call changes called by the local tower captain and the numerous gravestones adorned with poems one of which commemorated a Sergeant Hill “Waterlooman and through the Peninsular with the Duke of Wellington”.
On Saturday evening most of us foregathered for an excellent dinner at the Barnstaple Hotel and on Sunday morning nine of us went to SS Peter and Mary Magdalene in Barnstaple where we rang what would otherwise have been silent bells for the morning Eucharist. Our efforts here were very satisfying and much appreciated by the locals and provided a most fitting conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. So many thanks to the organisers, our hosts at the towers we visited and all those who took the trouble to attend.
ROMNEY MARSH AND ALL THAT
It was just the night for smugglers when the RN Guild of Bellringers descended
on East Sussex for their annual Trafalgar weekend outing, wet and windy. The first port of call was Battle on the Friday night and nice ring of 8. This was
followed by Hastings where the second battle of Hastings was fought, this one with the one way system and lost. Taxis drivers were way laid for directions but even so it is rumoured that some failed to find the church. It was then on to Rye for the night where several late arrivals joined the group.
On a grey cloudy day, thankful with no rain, and after a fortifying breakfast the ringers crossed the river and climbed the hill to Rye church. The tower, which was normally open for sightseers was closed for our visit. On arrival in the ringing chamber, the local tower captain offered a trip to the top of the tower at no extra charge, noting this would normally cost two pounds. This appealed to all those of a parsimonious nature and even those will a poor head for heights took the opportunity to admire the surrounding countryside for the double advantage of the top of the tower on a prominent hill. Romney Marsh lay before us and the old Saxon coast line was clearly recognisable. We had a very enjoyable ring at Rye and the time passed all too quickly and it was a steady decent to rendezvous with the bus that was to take the party for the rest of the day. Rye church contained a memorial plaque to HMS Rye so connection had been made to the Royal Navy early in the day.
Off we set in an old and rather musty looking bus with various bits of
the overhead luggage rack secure with masking tape. Despite its looks the bus managed to get us round the course with no problems. However with flood warnings rife, there was some concerns to whether we would make every tower. Some felt that the combined seamanship expertise in the bus would be an insurance against a excess of water.
First it was off to
Brookland, with its unique ringing tower detached but adjacent to the church itself. Stories abounded about why it had been built in this way and the use it came to as a land mark in times of old. Said to be constructed from timbers of local shipwrecks the 6 it held were a nice light ring on which the team attempted both Kent and Double Norwich, with some success.
From Brookland it was off to lunch at a very charming pub who did us proud and in time we made our way to New Romney. The large tower housed a very ringable anti-clockwise set of 8 which was much enjoyed by all, although some struggled with the unfamiliar direction of the circle straight after lunch. A range of methods were rung including Kent. From New Romney it was onto
Appledore, another nice 8 which went well. The final tower was a the heavy eight at
Tenterden, not the best way to end a long day, but that was nothing to do with the bells more the tiredness of the ringers.
Being 21 October 2000 most members minds were turned to the death of Admiral Lord Nelson on that day in 1805. There was nice connection to Nelson at Tenterden in that four of his grandchildren had been baptised in the hexagonal font of the church. It was a apt reminder of the connection for the day, which ended with an informal dinner at which the president made a short speech and proposed the toast to the "Immortal Memory". Of note the diner was prepared by a former Royal Yacht chef who was invited to partake of a glass in memory of Nelson and by way of saying thanks to all the staff who had looked after us so well at the hotel.
On a rather wetter Sunday morning the Guild dispersed, some ringing in Rye for the morning service and others departing for home via various local sights. A good weekend was had by all and we managed to avoid the floods.
