The Abbots Bromley Campanile

 

 “A shed in every garden, a ring in every shed, a quarter in the morning, then a peal and off to bed.” – A.J.B.

 

   

      

 

The peal of eight bells was cast by Richard Bowditch of North Wootton, Somerset. They were tuned and hung by Matthew Higby in May/June 2004 and are tuned to the key of G. They were originally hung in our house in Armitage, Staffordshire and were first rung on the evening of June 14th 2004 after Armitage practice night. In May 2008 we moved to Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire. The rehanging presented several problems (different width between the rafters, different roof pitch, etc.) which meant the first ring had to wait until September 28th 2008.

 

                       

 

 

 

 

The bells are hung in the loft above one of the back bedrooms. As with many similar mini-rings, they have traditional wheels and pulleys but no stays or sliders. The ropes fall in a perfect circle of diameter 38” in the room below.

 

The bells and frame have been enclosed in an 'acoustic' box which reduces the external sound levels whilst increasing the amount of sound in the ringing room. They are still audible outside the house and several peals and quarter peals have been rung on them. Most of the peals have been rung for The Lichfield & Walsall Archdeaconries Society and are detailed below:

 

 

Peals

 

 

Quarter Peals

 

Contact

Since their installation we have welcomed well over 200 visitors including many who had never rung any type of bell before. They are safe for children to ring (and virtually unbreakable!) and most people pick up the basics in a couple of minutes. Visiting bands are welcome by prior arrangement and, in lieu of the normal tower fees, visiting ringers are asked to make an appropriate donation to St Giles Hospice. So far we have donated over £400.

 

Ringing Our Small Bells

We find ringing with the left hand passed through the tail end loop and the right hand catching the above the sally works best. Keeping your rope tight is important but using a light touch is essential as the bell is too small to lift your left arm at backstroke. Make sure you are directly under the hole. We set the ropes fairly low to encourage as little movement beyond the forearms as possible. At the balance (at either stroke) your working hand should be below your chin. At first, many ringers let the bell go too far over in an attempt to make the bell feel heavier. This can cause the bell to strike erratically and makes it very hard to achieve a good rhythm, especially if some bells are going further over than others.

 

We often suggest catching just above the sally, effectively sliding down the rope until the thickness of the sally stops you sliding any further. This helps prevent people from missing the sally altogether (a common mistake if they are pulling too hard) or letting the bell go over the balance too far.

 

Our experience is that good change ringing on small bells can be every bit as demanding as on full size bells. The speed and finger-tip control required to handle the bells, the lack of any momentum to ‘carry’ you through a mistake, getting everyone ringing with the same rhythm and speed, being open to learning a new style of ringing, etc. However, when done well, the results are just as satisfying and it is brilliant fun too!

 

For further advice from three experts in small bell ringing, see Ringing World 3^rd March 2000 p241, from which much of the above is derived.