Bells and Bellringing
Bells and Bellringing
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH BELLS
Only the main points are given here. A booklet by Kevon Thompson entitled 'The Bells and Bellringers of Barrow-on-Soar' is available in the reference section of the County Library in the village. The booklet contains much more detail on the following subjects: Bell hanging, bell handling, change ringing, local associations,70 photographs, list of all Barrow ringers since 1945, weights and dimensions of Barrow bells, ringing traditions, hand-bell ringing, competition ringing and general history.
The picture above shows the bells of Holy Trinity 'set-up' and ready for ringing.
1. HISTORY
The oldest bell in the tower is the present tenor (the bell with the lowest note). It was cast by George Oldfield of Nottingham in 1620 and weighs 10cwt. (the ringing fraternity still use Imperial weight measures!). The next oldest bells are the present 6th and 7th which were cast by Hugh Watts of Leicester in 1642. The current 5th bell is something of a mystery as the only inscription is '1822' but is thought to have been cast by Thomas Mears of London. The remaining four bells are all post-World War II and were cast at the Taylor foundry in Loughborough.
It is known that there were 5 bells in the tower in 1787 and that the ringers rang changes because the Leicester Journal had a series of reports which described the fierce rivalry between the Barrow and Sileby bands in competition ringing.
In 1868, the tower became unsafe and the bells were removed. The tower collapsed just before Christmas in that year. The tower was rebuilt and reopened in 1870 with the 5 bells in a new oak frame. In 1946, a new treble bell was added to form a ring of 6 bells. The new bell was the gift of the Towle family - the local Hosiery Manufacturers.
In 1972, the old tenor bell of 1699 (approximately 13cwt.) was broken up to provide metal for three new small bells. These form part of the present ring of 8 bells. Again, the Towle family were the benefactors in this work.
2. APPEAL FOR MORE RINGERS
The way in which the bells are hung and rung is mainly peculiar to England. The bells of Barrow have been ringing out for 360 years.
There’s a danger that as existing ringers age the number available to ring diminishes. We are very fortunate at Barrow to have two experienced ringers DBS checked and accredited by the Association of Ringing Teachers who are training new ringers to keep the tradition going. Ringers can be any age from 9 to 90+ and it requires less effort than you think to control a bell weighing up to half a tonne and you don’t even need to be musical. There’s a mixture of rhythm, co-ordination and a pinch of maths, but most of all it’s a team effort and we have great fun whilst encouraging each other to learn new things. Why not contact us and have a trial session to see if it’s for you, we’d love to see you!
3. TIMES OF RINGING
At present, the bells are rung, when possible at 10:00am before each Sunday morning service.
Practices are held on Monday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Visitors are most welcome but are advised to check before travelling that a practice will be held on a particular evening.
4. CONTACTS
Service ringing and practices:
Ringing Master:
Andy Boston andy@aboston.org.uk
General Secretary:
Virginia Willcocks: 07778 451263
(Visiting ringers always welcome)
5. FURTHER INFORMATION
More information about bellringing generally may be obtained from the following web sites:
Leicester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers: www.leicesterdg.org.uk/
Central Council of Church Bell Ringers: www.cccbr.org.uk
