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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white lang=EN-GB link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>David,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Many thanks for the additional information. In particular, the reference to Crown Bob in 1793 and as far back as 1702 . During the 18th and 19th centuries growing and showing gooseberries was a popular pastime in the north of England and hundreds of new varieties were developed, many with interesting names. It is not known when or where the Crown Bob gooseberry originated but it was already well-established in 1812, when a specimen of it won the best red category in the 1812 Mansfield Gooseberry Show. By 1850 it was called Old Crown Bob, and was the most popular and widely planted of all gooseberries. Before that it was called Melling's Crown Bob, and since gooseberries were normally named after their originator, it is likely that this variety was bred by a Mr Melling. It seems, therefore, quite possible that Melling was also a bell ringer. It would interesting to know whether there is any evidence for a prominent ringer called Melling in the late 1700s, possibly from the Lancashire/Cheshire area.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Graham<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 4.0pt'><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> David Adams [mailto:jdieabutterbache@iB2FIc_HQqDytL5bIE33JaRmdaAMnXwj_vUnqr7vOx0VQAwp_wgS2SHynLhJKVecQO38tPpbV20Vdm-t9iyg-Jfl-oI3AZQERj1eshZZXA.yahoo.invalid] <br><b>Sent:</b> 11 December 2010 10:19<br><b>To:</b> graham@pOxgy-NREzEw6EUFhWGQIwjX9b8JLuuqHzI9ziENzxZjs5GTdxHo9677QZUf5f0dWVF9CK79UDkFK-ScVM5M9V8fAd3i.yahoo.invalid<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: Crown Bob<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Hello Graham.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Your query was passed on to me by Peter Wilkinson, who picked it up on the Bell Historians Group.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>I was very interested to learn that there was a gooseberry called Crown Bob. I had never heard of it before.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>The word 'bob', of course, indicates it must have some connection with bell ringing. Why that name was chosen for a variety of gooseberry I cannot say. It would be interesting to know where it originates from.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>I cannot be precise about the name Crown Bob in bell ringing, but I definitely know that the term was used in the mid-nineteenth century by the ringers of Saddleworth, up in the Pennines. It has been suggested that the Crown element came from the union of the English and Scottish crowns after the death of Elizabeth I and the accession of James VI of Scotland at the beginning of the 17th century. The Crown Bob I know is something we have in the Chester Guild Archives. It was a copy of it and was written out in the 19th century. That would have been a long time after 1812, but it is certain the name Crown Bob - to describe some kind of splicing of methods - had been around well before 'our', extent in nine methods had been composed. Harold Chant, who produced an Alphabetical Index of Minor Methods in the 1960s, mentions that Crown Bob was in Campanologia in 1702; and he gives an example of the name appearing on a peal board in Newport I.O.W. in 1793. Thus the name of the gooseberry occurring before 1812 makes sense.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>If you want to read a little more about the Crown Bob in the CDG Archives you could perhaps try this link:-</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.chesterdg.org.uk/">http://www.chesterdg.org.uk/</a></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>You would need to go to <em><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>General</span></em> in the menu on the left. Then find <em><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Guild Archive</span></em> and click on <em><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Occasional Reports</span></em>.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>I hope that helps.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Incidentally, I looked at Crown Court Bob Minor. It is not in Chant's list, nor is it in my 1984 Collection of Minor Methods. I suspect it was first rung in spliced; although that's just a guess. The work below treble looks pretty dreadful; so perhaps it was something rung just to ring something new. But why the name? I can't find it in Peals Rung From 1985; but if it was in a spliced extent it wouldn't appear there. It was probably first rung in a Quarter. The name suggests it was an old method - but the work below treble looks as if was put together more recently. Sorry I can't help there. You've got me puzzled! I wonder if anybody else has picked up your query? </span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>Regards.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>David Adams</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"'>(CDG Archivist)</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>