<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Excellent posting by DLC (especially when added to his previous
contribution which I have copied below) - thanks. I've done just a
little bit of delving myself, and here are my "raw notes". <br>
<br>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=windows-1252">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB">According to an article in the <i>Bournville Works
Magazine</i>
[presumably 1906] Starmer described the carillon at Bournville
Schools as “the
finest set of bells in the country being, if not the heaviest,
the most perfect
as regards their excellence of tone and their musical qualities
generally” (</span><em><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS""
lang="EN-GB">Ex.Inf. </span></em><span lang="EN-GB">Ray
Aldington, April 2004)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span></tt><span lang="EN-GB">Comment on the Coventry
controversy, the chimes and the involvement
of William Wooding Starmer in the 1920s (Jennings <span
style="mso-bidi-font-style:
italic">Chime Barrel Mechanisms </span>p.13)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
Death
registered at Tonbridge, Oct-Dec quarter 1927, aged 60;
Probate calendar, 1928
– William Wooding Starmer of Lion Hotel, East Grinstead, died
27 October 1927
at the Tweedale Nursing Home, Tunbridge Wells. Probate London
9 January 1928 to
Florence Emily Frances Starmer, widow. Effects £2438.17s.<o:p></o:p></span></tt></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB"><br>
<span style="letter-spacing:
-.15pt">Extract from paper written by Cyril Johnston in </span>1948.
He said,
“My firm had installed some clock bells...at a famous school at
Elstree and the
owners complained of the tone, whereupon Dr. William Wooding
Starmer...was
called in and recommended that the bells should be sent to a
competitor firm to
be recast. In my youthful enthusiasm, this seemed to be a bit
hard and I
persuaded my father to allow me to experiment and at the same
time to stop
production of bells which were in progress at the Foundry. It so
happened that
I was very fortunate and hit upon the principal cause of trouble
within a
matter of weeks and also how to correct these faults, so that
the bells might
comply with the late Canon Simpson's theory...” The “competitor
firm” was
obviously Taylor's, given Starmer's close association with them.
(<i>per</i>
Jill Johnston, May 2002)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
Obituary of William Wooding Starmer, Tunbridge Wells, in <i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Ringing World</i> 1927
pp.696-7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB"><br>
Taylor job book (Vol.140 p.379)
– copies of estimates for bells obtained by Starmer (of 6
Warwick Park,
Tunbridge Wells) from </span><span
style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt" lang="EN-GB">Mears
& Stainbank 12 May 1903, Warner 19 May 1903 (signed by W.P.
Stevenson),
Gillett & Johnston 9 May 1903, Llewellins & James 9 May
1903, Barwell
(“we have a representative resident near London and with an
office at 274
Finsbury Pavement House EC who is at Tunbridge Wells
occasionally…” 9 May 1903</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
lang="EN-GB"><br>
Taylor records for St.Thomas,
Longford, Warwicks – job book (Vol.140 p.233), completed 5 May
1904. Old bells –
the fifth (Barwell 1892) 19</span><span
style="mso-bidi-font-size:
8.0pt;letter-spacing:-.15pt" lang="EN-GB">¾”</span><span
lang="EN-GB"> 1-2-13 with pencil note
alongside details of old bells "5th used for Starmer's
lectures".</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
The
“Cambridge RC” clock chime is at the Catholic Church of Our
Lady and the
English Martyrs (OLEM), Cambridge, UK. There was a <i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Ringing World</i> front page article on the
restoration of this heavy
1895 Taylor 8 a couple of years back and the unusual chime
tune was mentioned.
According to William Wooding Starmer’s “Quarter Chimes and
Chime Tunes” (my
thanks to Chris McKay for this information) the tune was
arranged by Rev Canon
Scott and is based on the plainsong antiphon commonly known as
the 'Easter
Alleluia', sung in Catholic Churches on Easter Saturday. In
1908 the tune was
copied for the clock chime at Dunblane Cathedral, where it is
known as the
“Alleluia Quarters”. This was not the first time that a chime
tune from
Cambridge had been copied to good effect!. The tune is
actually a 6 bell chime.
In the same format as used on the BHI website, Starmer gives
the tune (in G) as
follows: 1st quarter 1,3,4,5,3,4,3. 2nd quarter 1,3,4,5,3,4,3,
4,5,4,3,2,1. 3rd
quarter 1,3,4,5,3,4,3, 4,5,4,3,2,1, 1,3,4,5,3,4,3. 4th quarter
1,3,4,5,3,4,3,
4,5,4,3,2,1, 1,3,4,5,3,4,3, 6,4,5,3,4,3. Notes: 1=D 2=E 3=G
4=A 5=B 6=C. At
Dunblane the tune is played in Bb, thus avoiding the need for
an additional
clock-bell. As a chime tune it is universally admired. (</span></tt><tt><i><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;color:black"
lang="EN-GB">Ex.inf.
</span></i></tt><tt><span style="font-size:10.0pt"
lang="EN-GB">Chris Frye, Bell
Historians 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></tt></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span></tt><span lang="EN-GB">William Gorham Rice <span
style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Carillons
of Belgium and Holland</span> (1914) mentions p.207 (in list
of carillons in
other countries) “Bournville, Worcestershire; 22 bells, recently
erected under
the supervision of Mr. W.W. Starmer. Bournville is the model
village founded by
George Cadbury, just outside Birmingham</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
William
Wooding Starmer was an important figure in the development of
chime and
carillon bells and equipment. He was certainly on friendly
terms with J. W.
Taylor Jnr, Pryce and E. D. T. He was referred to in my
article on Great George
of Bristol in the RW a few years ago, being the "independent
referee"
appointed by the University but suggested by JT & Co to
approve the Great
Bell. I have read a lot of his personal correspondence with
the Taylors and
hope in time to produce an article, probably for the BCS as it
will be of
little interest to ringers (I think!) / At the Coventry
enquiry, (where he was
descibed in the RW as 'Professor' of Campanology at Birmingham
University, he
is reported to have said that "He was, as a boy, a ringer, but
had never
rung a peal, he was glad to say. He could not agree that
ringers were good
judges of bell tones; they thought more of the 'go' of a bell"
(Coventry
Bells and how they were Lost p. 36). He was proved accurate by
Canon Coleridge
(then President CCCBR) who said "It is the practical side of
ringing which
I enjoy ....... (a bell) that has got a wheel on it".
"Professor
Starmer" declared the Ringing World of 15th January 1926 was
one of
"two witnesses upon whom the petitioners relied to carry
through their
scheme, and, to be candid, we do not think the opposition were
fully prepared
to meet their evidence." If that is so, we have Starmer to
thank then for
the glorious ring which is so prized at Coventry. I rather
think that Starmer
might be horrified! / Still, he was not totally averse to
ringing bells: he
advised on the 1919 ring of eight at St Peter's, Tunbridge
Wells, where he was
organist; and on the twin chime (cast to ringing weights) at
St Luke's,
Tunbridge Wells. Both were cast by G&J, so it was not a
question of
"all Taylor". And in both cases, his name is there on the
largest
bell. / Price (The Carillon) p.56 says that Starmer was "an
organist
rather than a carilloneur, yet he took up the work where
Simpson laid it down
and marerially aided English bell-founders and their patrons
by advising those
specifications which would make their instruments not merely
the equal of those
of olden times, but a distinct improvement upon them. Studying
past examples,
he sought to improve their defects by lightening the touch,
standardizing the
dimensions of the keyboard, disposing the bells so that all
could be heard
equally well outside, and arranging the playing cabin so that
the carilloneur
could hear his effects properly". Praise indeed, but I wonder
if JT&Co
or G&J would have yielded the palm so readily; or for that
matter Jef Denyn
whose influence even to-day cannot be under-estimated. / W. W.
Starmer was
indeed for a while a part-time Lecturer in Campanology in the
Department of
Music at Birmingham University. I have never found any claim
on his part to be
a Professor, or Reader, and posters of his lectures (sometimes
used as
notepaper by him) describe him as "Lecturer in Campanology,
Department of
Music". / He died in 1928 and is buried in Tunbridge Wells
(DLC to “Bell
Historians” 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></tt></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><tt><span
style="font-size:10.0pt" lang="EN-GB"><br>
William
Wooding Starmer, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, London,
was a referee
for a bell (31-0-21 in C) cast by O’Byrne of Dublin for
Newport Church.
Testimonal (jointly with Robert O’Dwyer, Professor of Irish
Music, National
University, Dublin) dated 13 March 1917 (O’Byrne catalogue,
1962, p.100)<o:p></o:p></span></tt></p>
<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11">
<meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11">
<link rel="File-List"
href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CCHRISP%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C08%5Cclip_filelist.xml">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@Arial Unicode MS";
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
mso-layout-grid-align:none;
punctuation-wrap:simple;
text-autospace:none;
font-size:12.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;}
tt
{mso-style-parent:"";
font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";
mso-ascii-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";
mso-hansi-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]--><br>
Hope these oddments may be of use and interest<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Chris Pickford
<br>
E-mail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:c.j.pickford@wPPqtzKoXIsHFVDlW1Qce2mBiYmnwj0ka9BlxWw0BRg2CvBaVJxdEKUECo-ejFZuViNpmP5CvbWCYob2M7A.yahoo.invalid">c.j.pickford@wPPqtzKoXIsHFVDlW1Qce2mBiYmnwj0ka9BlxWw0BRg2CvBaVJxdEKUECo-ejFZuViNpmP5CvbWCYob2M7A.yahoo.invalid</a> or (interchangeably)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:c.j.pickford.t21@trBeSc-N_d3Kq7HLKSvTFE9IDyoCXWfb6SzyEkclOZ6OCiZm3ihPSnRwt4Nu1fC5OnxdSowSwc4aS6N84lpkx1YKQJoA7mAE.yahoo.invalid">c.j.pickford.t21@trBeSc-N_d3Kq7HLKSvTFE9IDyoCXWfb6SzyEkclOZ6OCiZm3ihPSnRwt4Nu1fC5OnxdSowSwc4aS6N84lpkx1YKQJoA7mAE.yahoo.invalid</a></div>
</body>
</html>