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<p>I am staying in Rockbourne, Hants. for a week and so naturally
interested in the church and bells, listed in Dove as an
unringable 3. There is local interest in the bells because, as I
was confidently told by a parishioner; <i>"Our bell has been
restored and it is going to be rededicated tomorrow"</i>. A
quick internet search revealed newspaper items reporting that as a
consequence of substantial grants the bells would peal out again.
For example the Salisbury journal: <i>"The bells will ring once
again at St Andrew’s Church in Rockbourne, thanks to a grant of
£12,000 from the National Churches Trust. The National Churches
Trust’s Cornerstone Grant will help fund urgent work to the
village church and keep the building at the heart of the local
community. The church also received a £7,500 Wolfson Fabric
Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation, on the recommendation
of the National Churches Trust. Following the news, Rockbourne
PC secretary Sue Thompson said: “The completion of this work,
remedying a situation which has caused the bell tower to become
unsafe and the bells to fall silent for several years, will
raise the profile of the church in the village. It will allow
the peal to ring out once again and facilitate maintenance of
the clock.”</i>
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<p>The following link <<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://greendaleconstruction.com/st-andrews-church-rockbourne/">https://greendaleconstruction.com/st-andrews-church-rockbourne/</a>>
shows that the work was actually on the tower rather than the
bells and seems to indicate that the Dove entry is incorrect in
stating that these are a full circle ring. The pictures focus on
the work done on the timbers of the tower but also show that the
bells lack wheels and stays. They appear to show that these might
have been fitted at some time, but if so, when and why were they
removed? It does not appear that this was part of the
"restoration" work and I suspect that Ellacombe chiming has been
as much "pealing"as these bells have done in a long time. Dove
also refers to a "<i>ground floor ringing chamber</i>". There is
an open space under the tower and rope holes can be seen in the
roof above. There is a three rope Ellacombe frame that appears to
be in good order, with rather faded and dusty instructions for
chiming plain hunt on three tucked behind the ropes. <br>
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<p>So, can anyone say whether these bells ever were rung full
circle? If they were then at what stage would they cease to
qualify as a "Full Circle Ring" for Dove purposes? Clearly
temporary removal of stays and wheels does not justify this
designation, nor does the disappearance of these fittings due to
dereliction, but deliberate and apparently permanent removal, as
appears to be the case at Rockbourne perhaps does. I am not aware
of a Dove convention on what constitutes a full circle ring (or
fails to); is one needed? Have I just missed it?</p>
<p>Ted<br>
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