[Bell Historians] Curfew (was Re: The Tellers)

[Mark Humphreys]

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Not a curfew as such, but there is the bell in the Bodleian as well, rung at
closing time.

Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: David Cawley [mailto:dave at d...]
Sent: 25 June 2003 21:46
To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: RE: [Bell Historians] Curfew (was Re: The Tellers)


1. Sandwich tenor. Twenty years ago, it was I suppose rung up about 50%
of the time. The Mayor used to give the curfew ringers a grand dinner every
year. I was a member of the Guild of Curfew Ringers, ringing on 19th of the
month, and still pride the tie (Sandwich coat of arms, surmounted by a
bell). As I think I've said before on this site, the bell is or was rung
daily, except Sunday, at 8 p.m. Most ringers went down about 7.45 and
locked themselves in - note, ifyou want to go there, entrance is in the
ruins of the north aisle, the door being well away from the entrance to the
tower stairway, so if you're late you won't be heard. The clock is allowed
to chime and strike eight, after which the bell is swung. In 1982, on
Mayor's Day, RCO and I rang the 4th (rehung 1892) and tenor (rehung 1932)
for the occasion. The other six have only fragmentary wheels left now.

2. Canterbury, Bell Harry was swung manually until 1957 or 8 since when
various sloggers have been applied to it. Curfew time was 9 p.m.

3. Bristol St Nicholas has a curfew bell, hung on a ringing headstock with
gudgeons and bearings, but no other fittings except a clock-type hammer
which sounds the curfew from 9 till 9.07, when it is working. The bell is
the flat 7th in 10; the other 3 bells are the 3rd, 6th and tenor of a 30-cwt
C# ten, hanging in the super Taylor H-frame of 1898. Delicious bells.

4. I think the church with the chime in Brixham rings out "Abide with me"
every night as a sort of curfew.

There's some stately home, can't remember where, which rings when the
gates are closing; and they used to ring the bell in the Bell Tower at the
Tower of London as a curfew. And of course, there's that wonderful JT bell
of 1953 at St Bride, Fleet Street.......not rung for Curfew but I shall
leave it to DrL to tell the story.

DLC
----- Original Message -----
From: LOVE, Dickon
To: 'bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com'
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 11:05 AM
Subject: RE: RE: [Bell Historians] Curfew (was Re: The Tellers)


> You can add St Peter's, Sandwich to your list. The ring of 8 is
unringable
> except for the tenor. This is rung every day as a curfew bell. Each
day, a
> different member of the company of "ringers" (actually most of them
are
not
> ringers) go up and ring or chime the bell.

DJB:
"How often is it rung full-circle?"

Not sure how many of the Curfew ringers are actual ringers. There used
to be
none, but with the installation of a ring of bells in St Clement's,
Sandwich, more and more ringers have leaked into the Curfew Society. I
don't
know whether all ringers would have rung the bell up either (it is about
15
cwt), but I guess it gets rung up once a week. Pure guess though.

DrL


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