[Bell Historians] Interesting bells for sale on website

[Chris Pickford]

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The story of the Nottingham cup handbells fits, I believe, in a longer stor=
y of a challenge issued to the Nottingham and Leicester ringers in the 1770=
s by Squire Fortrey of Kings Norton (Leics). He offered a set of handbells =
to the first band to ring a peal of 10,000 Grandsire Caters. The Sherwood =
Youths (Nottingham) rang a peal of 6012 changes on 1 January 1775, and on 1=
January 1776 raised the stakes with a peal of 8046 changes.=20

The Leicester Scholars rang 6012 (composed by W.D. Crofts of Nottingham, in=
terestingly) at St.Margaret's, Leicester, in August 1776, and scored the 10=
,080 in 7h.12 on 25 February 1777 - having lost the peal after ringing over=
5000 changes that morning! There was much celebration in Leicester after =
the peal, but there is no mention of the handbells in any of the records of=
the peal. However, a set of cup handbells formerly belonging to the Leices=
ter ringers still exists and these bells are believed to have been presente=
d by Fortrey in honour of the 1777 peal.

The Leicester handbells are now in the Museum, but we borrowed them for a r=
ingers' dinner in the early 1970s - 1974, I think - and made quite a lot of=
use of them over that weekend.

To complete the story, the Sherwood Youths rang 10,260 Grandsire Caters at =
St.Mary's, Nottingham, in February 1778. The handbells there were apparent=
ly given by Fortrey in recognition that the Nottingham ringers both met his=
challenge and rung a longer peal.

CP
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Mrthigby at a...=20
To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com=20
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 3:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Bell Historians] Interesting bells for sale on website


In a message dated 29/05/2003 15:49:35 GMT Daylight Time, peb at d... =
writes:



>Sorry, forgot to say that there is, or was, a hemispherical bell in th=
e=20
>ringing chamber at Midhurst.
There is (or at least was) also a set of hemispherical handbells in the=
=20
ringing chamber of Nottingham St. Mary.

--=20
Paul=20



Beat me to it!

Matthew=20
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