[Bell Historians] More bells?

[Richard Offen]

> As regards 12s, the reason is sometimes to get a light eight by adding
two
> trebles and a flat 6th / sharp 2nd to a ring of ten. It is perhaps
also a
> matter of prestige in some cases. I wonder what proportion of rings of
12
> has a Sunday service band which can ring, say, at least Grandsire
Cinques
> regularly?

I'm sure you are right that prestige has a lot to do with augmentations
to twelve.   I too am sceptical about how many twelves have Sunday
service bands that actually ring changes on twelve regularly.
>
> With higher numbers, it was presumably done at Birmingham because the
band
> had done everything that could be done on 12 - perhaps someone from
> Birmingham can clarify? As I understand it, Perth were originally
envisaged
> as a 15 with semitones to give a light 12, and adding another bell was
a
> logical step given that it was only one bell needed to give 16. It's
> interesting that 16-bell ringing doesn't seem to have caught on and
there is
> no 16 in or around London.

You are indeed correct, Swan Bells were originally going to be 15 + 2
semitones, but, by the time a home found for the ring, the advent of
ringing on 16 tower bells had come about so the additional treble to
mark the new millennium seemed the obvious thing to do.

Personally, whilst I find 16 bell ringing intellectually challenging
(some would say that I find 6 bell ringing intellectually challenging!),
musically I don't find it particularly enjoyable.


>
> "And mini-rings. Why have the numbers increased enormously? Is it
that,
> once one person's done it, others realise that it isn't as difficult
> as it looked?"
>
> I think this can be attributed largely to Matthew Higby, who developed
> hanging techniques for small bells and was the first to produce and
sell
> complete 'mini-ring packages' commercially - such mini-rings as
existed
> before were generally built by their owners.

I think one of the reasons mini-rings have become so popular is
accessibility.   With the increase in complaints about ringing in many
localities, mini-rings offer a good alternative for those who wish to
ring large numbers of peals or increase the length of practice time
available without causing a nuisance to the local populace.

Richard



           
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