origin of handstroke pause

[Edward W Martin]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, Laura Dickerson <lauradi at ...> 
wrote:
>
>     When?  Any idea who (presumably which band or geographical 
area) 
> started it?  Would the world be different today if it had always 
been a 
> backstroke pause instead?
> Thanks for any information.
> Laura Dickerson
>

Since the beginning.

On page 23 of Campanalogia, Stedman wrote:
"in ringing a peal of 5 Bells; from the fore-stroke of every note to 
the next fore-stroke of the same note, there ought to be eleven 
punctums or Beats of time, which are all supposed to stand at 
AEquidistance : now in ten of these punctums, the five notes ought 
exactly to strike at the fore-stroke and back-stroke, and the 
eleventh stands as a Cypher to guide  the Treble-note at fore-stroke 
to a double proportion of time from the Tenor-note at back-stroke: 
which blank punctum must also be beaten in the same place by every 
note ...

He goes on a bit, over two pages worth, but the idea is that the one-
beat handstroke pause should be observed at all times

Eddie Martin