[Bell Historians] Christ Church Boston

[Ted Steele bells@tedsteele.plus.com [bellhistorians]]

On 10/02/2019 14:08, lauradi at rcn.com [bellhistorians] wrote:

>     I just wanted to point out that Arthur Nichols, author of the text, 
> was extremely influential in New England change ringing - he had lots of 
> rich friends, and convinced a number of them to donate bells.  His 
> daughter Margaret was a better ringer than he was, and was the first 
> US-trained ringer to ring a peal, by about fifty years (I'm not at home, 
> to look up the exact dates), although she rang it in London, not here.
> 
> 

The following is an extract from my booklet relating the history of 
ringing at Upper Clapton, north London and is taken from a a section 
describing the footnotes to some of the peals rung there.

"The footnote to the Bell News report of a peal of Stedman Triples on 
14th August 1902 reads simply “First peal” with regard to the ringer of 
the third. This is hardly remarkable but there is more information 
elsewhere in the paper. The ringer was Miss Margaret H Nichols of 
Boston, U.S.A. and we are told that this was her first peal after a 
comparatively brief study of the method, which achievement was said to 
be almost unique in the annals of the Exercise.
“It is not often that a peal of Stedman Triples is rung as a first peal 
in any circumstances, but when a young lady comes triumphantly through 
the ordeal, it speaks volumes for her ability, and stamps her as no 
ordinary ringer. The peal was rung practically without a hitch, save for 
the slipping wheel of the rope of the 2nd bell”.
The band included Ernest and William Pye, whose birthday it was, and 
Isaac Shade.
Bell News records further peals rung by Miss Nichols and it seems that 
just three days after the peal at Clapton she rang two handbell peals in 
a day at the home of Challis Winney; Stedman Triples and then an hour 
later, after a break for tea Holt’s Original peal of Grandsire Triples. 
She rang the pair of tenors in both of these. She had actually attempted 
her first peal on August 11th, Grandsire Triples on tower bells at 
Acton, but the attempt failed after 2,900 changes. A further attempt at 
Acton was successful the day after the handbell peals. The peal at 
Clapton was rung for the Middlesex Association and the others for ASCY. 
(Some time after reporting these performances Bell News carried the 
report of Miss Nichols’s wedding. In that account reference was made 
again to the peals but incorrect dates were given for those on 
handbells, that is August 11th 1892. Morris, in his “History and Art of 
Change Ringing” appears to have referred to this report, for he repeats 
the error in his book, although he gives the correct date when referring 
to the peals in a different context earlier in the work).

Ted Steele
"


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Posted by: Ted Steele <bells at tedsteele.plus.com>
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