[Bell Historians] Pannell MS, c1800

[Richard Smith]

The front page article in The Ringing World on 30 Oct 1959 
is an article by Harold Chant entitled 'The Professor 
Investigates an Old Manuscript and Even Older Book' (p629). 
It is an account of 'collection of old Doubles methods 
copied out by Mr. Pannell, of Darlington, from a notebook 
given to his father many years ago by an old ringer near 
Bourne, in Lincolnshire.  Mr. Pannell dates the notebook as 
about 150 years old', which would date it to very early 
nineteenth century.  The 'even older book' is Campanalogia 
Improved by Doleman and 'CM'.

Unhelpfully, the article is written in a semi-fictionalised 
style, referring to a discussion between Chant and a 
'Professor Dodge', who I understand is an invention of 
Chant's.  However the material on Campanalogia Improved is 
largely factually accurate which makes me assume the account 
of the notebook in Mr Pannell's possession must be too.  Is 
anyone familiar with this notebook?  I cannot find any 
other references to it in The Ringing World, nor does it 
appear in the CCCBR Library catalogue under Pannell's name – 
but the, he's not the author of it, so it may well not.

Based on Chant's description, it seems to contain details of 
a number of extents of doubles which I've not come across 
before.  Early five-bell ringing is particularly poorly 
documented, so this could be a valuable source.

RAS