[Bell Historians] Number of ringers

[John Harrison]

In article <69F47101.12604.A58DF725 at johnstonrh.rhj.org.uk>,
   Richard Johnston via Bell-historians
<bell-historians at lists.ringingworld.co.uk> wrote:

> > That might also explain why Exeter was ahead of Oxford and Bath &
> > Wells, whereas now it is a long way behind them.

> John's concluding paragraph isn't soundly based.

I don't see how that follows from the facts that Richard set out. 
Regardless of the membership dynamics of the GDR and/or DA, if the source
of Coleridge's numbers included lots of people that we would not count as
ringers then it would be inflated, which *might* explain the apparent
excess in Exeter Diocese.

> the total number of ringers can't be even approximately represented
> from GDR figures.

Clearly so, but I don't see how that is relevant if the figure came from
the Diocese and not from the GDR.

Is Richard claiming that Exeter Diocese really did have more ringers (in
the sense we mean it) than Oxford Diocese in 1930?

-- 
John Harrison
Website http://jaharrison.me.uk
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