[r-t] Court Bob Minor

[Richard Smith]

If you browse through old copies of Bell News from the late 
19th century, you'll find plenty of 720s of Court Bob Minor 
recorded.  But exactly which method was this?

Until this evening I had assumed it meant the method we now 
call Single Court (i.e. &-4-6-6,6).  We can be fairly sure 
it did not mean Double Court (i.e. &-4-3-6,6), at least not 
universally, as there are places where "Court Bob" and 
"Double Court" are listed in a way that makes it clear they 
are different methods.

However, I've just re-read Banister's /Art and Science of 
Change Ringing/ (1871), and it gives the numbers for a 
method it calls "Court Bob Minor"; the method is a 
non-palindromic, rotationally-symmetrical one with court 
places in 3-4 around the treble in the first half of the 
lead only.  In place notation it's -4-3-6-6-6-6.

Banister's description of the method leaves little doubt 
that the figures printed are as he intended; nor is there 
any indication that he is proposing a novel form of the 
method.  It is a contemporary description by a man who was 
at forefront of ringing at the time, so isn't to be 
discarded lightly.

I'm struggling to find other late 19th century descriptions 
of the method.  Shipway gives the modern Single Court under 
the heading "Court Bob", but he was writing much earlier, in 
1816, and the convention may have changed.  Thackrah, 
writing in 1852, doesn't give the method at all, nor does 
Troyte in 1872.

I would be interested to know what the first edition of 
Snowdon's /Standard Methods/ (1881) said before Snowdon's 
brother William got his hands on the manuscript to "correct" 
the methods that he considered to be "illegitimate".  I only 
have a fifth edition (1908) which conforms to modern usage.

The name "Court Bob" goes back much earlier, first appearing 
in Stedman's /Campanalogia/ (1677) where the method given is 
the modern Double Court; the same is true in Doleman's 
/Campanalogia Improved/ (1702).  Monk's /Campanalogia 
Improved/ (1766) also gives "Court Bob" for the modern 
Double Court, but also gives "Court Single Bob" which is the 
modern Single Court.  Reeves and Blackamore's /New 
Campanalogia/ (c1808) also uses "Court Bob" for the modern 
Double Court, putting him at odds with his 
near-contemporary, Shipway.

It's all rather confused.

RAS