First Steps to Bell Ringing / Being an Introduction to the Healthful and Pleasant Exercise of Bell Ringing in Rounds and Changes upon Church Bells

by Samuel B. Goslin

Exercise 4.							Exercise 5.
1	.	2	.	3	.	4	1	.	2	.	3	.	4
1	.	2	.	3	.	4	1	.	2	.	3	.	4
2	.	1	.	3	.	4	1	.	3	.	2	.	4
2	.	3	.	1	.	4	3	.	1	.	2	.	4
3	.	2	.	1	.	4	3	.	2	.	1	.	4
3	.	1	.	2	.	4	2	.	3	.	1	.	4
1	.	3	.	2	.	4	2	.	1	.	3	.	4
1	.	2	.	3	.	4	1	.	2	.	3	.	4

In this it will be very convenient to place the latest or dullest scholar, if there be one, to the fourth bell, who will simply strike in at the close of each move or change of those before him, and will count the time of his pulling to himself, as 1. 2. 3. 4—1. 2. 3. 4, so as to strike his bell in time or order in the fourth place as long as may be mutually agreed upon. Then it would be well to try a simple plan for every bell to make a change, following the rule, viz., to strike from the lead or first position after the one which previously followed, thus:—

Exercise 6.
1	at lead	1 . 2 . 3 . 4
		2 . 1 . 3 . 4	so	1	takes place of	2
2	„	2 . 3 . 1 . 4	„	1	„„	3
		3 . 2 . 4 . 1	„	1	„„	4	, and 2 at lead of 3
3	„	3 . 4 . 2 . 1	„	2	„„	4
		Then 1 returns to lead, after 2 strokes at behind.
		4 . 3 . 1 . 2	so	3	takes place of	4	and 2 of 1
4	„	4 . 1 . 3 . 2	„	3	„„	1
		1 . 4 . 2 . 3	„	4	„„	1
1	„	1 . 2 . 4 . 3	„	4	„„	2
brought round		1 . 2 . 3 . 4

And after this being practised and mastered, the usual method of plain hunting on four bells will come easy, in which the lead and last bells each begin to change after the first move, the one up and the other down, at the hand stroke, and the two middle bells cross at the back stroke, thus:—

Exercise 7.
1	.	2	.	3	.	4	4	.	3	.	2	.	1
1	.	2	.	3	.	4	3	.	4	.	1	.	2
2	.	1	.	4	.	3	3	.	1	.	4	.	2
2	.	4	.	1	.	3	1	.	3	.	2	.	4
4	.	2	.	3	.	1	1	.	2	.	3	.	4

Then it would be well to confine the attention to 4 bell ringing, or singles, as it is termed, in the other and more advanced method known as dodging, which is a move of positions, as Banister says, in which a bell is made to stop in its hunting course, return back one place, and then proceed as before. This should be thoroughly understood and mastered before 5, 6, or 8 bells be even tried. The number of changes which may be produced—

Upon	2	bells are	2,	and are called	——
„	3	„	6,	„	——
„	4	„	24,	„	Singles.
„	5	„	120,	„	Doubles.
„	6	„	720,	„	Minor.
„	7	„	5,040,	„	Triples.
„	8	„	40,320,	„	Major.
„	9	„	362,880,	„	Caters.
„	10	„	3,628,800,	„	Royal.
„	11	„	39,916,800,	„	Cinques.
„	12	„	479,001,600,	„	Maximus.

With this wide field, it is easy to realize the scope for the pleasure, the exercise, and the skill there may be to those who are disposed to give the time, the study, the attention, and the practice the art deserves.

The student, taking the syllabus, and proceeding in the following order:—

• 1. Learn the names and the uses of the parts of the bell and fittings.
• 2. Learn to handle the rope and to ring, with clapper tied fast to prevent nuisance.
• 3. Learn to ring in rounds.
• 4. Learn to hunt or plain course work or singles.
• 5. Learn to dodge.
• 6. Learn place making.
• 7. For 5 bells learn bob double, grandsire doubles, and Stedman’s doubles or methods in order as given.
• 8. For 6 bells learn bob minor, grandsire minor, treble bob minor.
• 9. For 7 bells learn bob triples, Stedman’s triples.
• 10. For 8 bells learn bob major; treble bob major.
• 11. For 10 bells learn grandsire caters.
• 12. For 11 bells learn grandsire cinques.
• 13. For 12 bells learn treble bob maximus.