Many thanks to Katie Law for this report
"Ancient but good"
Mid Devon Mini-tour, July 8th 2023.
Our tour began with the Church of St Giles in Little Torrington, once described in an 1887 gazetteer as "ancient but good" (1).
The bells might be described as "ancient but not so good". The current ring of six includes a tenor weighing in at 11 ½ cwt, four others installed by John Pennington in 1804 and a more recent treble of 1906. The oak frame felt a little wobbly on ringing!
I was not of course, applying the descriptive header to the Mid-Devon Guild ringers, honest!
An itinerary with two churches dedicated to St Giles demanded an appropriate method of the day: St Giles Doubles – described by Martin as "St Nicholas with a Plain Bob Bob". Asked to clarify, the expanded explanation was
"...the bob is called early and you ring plain bob above the treble with a bob for the whole of that lead, still ringing St Nicholas below the treble... the variation takes place over several blows not just at the lead end..."
Get it? No, I didn't either, but assistant ringing master Mike found another way to describe it and ..... no, no clearer. So this was left to the elite band while the rest of us rang plain bob with plain bob bobs.
Onwards to Great Torrington.
I am sure you have all heard of the 1646 Battle of Torrington (2) where the Royalists led by Major-General John Digby were defeated by Parliamentarians and forced to flee to Cornwall. The church at Great Torrington was used to house the parliamentarian prisoners, there being only one jail in the town, but also eighty barrels of gunpowder, the Royalist magazine. Nobody can be sure the origin of the spark that led to the explosion that deroofed the church. Rebuilt in 1789 and again in 1828, the new roof now includes a west-end tower topped with an impressive spire. The current ring of 8 bells (14cwt) was hung in 1934 and more recent changes created a very pleasant first floor ringing area with a sturdy modern wooden staircase.
After Torrington we made our way to St Giles in the Wood and a church obviously dedicated to St Giles. Although the church officially dates from 1309, the actual building was extensively rebuilt and sadly has a Victorian style. Only the west tower remains of an older structure, the granite jambs possibly being medieval. Here were six bells, 10 cwt, recast in 1823 from the earlier five. They were pleasant enough to ring and we managed a range from rounds to minor surprise, with another course of St Giles. Six bells with a 10 cwt tenor, rehung in an oak frame in 1881 and again in 1939. Three original bells were listed in the 1553 inventory.
High Bickington, our fourth tower generated mixed responses – yes the bells were lovely, a very lightweight eight easy enough to ring despite the very long Devon-style ropes, but the ringing chamber .....
There was indeed a beautiful modern stained glass window separating the tower from the nave but moving the ringing room from ground to first floor had made it rather compact, bijou would be an estate agents term, and there appeared to be no seating and no window for ventilation. With just enough room for eight standing ringers it was ring-by-rota with quite a bit of up and down stairs. We did ring some successful rounds and call changes, and a touch of Plain Bob, but were less successful in Stedman and my first attempt at calling into Queens and back on 8 didn't quite come round! Nevertheless it was fun to try. Eight bells with a 9cwt tenor, six cast in 1753 but augmented and rehung in 1911 in a cast iron frame by Taylor.
Our final stop was Burrington, Church of the Holy Trinity, with bells that challenged most of us in one way or another.
Thanks to Rodney's careful planning we did not mistake this church for Holy Trinity Church, Burrington in Somerset, which would have been another hour away. The church is unusual in having a North Tower, possibly a relict from the medieval church which was cruciform. There are numerous medieval roof bosses inside and out in the churchyard was an ancient gargoyle to be found resting on a gravestone-style slab.
Ringing here was mixed, maybe reflecting a long afternoon which had allowed a lot of rope-time per person given the slightly smaller numbers on the tour. I was defeated by the long draft, but others achieved St Giles and Plain Bob and possibly some Surprise minor – I didn't keep track given it was standing room only in the ringing room which, though ground floor, was separated from the church by a glass partition more opaque than translucent. Six bells with an 11cwt tenor, cast in 1788 but with a new fifth bell in 1983. The oak frame dates from 1913. (3)
It was a most enjoyable afternoon. Thank you to Rodney and Sheila for the planning and organization.
After this some of the team went on to The Devonshire Dumpling for some supper.
References :
1. Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870. John Marius Wilson.
2. http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/west-country/battle-of-torrington
3. Towers and Bells of Devon, John Scott, Frank Mack and James Clarke. ISBN 978-1-90335645
Thanks to Julia Brett for these photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/fEpdTznLHK7Yj5ia7
