Saturday 6th October2012 was the Swanage Bellringers Annual Outing.
Ringing outings are wonderfully social events and include a day out
ringing at 4-5 other towers, and most importantly a long pub lunch. This year our outing was organised by
David Haysom - and David was always going to chose Towers that were “different”
in one way or another!
Sixteen ringers left Swanage at
8am and headed off towards Wiltshire.
Our first tower was St John the Baptist, Horningsham; a small Wiltshire village which forms part of the Longleat
Estate. The Parish Church was founded in
the 12th century but has been virtually rebuilt twicde in 1783 and
1843. It has 6 bells, the heaviest
weighing 16 cwt, which are not easy to ring as they are quite “snappy”.
Our next stop was, in some ways,
the highlight of the day (or was it the nightmare?!). We went to St Mary’s,Berkley, which is in the Mendip district of Somerset. The church was erected in 1751and is a Grade
II listed building. You enter the tower
through what feels like a barn! It is so
small its 4 bells (heaviest 8cwt) are arranged on 2 frames, one frame above the
other. What is really difficult about
ringing in this tower is that the four bell ropes hang tight in each corner of
the very small belfry. What does this mean?
It means you have to ring your bell facing into the corner – like the
naughty corner! – with your back to the room so you cannot see the other
ringers. Trust me, ringing using only
your ears is really difficult – if not nigh impossible! Interestingly there was leather wallpaper on
the walls – with suitable holes/rips where many past ringers had obviously torn
it whilst trying to ring. Let’s just say
it was an experience!
The last tower before lunch was
St Michael’s, Mere. Compared to the
first two towers this one was relatively normal! 8 bells, nothing odd – quite like home!
As is traditional lunch is a very
important part of any ringing outing. We went to The Walnut Tree on the
outskirts of Mere – and jolly good it was too!
Good food, good service, good beer (if not slightly cold!).
Restored by both food and liquid we
set off to SS Mary & Nicholas, Wilton. What a church! For a
small town, the church in enormous, representing the wealth of its
benefactors. It was built between 1841
and 1844 at the instigation of the Countess of Pembroke and her younger son and
designed by Thomas Henry Wyatt in the Romanesque style with considerable
Byzantine influences. Many of the
materials used in the church's construction were imported from Europe,
including marble columns from Italy and 12th and 13th century stained glass
from France.
Unfortunately the original design was
intended for a warm, dry Mediterranean climate and by 1885 the fabric needed
repair and the problems of leaks, draughts and damp persist to this day!
The most notable external feature has to be
the campanile (bell tower) which stands at 105 feet (32m) and it’s connected to
the church by a short cloister. I have
to say we were all very relieved that the bells were not hung at the top! In 2000 a new set of Millennium bells were
installed and the old ones sent to Lismore in Australia. There are 6 bells, the heaviest weighing
8cwt.
After negotiating the ring road
round Salisbury we eventually found The Parish Church of Sarum St Martin,Salisbury. There has been a place of worship on this site for well over 1000
years and the chancel of the present church antedates the Cathedral by about 50
years. It has a bell tower and spire;
the 12th century tower pre-dating the spire which was added at a
later date. We had to descend to a lower
floor level to get to the ringing chamber and that, coupled with wrought iron
railings and a flint & stone construction made it feel rather like being in
a crypt! It had a lovely ring of 8 bells
with a 13 cwt tenor.
We had a wonderful day but goodness
me, didn’t it make us appreciate, again, the wonderful bells (and easy ring) we
have here at home in Swanage!
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