Bell Ringing at Elkstone, Glos

Описание: Filmed 28/09/2019 - A “mashup” of clips from the final ringing on these bells, prior to restoration. Two quarter peals (Bob Minor and Grandsire Doubles) were rung; various clips from the afternoon are included here.

0:07 Belfry view of the back 5 being raised
0:44 The tenor
1:15 Excerpt from a quarter peal of Plain Bob Minor, filmed in the ringing chamber
4:08 A short touch of Grandsire Doubles, filmed outside
5:33 More of the Bob Minor quarter peal, filmed from the belfry
7:38 An extract from the second quarter peal, Grandsire Doubles, back in the ringing chamber
9:10 More of the Bob Minor quarter peal, filmed outside on an old camera (hence the video quality isn’t quite as good!)
10:56 Some of the Bob Minor from the belfry, filmed by James Joynson with thanks for allowing me to pinch a bit
11:34 Lowering the bells – note: this was filmed 8th April 2015, the only piece of footage not dating from 28th September 2019!

Elkstone is a small village, located halfway between Cirencester and Cheltenham. The church is a wonderful building, famed for its Norman architecture, stone carvings and golden light. At nearly 1000 feet above sea level, Elkstone church is the highest in the Cotswolds. A full history of the building can be found on the below link:

https://www.elkstonevillage.com/?page...


The tower, built in the 15th century, contains a ring of six bells – two of these (the 3rd and tenor) date from 1657 – during the Commonwealth period. Parts of the substantial wooden frame are medieval, although it has been considerably altered down the years. The last major work was in 1927, when Thomas Bond of Burford augmented the bells to 5 and rehung them, using much of the previous running gear from 1882 (and earlier). A treble was cast by Whitechapel and hung by Whites of Appleton in 1977; this bell is strangely undecorated, with no inscription other than the Whitechapel name and date. The tuning is somewhat rustic (the 3rd particularly is a very poor sounding bell), and the modern treble sticks out like a sore thumb.

Whilst the bells “go” reasonably, the fittings are life-expired (as may be deduce by the non-roundness of the wheels, visible in the belfry footage!), and a major refurbishment is just about to take place; this will include strengthening the frame, tuning the bells, and rehanging on modern fittings. I plan to revisit post-rehang, and put together an “after” video – watch this space!

Tenor 11½cwt in G

http://www.ringing.demon.co.uk/towers...