The Lilliputters Guild Summer Tour 2024 – Day 5

Описание: 0:00 Introduction
0:57 Clifton
3:39 St Martin le Grand, York
5:32 St Wilfrid, York


Day 5 saw a welcome return to the “relaxed” itinerary vibes. After a lazy morning, featuring a cooked breakfast courtesy of Connor and Lauren, we had a few hours of free time to fill by ourselves before our second day out in York of the week. Some of us headed into the sun-soaked city early for a bit of tourism and shopping. Spotting a free slot at The Cat’s Whiskers, Alex, Rachel and I jumped in, and enjoyed a coffee and cake amongst some furry feline friends – an unexpected treat!

Our first tower was the sweet light six at Clifton, around a mile out of the City, and necessitating a walk. The tower originally housed an 11cwt six, hung in an oak frame by Warners in 1868, but had been declared unsafe. They were replaced by a lighter ring in 1978; the back four bells, cast in 1937 by Taylors, came from Illingworth (nr Halifax), where they were the front four of an eight-bell chime at - we would ring on the remaining bells from this set later this afternoon! These bells were joined by two trebles and hung in the old frame by Taylors. Whilst the three cat-cuddlers did expect to be a little late arriving here, we did not anticipate the bus carrying the stragglers from Stockton to run half an hour late, meaning our ringing time here was somewhat short and haphazard! With a disarray of who was arriving at what time, and no Ringing Master, the ringing here was instead run by democracy, with any touch suggested needing a majority vote to pass. This seemed a popular move, and may yet feature on a future Tour! Unfortunately, in keeping with much of the rest of the day, I did not do much filming here; some Plain and Little is heard from outside, and the remainder of the lower from inside.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/17058

Having bid farewell to Josephine and William – who set off on their long journey back to the South – the rest of us wandered back into the city for our next tower. St Martin, located on Coney Street is distinctive for its highly decorated clock overhanging one of York’s main shopping streets. The “le Grand” suffix was coined in the 1830s, and is not the official name of the church, although it is well-used and recognised locally! The tower, dating from 1437, houses a delightful light ring of eight; they go well, sound clear and fantastic, and proved a real highlight of the Tour. The back four are the remaining bells from Illingworth, and the front four – also cast by Taylors in 1978 – were recast from the three bells at the redundant church of St Margaret, Walmgate. The church has a long history of ringing - the first peal in the North (5,040 Grandsire Triples) was rung here in 1730, just five days after the augmentation to eight was complete! However, the church was a victim of the Baedeker Raid on York on 29th April 1942; the bells (mostly cracked) lay in the ruins, and, barring the tenor, were eventually stolen! After a brief interim period, where a 1961 Taylor tenor (11-2-16) hung solo in a new eight-bell frame, the current ring were installed in 1978 (the 1961 bell was sold to Holy Cross Abbey, Thurles in Ireland!). Some Plain Hunt on 7 is featured here, although I also captured a spanking burst of call-changes, which more than warrants its own video.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/15985

Owing to a shift in timings, we had a long tea break before our third and final tower of the day. Whilst some elected to go to the pub (of course!), others grabbed a chippy tea and enjoyed a delightful al-fresco dining experience in the Minster gardens.

Our final ring was the ten bells at St Wilfrid's Catholic church, also known as York Oratory. The church, built in Gothic Revival style, and richly decorated inside, was completed in 1864, and is located opposite the Minster (and is part of the iconic view of the Minster's West front from the top of Duncombe Place, seen at 6:48). However, the tower did not possess a ringing peal until 1995, when the ten bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon in 1938, were transferred from the closed church of Thornham, Lancs. The two trebles were underweight for a ringing peal, and so were recast by Taylors before being hung by Fred Pembleton. Although somewhat tricky to ring well, the group acquitted themselves very commendably here, under the stewardship of Master Euan; call-changes and Yorkshire S Major (on the back 8) are the touches of choice today.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/12165


After a quick drink in York before bussing back to Stockton, the rest of the evening was spent playing card games and listening to various musical offerings which had not been present at yesterday's Talen Show!