The Lilliputters Guild Outing – Cambridge – 7th March 2026

Описание: 0:00 St Bene't
5:15 OLEM
11:02 St Andrew Great
15:04 St Clement


Saturday, 7th March saw The Lilliputters Guild gather in the historic city of Cambridge for our annual Spring outing. Whilst slightly thin on numbers compared to previous events, our small-but-mighty crew of eight nonetheless enjoyed an excellent day in each other's company, accompanied by good bells housed in some fascinating churches.


Our first port of call, St Bene’t, can claim to be the oldest church building in Cambridge. The fine tower, with its long-and-short quoins and magnificent round arch (decorated with lions) is Anglo-Saxon, constructed c.1050. The large bell openings were cut in 1586, designed to increase the sound of the bells outside, and the opening above the tower arch contains a beautiful stained glass window depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia, to whom the church is dedicated. The bells are a real hotchpotch, cast by five different founders across six different dates. They handle reasonably well, although feel quite “big”, due (at least in part) to their hanging in an old (C17) wooden frame. They were last rehung in 1931 by Taylor's. The ringing featured here includes Grandsire Doubles, call-changes and the lower, with Bob Minor and Stedman Doubles also being brought round.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/16664


Nicely warmed up, it was onto our feature tower; the magnificent heavy eight at Our Lady of the Assumption and English Martyrs (OLEM). With a tenor of 31cwt, these are the heaviest ring in Cambridge, and well befit the magnificent building in which they reside. The tallest building in Cambridge, with a spire soaring to 65m (213 feet), the church was built in the Gothic Revival style to the design of Dunn and Hansom between 1885-1890. The bells were installed in 1895, cast and hung by Taylors of Loughborough, shortly before they adopted Simpson-tuning. They sound very grand, and handle reasonably well for a big eight with a long draught (having been overhauled by Hayward Mills, and a rope guide installed, in 2007). We paid due respect to these bells by keeping the repertoire simple here, with lots of call changes, although some Plain Hunt also ran round; everyone who wanted it also got the opportunity to ring the tenor.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/12645


Following a remarkably generous lunch break, it was onto our other eight. The church of St Andrew the Great, sited on one of Cambridge's main throughfares, was entirely rebuilt in 1842-3, in a 15th-century East Anglian style to the design of Ambrose Poynter. It contains the memorial tablet of Captain James Cook, amongst others, although I unfortunately did not get a peek inside for myself. The bells are a polar opposite to OLEM, but a delight in their own right. Cast and hung by Taylors in 1956, to replace an older ring of eight, they sound bright and tuneful, and handle very nicely (albeit the trebles are rather light and flighty). We pushed the boat out here, with a spanking touch of Grandsire Triples (regrettably not filmed), but also some jump call-changes, Double Minimus and a bob course of Cambridge Minor all featuring here instead.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/15139


Our final tower was St Clement. The church was largely rebuilt in the 16th century, and the tower added in 1821-2, following a bequest from William Cole (a wealthy scholar, clergyman and antiquary, who died in 1782). Until very recently, it contained two bells. The larger one, weighing 8cwt, was cast by Charles Newman in 1691 (now retained as a clock bell), and a smaller one, cast in 1780 by Thomas Osborn. In 2021, a light six, cast by Allanconi and hung by Matthew Higby & Co, were installed. They made a welcome finish to the day; easy to handle and tuneful, with the rainbow sallies adding a dash of colour. The small Osborn bell is now hung in the ringing room as a demonstration, and Connor and I of course had to have a grab! Under Alex's stewardship, we were put through our paces more than at any point in the day; alongside the spliced St Simon & St Martin featured here, we also rang Cambridge and St Clement's; all rather appropriate.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/17550


The day ended - where else! - in the pub for some convivial post-ringing drinks. Many of the group made a weekend of it, and joined the Sunday ringing at GSM the following day; alas, I was not able to do so. As for where's next for us? Watch this space!...