Page 20 - Jigsaw July 2019

Notes from the belfry...................................................................
Could you ring a bell? St. James’ Church need more ringers
On Saturday June 8th a special quarter peal was rung at St. James’ to mark the end of a very successful Arts Week in Thrapston and to commemorate the start of the D-Day landings in Normandy 75 years ago.
Congratulations to Diane Buckby, Christine Jenkins, Alan Bull, Ted Buckby, Iain Hayden, Richard Alton, Frank Jenkins and Alison Byrnes for completing 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples in 46mins.
During the Second World War Bell Ringing was stopped virtually all over the country
as the war-time government wanted to use the Church Bells as an early warning system for possible invasion threats. On June 13th 1940 the order was given over the wireless that Church and Chapel bells must not be rung except for air raids.
However there was one exception to these regulations. On Sunday November
15th 1942 Church Bells were rung to announce the victory at El-Alamein. A young Canadian Grenadier Guards officer, Robert Osborne, training in England, wrote to his mother: “Today is a big day for England. The Church Bells are ringing for the first time in 3 years – my but they sound good with a ring of hope in them.”
By 1943 the government decided, as a boost to morale that ‘ringing of Church Bells could be recommenced for Easter Sunday, April 25th 1943, but it was difficult to find enough ringers who were not involved in war time occupations or serving overseas so very few towers were able to honour the request.
Some towers did manage to maintain ‘silent ringing’ throughout the war by fixing the clappers so no sound could be heard. Some of the arrangements were fairly simple, being an amalgamation of ropes and knots.
However, one enterprising local family, The Loveday’s from Islip, designed a wooden clapper bolt that fitted across the bell mouth and fixed the clapper so the bells could still be rung and kept in good order. Incidentally these Clapper Bolts are still in use today
and are regularly fixed for silent practice with learners.
During Arts Week it was good to welcome visitors to the Belfry, especially for our ‘Open Ringing’ evening, where those who wanted to, had a taste of what pulling a bell rope was all about and how fascinating the ‘Art of Ringing’ can be.
If you are interested in finding out more about bell-ringing, please contact Ray Banner or Chris Jenkins.
LKP CARPENTRY
Full range of building services:
Kitchens • Doors • Roofs Stairs • Skirting • Architrave Partition Walls • Fencing & Decking Plaster boarding & Plastering
Phone Les on 07889441916
or email lkpcarpentry19@gmail.com
OVER 30 YEARS TRADE EXPERIENCE
THE FRIENDS OF THRAPSTON LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS
are planning to open the Library on Tuesdays from 10.00am until 2.00pm from Tuesday July 9th
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