The Armitage Campanile a.k.a. Toy-le-Tower

“A shed in every garden, a ring in every shed, a quarter in the morning, then a peal and off to bed.” – A.J.B.

Bell Details Peals Quarter Peals Contact Ringing Small Bells

The peal of eight bells was cast by Richard Bowditch of North Wootton, Somerset. They were tuned and hung by Matthew Higby in May/June 2004 and are tuned to the key of G.

Bell	Weight	Diameter	Hum	Bell	Weight	Diameter	Hum
Treble	6lb 3oz	5¾”	1586	5^th	7lb 5oz	6½”	1043
2^nd	6lb 6oz	6”	1477	6^th	7lb 8oz	6½”	986
3^rd	6lb 11oz	6”	1308	7^th	7lb 5oz	6¾”	883
4^th	6lb 8oz	6”	1181	Tenor	10lb 6oz	7½”	785 G(2)+2

The bells are hung in the loft above one of the back bedrooms. As with many similar mini-rings, they have traditional wheels and pulleys but no stays or sliders. The ropes fall in a perfect circle of diameter 38” in the room below. They were first rung on the evening of 14^th June 2004 after Armitage practice night.

Since then the bells and frame have been enclosed in an acoustic box which reduces the external sound levels whilst increasing the amount of sound in the ringing room. They are still audible outside the house and several peals and quarter peals have been rung on them. The first peal on the bells was rung for The Lichfield & Walsall Archdeaconries Society and is detailed below:

Peals

No.	Date	Method	Time	RW ref.	Society
1.	11/07/04	5088 Yorkshire S Major	2h10	04/736	Lichfield & Walsall A S
2.	14/07/04	5040 Stedman Triples	2h	04/736	ASCY
3.	18/08/04	5024 Bootham Bar S Major	2h05	04/855	St Martins Guild
4.	25/09/04	5040 Plain Bob Minor	1h53	04/998	Lichfield & Walsall A S
5.	23/10/04	5040 Grandsire Triples	1h58	04/1093	Lichfield & Walsall A S
6.	27/10/04	5040 S Minor (7m)	1h40	04/1093	North Staffordshire A
7.	20/02/05	5152 Spliced S Major (23m)	2h08	05/233	Non Association
8.	20/03/05	5040 Plain Bob Major	2h19	05/329	Lichfield & Walsall A S
9.	19/02/06	5040 Spliced S Minor (41m)	2h06	06/233	Derby D A
10.	14/04/06	5040 S Minor (7m)	2h07	06/353	Lichfield & Walsall A S
11.	09/06/06	5088 Kent TB Major	2h20	06/622	Lichfield & Walsall A S
12.	23/10/07	5152 Yorkshire S Major	2h	07/1123	North Staffordshire A
13.	07/12/07	5040 S Minor (7m)	1h53		Lichfield & Walsall A S
14.	05/01/08	5040 S Minor (22m)	2h02		Lichfield & Walsall A S
15.	20/02/08	5026 Bristol S Major	2h12		St Martins Guild
16.	23/02/08	5040 TD Minor (5m)	1h55		Lichfield & Walsall A S

Quarter Peals

No.	Date	Method	Time	RW ref.
1.	04/07/04	1376 Yorkshire S Major	35m	04/715
2.	21/07/04	1260 Plain B Minor	32m	04/764
3.	28/07/04	1274 Plain B Triples	35m	04/807
4.	30/07/04	1260 Grandsire Doubles	29m	04/807
5.	02/08/04	1250 Cambridge S Major	31m	04/807
6.	29/08/04	1260 11m/v Doubles	33m	04/906
7.	19/09/04	1260 3m Doubles	29m	04/1001
8.	04/12/04	1280 Cambridge S Major	45m	05/38
9.	12/02/05	1320 Plain B Doubles	30m	05/210
10.	13/11/05	1260 Stedman Triples	35m	05/1172
11.	27/11/05	1280 8-Spliced S Major	40m	05/1233
12.	22/01/06	1280 Cambridge S Major	40m	06/161
13.	12/03/06	1440 12-Spliced S Minor	39m	06/310
14.	02/04/06	1440 23-Spliced S Minor	36m	06/381
15.	25/05/06	1440 17-Spliced S Minor	39m
16.	04/06/06	1440 10-Spliced S Minor	38m
17.	25/06/06	2160 29-Spliced S Minor	58m	06/673
18.	26/11/06	1296 Plain B Major	40m	06/1202
19.	08/02/07	1272 9m Minimus	31m	07/294
20.	29/07/07	1440 23-Spliced S Minor	38m	07/864
21.	06/10/07	1260 Seighford B Doubles	35m	07/1101
22.	27/10/07	1440 9-Spliced S Minor	36m	07/1174
23.	02/12/07	1284 Plain B Minor	36m

Contact

Since their installation we have welcomed well over 200 visitors including many who had never rung any type of bell before. They are safe for children to ring (and virtually unbreakable!) and most people pick up the basics in a couple of minutes. Visiting bands are welcome by prior arrangement and, in lieu of the normal tower fees, visiting ringers are asked to make an appropriate donation to St Giles Hospice. So far we have donated over £200.

Ringing Small Bells

We find ringing with the tail end over the left wrist and the right hand catching the above the sally works best. Keeping your rope tight is important but using a light touch is essential – the bell is too small to lift your left arm at backstroke. Make sure you are directly under the hole. We set the ropes fairly low to encourage as little movement beyond the forearms as possible. At the balance (at either stroke) your working hand should be below your chin. At first, many ringers let the bell go too far over in an attempt to make the bell feel heavier. This can cause the bell to strike erratically and makes it very hard to achieve a good rhythm, especially if some bells are going further over than others.

We often suggest catching just above the sally, effectively sliding down the rope until the thickness of the sally stops you sliding any further. This helps prevent people from missing the sally altogether (a common mistake if they are pulling too hard) or letting the bell go over the balance too far.

Our experience is that good change ringing on small bells can be every bit as demanding as on full size bells. The speed and finger-tip control required to handle the bells, the lack of any momentum to ‘carry’ you through a mistake, getting everyone ringing with the same rhythm and speed, being open to learning a new style of ringing, etc. However, when done well, the results are just as satisfying and it is brilliant fun too!

For further advice from three experts in small bell ringing, see Ringing World 3^rd March 2000 p241, from which much of the above is derived.