Call Changes at Bath Abbey, Somerset

A few extracts from some call-change pieces rung by The Lilliputters Guild during our outing to Bath on Saturday, 18th March 2023. Whilst some of the footage is copied from the AGM ‘combo’ video, there is much here I did not include in the condensed version, including a long burst at 5:45, and some of the lower on the back eight at 8:43.

Bath Abbey is a stunning building, standing on a site occupied by Christianity site – be that in the form of church, convent or monastery – since Saxon times. Bath was granted Cathedral status (alongside Wells) in 1244. The present building was begun at the end of the fifteenth century; it was closed during the 1539 Dissolution, when monasteries across the country fell foul of Henry VIII’s religious reforms, and consequently fell into disrepair, before being given back to the town for use as the parish church some twenty years later. Much of the building today is a result of major restorations in 1833, led by George Manners – remember him from Bath, St Michael? – and George Gilbert Scott in 1863. It is well worth a visit, and I particularly enjoyed the chance for a quiet wander prior to ringing here, with no tourists for company!

Unfortunately, the bells – the world's only anti-clockwise ring of ten – don’t quite match the majesty of the building. They are a basically Rudhall set; the back eight were cast by Abraham I in 1700, and presumably replace an older octave as they hang in a substantial oak frame, by Purdue, which predates them by some eighty years. These bells were augmented to ten by Thomas Rudhall in 1774, and the tenor, a chunky 33cwt, was recast by Warners in 1869, after it cracked during a practice night. However, it had to be recast twice, the first attempt being out of tune! Its inscription – All you of Bathe that hear me sound Thank Lady Hopton's hundred pound' – was reproduced from the original bell, and is relatively well known in ringing circles. The bells were restored in 1957, and again in 2004, but remain somewhat challenging; some of the back bells in particular feel sluggish, and are prone to sucking and blowing. A new set of ropes has helped the handling somewhat, however.

Tenor 33–0–25 in C

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