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Call Changes at York Minster

Some call changes being rung by The Lilliputters Guild, recorded Wednesday, 31st July 2024 during our Summer Tour. York Minster is a tower that needs no introduction. There has been a church on this site since the 7th century; the present edifice, built between 1220-1472, replaces a great Norman Cathedral (begun 1069, parts of this structure remain visible beneath the choir). Bells were known to exist here in 1189; these were moved to the newly-built Central Tower c.1360, and to the South-West tower (where the ringing peal still hang today) in 1460. In 1466, Thomas Innocent of Leicester added four bells to create a peal of 8, heaviest weighing c.55cwt in Bb. The 2nd was recast in 1599, and the back two in 1627, by William Oldfield. The new tenor, weighing 55-1-0, was the heaviest bell ever to be cast by a York founder. In January 1656, the four "Lady Bells" (cast by John Hoton of York in 1471) were moved from the NW to the SW tower, making (probably) the first ever ring of 12. They were hung in a giant two-tier oak frame (5 heaviest bells below the lighter 7). Mr Humphrey Harwood personally paid for this work, presumably to give his band a light six to practise the newfangled art of change ringing on. Musically, the merging of the two rings was not a success; the Lady Bells were tuned to B (and thus discordant with the existing 8 in Bb), and were recast by Samuel Smith I of York (who had previously recast the 7th and 8th) in 1681. By now, only two of the Minster's original medieval twelve – the 5 and 9 – survived. By 1715, the bells were unringable (presumably owing to frame deterioration), and were rehung, on one level, in a new oak frame in 1733 by James Harrison. However, this work was only partially successful, and the front bells were still too light, making them tricky to handle and lacking sufficient volume. When the 11th broke in 1760, it was the final straw. Following discussions with Thomas Pack of Whitechapel, the Minster commissioned an entirely new ring. The old 12 were removed between 6-12 January 1765. At the last minute, St Michael, Spurriergate offered to trade their three bells for the Minster's front five; these bells still ring out there today. By March 1765, work was underway to hang the new bells - now ten in number, tenor 53-0-25 in C. Despite the (probably) superior tone, this "daugmentation" caused some controversy! The bells were hung in Harrison's adapted 1733 frame, and were ringing by August, when a band from Mancroft, Norwich visited. (They were so impressed they returned in 1772, and launched an appeal to have their own bells recast at Whitechapel!). Although this ring would likely have served for many more years, it was not to be. In 1840, a fire (one of many to ravish the Minster!) gutted the tower and nave, destroying the bells. The cause was an unextinguished candle, left by Leeds clockmaker William Groves, who had been working beneath the bellchamber. Following tower repairs (in which over 900 tonnes of stone was used!), a new tenor (53-3-7 in C) was quickly cast by Thomas Mears, using the salvaged bell metal. A bequest of £2,000 from Dr Stephen Beckwith allowed the remaining bells to be cast in 1844 by Charles & George Mears of Whitechapel. Thanks to significant public pressure, the trebles were reinstated, and the ring once again numbered 12. However, even on opening, the "Beckwith Bells" were regarded as being tonally inferior to their predecessors. In 1848, the tenor cracked, and was recast by C&G Mears (weight 50-2-0). A bad rehanging by Warners in 1913 did little to alleviate the shortcomings; the tuning (which brought the tenor down to just 47-1-25 in B) allegedly made the bells sound worse! Just ten years after this expensive project, the bearings were failing, making the bells hard (and unsafe) to ring. Something needed to be done! Thus, in 1924, the Minster sought to rectify the longstanding issue of their poor bells once and for all. Canon Henry Edward Nolloth - who had spearheaded the recasting of Beverley Minster - was appointed as the main adviser. Not only did Nolloth give significant financial backing - including bearing the cost of recasting the tenor bell himself - but he made many other improvements. He insisted that the ring be tuned to Bb (as the medieval bells were), necessitating a larger tenor; for a semitone, he directed that a 6b, not a 2#, be installed. The new bells were cast by Taylors in 1925, and the resulting ring are considered amongst the finest in the world. Since then, the ringing chamber, lowered in the 1925 restoration, has been restored to its original position, improving the handling and acoustics. An extra treble, installed in 1980, gives a light ten. Tenor 59-1-23 in Bflat https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/11340 My primary source for this description is "The Bells And Bellringers of York Minster", by David Potter. The history of the Minster and its bells is fascinating, and, owing to limited space, much is still omitted.