The Timberscombe Bellringers in the Historic Summer of 2022
Title
The Timberscombe Bellringers in the Historic Summer of 2022
Subject
Description
The summer of 2022 was a historic time for all in Britain. Indeed that was true for the world, with most every nation entering their third year of struggling with the Covid-19 Pandemic. The first cases recorded in the UK were on 31 January 2020 (1). By the 23rd of March, the country was under its first national lockdown, while in Timberscombe the doors of St. Petrock's Church were closed for the first time its history (2). Although the majority of restrictions were lifted on 19 July 2021, widespread cases continued (3). Ironically the first months of 2022 were perhaps when more covid illnesses appeared in Timberscombe Parish than ever before.
On the 25th of January 2022, Her Majesty, 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, tested positive for Covid (4). Her husband and companion for 73 years, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had died (not of the virus) the previous 8th of April, aged 99 years (5). With her diagnosis, the Queen took all necessary and sensible precautions and carried on.
In the midst of this, on the 6th of February 2022, Queen Elizabeth entered the 70th year of her reign, the longest of any British monarch, culminating in the country's first Platinum Jubilee. The appointed days of celebration were Thursday to Sunday, the 2nd to the 5th of June 2022.
Elizabeth also reached 96 on the 21st of April. Around the world, people were quite ready to celebrate the Queen's birthday and anniversary. Yet it was not just because of her. For many it was the first time to be together with others and have a semblance of normality. Certainly it must have felt somewhat like that for the six bellringers--they are smiling-- seen in the top photograph, together again in the bell tower of St. Petrock's on Friday, the 3rd of June 2022. For the bulk of the pandemic, even after the reopening of the church, the bell tower had remained closed..
All six bellringers pictured in the upper photograph were residents of the village. On the left end of the front row, Elisabeth Powls, the Bell Captain, lived at Sunnyside on the northeastern edge of the village. To her right is Gwynie Poole of Rice Barn in the village centre. Gwynie had rung at St. Petrock's since 2009, at first alongside her husband, Derek Poole, who passed away in 2011. (They were married at St. Petrock's.) At the right end of the row is Kate Hart of Bougham Farm (situated to the south of the village) who also served as Churchwarden at St. Petrock's. On the left end of the back row is Allan Sutton of No. 1 Willow Bank, with Martin Booth in the centre. Martin's home, The Knapp, is on Church Street, just behind the church. Completing the back row is Alan Hines, owner of Berrowcote, facing the village green. Alan is American, and for sixteen years had lived in the village while still returning regularly to the States. The photograph was taken by Marion Jeffrey, fellow Churchwarden with Kate--also historic, the first time at St. Petrock's that both serving Churchwardens were women.
Across the nation, extensive Platinum Jubilee bellringing had been co-ordinated to coincide with the Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral, held to mark Her Majesty's reign. Tenor bells everywhere--and certainly including Timberscombe-- were to peal for 96 minutes, one for each year of the Queen's life (6).
Her Majesty opened the proceedings but ominously had to cancel attending events during the middle period of the Jubilee. However at the Platinum Pageant on Sunday at the Mall, she appeared, looking well and seemingly having a good time. Yet the end of the summer season was perhaps inevitable, when Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on the 8th of September, almost the end of summer and certainly of an era. The next eleven days were ones of honouring, remembering and grieving. Monday, the 19th of September was designated for the royal funeral.
The second photograph was also taken by Marion Jeffrey, with the same six bellringers gathered again in the tower, now being seven as they were joined by Ken Powls, Bell Captain Elisabeth's husband, seen second from the left. For the October/November issue of the newsletter, "News From the Dunster Branch", created by the Bath and Wells Diocesan Association of Change Ringers, Elisabeth Powls wrote in concise detail about the ringing done in the lead-up and on the day of the Queen's funeral. Following is a summary and description of what she recorded:
There are eight bells at St. Petrocks, with two, including the treble bell, hung higher than the other six. There is no floor to stand on between the two bells and the six bells, so reaching the upper two is not for the faint of heart. Normally the Timberscombe bellringers practice was on Thursday evening but on the Thursday, the 8th of September, after it was announced the Queen had died, practice was cancelled. Instead Kate and Elisabeth climbed up a very steep ladder and in Elisabeth's words "clambered around the six lower bells to put on our muffles after I had checked how to put them on via You Tube!"
Muffles are resilient (often leather) pads fitted to the bell's inner clapper to reduce volume. Thus the sound of the strike is softer, while an evocative hum remains. If only one side of the clapper is muffled, an echo effect is created as strikes are alternately loud and soft (7).
These variations in the ringing, created by the muffles, are then incorporated into different rounds known as Change Ringing, which is the practice of ringing the bells in tightly controlled orders or patterns, thus creating different sequences of sound, known as Changes. Different Changes have different names, two of which are called "Queens" and "Kings".
Only the six lower bells were muffled by Elisabeth and Kate on the 8th, as Elisabeth thought there would not be eight ringers for the 9th of September--- when churches across the land were expected to ring for an hour to mark the death of Her Majesty. As it happened, Bruce Oakley, a bellringer from Dunster, who sometimes joined the Thursday night practices, arrived "to help us out". The six bells were rung half muffled, appropriately following the pattern of the "Queens" change ringing, then for 20 minutes the tenor bell was tolled alone, started by Allan Sutton and finished by Elisabeth, then followed by a return of the six bells--- as Elisabeth wrote, "making up the required hour".
The six lower bells were rung again but this time with the muffles removed, on Sunday, the 11th of September, honouring the ascension of Prince Charles as King Charles III. And this time, the bells were rung according to the pattern of the change ring, "Kings".
Besides the official funeral being booked for 11am, Monday, September 19th, a wedding had been booked at St. Petrock's on Saturday, 17th September, with bellringing scheduled. As Elisabeth wrote "I think the bride will remember her bells were half muffled". They had to be and with Bruce Oakley returning as an eighth ringer, Elisabeth and Kate had already been back up the steep ladder to the bell tower, half-muffled the lower six bells and this time with no floor to support them,--so literally hanging from beams-- they also half-muffled the top two bells. So after a busy weekend celebrating the wedding, the St. Petrock's bellringers again rang the Queens change ring for the Queen, then tolled the tenor bell and finished up "in time for the televised funeral." One bellringer had to miss seeing seeing anything on the tv. Alan Hines had to leave directly from the church and get to Heathrow Airport for his previously scheduled return to the States. Or as Elizabeth recorded "What a roller coaster for Alan Hines, our American ringer. He arrived in time to ring for the jubilee and left just after the funeral ring".
On the 25th of January 2022, Her Majesty, 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, tested positive for Covid (4). Her husband and companion for 73 years, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had died (not of the virus) the previous 8th of April, aged 99 years (5). With her diagnosis, the Queen took all necessary and sensible precautions and carried on.
In the midst of this, on the 6th of February 2022, Queen Elizabeth entered the 70th year of her reign, the longest of any British monarch, culminating in the country's first Platinum Jubilee. The appointed days of celebration were Thursday to Sunday, the 2nd to the 5th of June 2022.
Elizabeth also reached 96 on the 21st of April. Around the world, people were quite ready to celebrate the Queen's birthday and anniversary. Yet it was not just because of her. For many it was the first time to be together with others and have a semblance of normality. Certainly it must have felt somewhat like that for the six bellringers--they are smiling-- seen in the top photograph, together again in the bell tower of St. Petrock's on Friday, the 3rd of June 2022. For the bulk of the pandemic, even after the reopening of the church, the bell tower had remained closed..
All six bellringers pictured in the upper photograph were residents of the village. On the left end of the front row, Elisabeth Powls, the Bell Captain, lived at Sunnyside on the northeastern edge of the village. To her right is Gwynie Poole of Rice Barn in the village centre. Gwynie had rung at St. Petrock's since 2009, at first alongside her husband, Derek Poole, who passed away in 2011. (They were married at St. Petrock's.) At the right end of the row is Kate Hart of Bougham Farm (situated to the south of the village) who also served as Churchwarden at St. Petrock's. On the left end of the back row is Allan Sutton of No. 1 Willow Bank, with Martin Booth in the centre. Martin's home, The Knapp, is on Church Street, just behind the church. Completing the back row is Alan Hines, owner of Berrowcote, facing the village green. Alan is American, and for sixteen years had lived in the village while still returning regularly to the States. The photograph was taken by Marion Jeffrey, fellow Churchwarden with Kate--also historic, the first time at St. Petrock's that both serving Churchwardens were women.
Across the nation, extensive Platinum Jubilee bellringing had been co-ordinated to coincide with the Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral, held to mark Her Majesty's reign. Tenor bells everywhere--and certainly including Timberscombe-- were to peal for 96 minutes, one for each year of the Queen's life (6).
Her Majesty opened the proceedings but ominously had to cancel attending events during the middle period of the Jubilee. However at the Platinum Pageant on Sunday at the Mall, she appeared, looking well and seemingly having a good time. Yet the end of the summer season was perhaps inevitable, when Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on the 8th of September, almost the end of summer and certainly of an era. The next eleven days were ones of honouring, remembering and grieving. Monday, the 19th of September was designated for the royal funeral.
The second photograph was also taken by Marion Jeffrey, with the same six bellringers gathered again in the tower, now being seven as they were joined by Ken Powls, Bell Captain Elisabeth's husband, seen second from the left. For the October/November issue of the newsletter, "News From the Dunster Branch", created by the Bath and Wells Diocesan Association of Change Ringers, Elisabeth Powls wrote in concise detail about the ringing done in the lead-up and on the day of the Queen's funeral. Following is a summary and description of what she recorded:
There are eight bells at St. Petrocks, with two, including the treble bell, hung higher than the other six. There is no floor to stand on between the two bells and the six bells, so reaching the upper two is not for the faint of heart. Normally the Timberscombe bellringers practice was on Thursday evening but on the Thursday, the 8th of September, after it was announced the Queen had died, practice was cancelled. Instead Kate and Elisabeth climbed up a very steep ladder and in Elisabeth's words "clambered around the six lower bells to put on our muffles after I had checked how to put them on via You Tube!"
Muffles are resilient (often leather) pads fitted to the bell's inner clapper to reduce volume. Thus the sound of the strike is softer, while an evocative hum remains. If only one side of the clapper is muffled, an echo effect is created as strikes are alternately loud and soft (7).
These variations in the ringing, created by the muffles, are then incorporated into different rounds known as Change Ringing, which is the practice of ringing the bells in tightly controlled orders or patterns, thus creating different sequences of sound, known as Changes. Different Changes have different names, two of which are called "Queens" and "Kings".
Only the six lower bells were muffled by Elisabeth and Kate on the 8th, as Elisabeth thought there would not be eight ringers for the 9th of September--- when churches across the land were expected to ring for an hour to mark the death of Her Majesty. As it happened, Bruce Oakley, a bellringer from Dunster, who sometimes joined the Thursday night practices, arrived "to help us out". The six bells were rung half muffled, appropriately following the pattern of the "Queens" change ringing, then for 20 minutes the tenor bell was tolled alone, started by Allan Sutton and finished by Elisabeth, then followed by a return of the six bells--- as Elisabeth wrote, "making up the required hour".
The six lower bells were rung again but this time with the muffles removed, on Sunday, the 11th of September, honouring the ascension of Prince Charles as King Charles III. And this time, the bells were rung according to the pattern of the change ring, "Kings".
Besides the official funeral being booked for 11am, Monday, September 19th, a wedding had been booked at St. Petrock's on Saturday, 17th September, with bellringing scheduled. As Elisabeth wrote "I think the bride will remember her bells were half muffled". They had to be and with Bruce Oakley returning as an eighth ringer, Elisabeth and Kate had already been back up the steep ladder to the bell tower, half-muffled the lower six bells and this time with no floor to support them,--so literally hanging from beams-- they also half-muffled the top two bells. So after a busy weekend celebrating the wedding, the St. Petrock's bellringers again rang the Queens change ring for the Queen, then tolled the tenor bell and finished up "in time for the televised funeral." One bellringer had to miss seeing seeing anything on the tv. Alan Hines had to leave directly from the church and get to Heathrow Airport for his previously scheduled return to the States. Or as Elizabeth recorded "What a roller coaster for Alan Hines, our American ringer. He arrived in time to ring for the jubilee and left just after the funeral ring".
Creator
Marion Jeffrey /
Marion Jeffrey
Marion Jeffrey
Date
3 June 2022
19 September 2022
19 September 2022
Language
English
Identifier
two photographs of the St. Petrock's Bellringers, at the Platinum Jubilee, 3 June 2022 and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, 19 September 2022 / Timberscombe / Village Centre
Acquisition Date
3 June 2022
19 September 2022
19 September 2022
Acquisition Method
Gift
Gift
Gift
Category
PLACES: Churches and Chapels / Timberscombe
EVENTS: Jubilees and Coronations / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
EVENTS: Jubilees and Coronations / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2023
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
to be entered
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) "Coronavirus Circulated Undetected Months Before Covid-19 Cases in Wuhan, China", US San Diego Health Department, health.uscd.edu and "Could Covid-19 Have Reached the UK Earlier Than Thought", theguardian.com, Frances Perraudin and Matthew Weaver, June 2020 (2) "Key Takeaways", dni.gov and clinmedjournals.org (3) British Foreign Policy Timeline, bfpg.co.uk (4) npr.org (5) bbc.com (6) englishcathedrals.co.uk (7) smartringer.org and learningtherope.org (8) ringing.info and Campanology, Art of Change Ringing, Learn to Ring, bellringing.org
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2023
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
Item Reference
SP-332
Technique
Copies
Citation
Marion Jeffrey /
Marion Jeffrey, “The Timberscombe Bellringers in the Historic Summer of 2022,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed April 20, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3594.
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