4-Spliced S Major at Bishopstone, Wilts

My first attempt at a video using Windows Live Video Editor, came out quite well I thought!! My thanks to Messrs timmeh1507 and 8spliced for their helpful advice!! Hope you enjoy it; photos are all by me on 29 March 2012, except for the North view of the Tower which was taken July last year!! Excerpts from an extremely well-struck quarter of Spliced Cambridge, Yorkshire, Rutland & Lincolnshire on the ton 8 at Bishopstone, about 7 miles East of Swindon. This quarter was rung to welcome the Mayor of Swindon to the new ringing gallery at Bishopstone. Until hearing this, I had never heard the bells outside, and had never heard them being rung so well, and had never appreciated them, but they aren't half bad sounding y'know!! The bells had been rung from a ringing room right at the top of the tower since 1891, when a disastrous fire destroyed the old ringing gallery and the old ring of 8 (with a tenor of ~15cwt, going on an old peal board in the tower, on which the famous Rev'd F. E. Robinson rang the 5 to a peal of Grandsire Triples, the first peal in the tower, and one of only two on the old bells.) By the end of 1891, however, a new octave had been cast and hung by Mears & Stainback; this is the ring you see and hear today, and also known as "Mears' Perfect Octave." Indeed, the bells were certainly in and ringing by 23 December 1891, as that is when a peal of Stedman Triples was rung on them!! However, the gallery was not rebuilt and they were rung from the clock room - low draught and VERY loud!! (I rang up there once, and believe me they were loud!!) Aside from a rehang at some point in the mid-20th Century, (1970's I think!!) the bells remain largely as Mears cast and hung them. A Sanctus bell was hung in about 2009, a second-hand 1928 Taylor bell. However, a couple of years ago, the new ringing gallery was started, and, finally, after a long, slow, painful process, it is nearly finished!! While installing the gallery, initials and other grafitti from the pre-1891 ringers was found carved into the walls by the large West Window, where the old gallery was!! Tenor 19-2-19 in E. "Mears' Perfect Octave." http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?s... http://www.flickr.com/photos/simon-be...