What is being rung
Church bells do not ring recognisable tunes The bells are rung in an ever-changing sequence, and although the bells are tuned and hung in a scale from highest to lowest pitch, the sequences are based on mathematics rather than musical notes.
You should hear each bell ring distinctly, in turn, with the same gap between each blow; you should never hear two bells strike together. The same rhythm should be kept throughout the ringing, and on our 6 bells you shoud hear 12 even beats followed by a pause of about the same time as it takes to take a deep breath.
The simplest sequence rung is rounds. This means ringing the bells from the smallest (called the Treble) to the largest (the Tenor) so you will hear 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 - 1 2 ........ All ringing should start and end in rounds.
The next simplest thing to ring is call changes. This is when the conductor actually calls which order the bells are to sound in. This can be any order the conductor wishes and continues until he or she decides to change the order again, however there are some sequences which are named and rung as standard in every tower in the world. For example (on 6 bells) Queens is 1 3 5 2 4 6 & Titums is 1 4 2 5 3 6.
Bell ringing 'tunes' are called 'methods', and at Offenham we will ring two sorts - 'Doubles' and 'Minor'. In doubles you will hear the 5 smallest bells changing order with the tenor sounding as the last bell in every sequence, keeping a regular beat as a drum does. In minor the tenor changes place in the same way as the other bells so keeping the rhythm is more difficult.
You should hear each bell ring distinctly, in turn, with the same gap between each blow; you should never hear two bells strike together. The same rhythm should be kept throughout the ringing, and on our 6 bells you shoud hear 12 even beats followed by a pause of about the same time as it takes to take a deep breath.
The simplest sequence rung is rounds. This means ringing the bells from the smallest (called the Treble) to the largest (the Tenor) so you will hear 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 - 1 2 ........ All ringing should start and end in rounds.
The next simplest thing to ring is call changes. This is when the conductor actually calls which order the bells are to sound in. This can be any order the conductor wishes and continues until he or she decides to change the order again, however there are some sequences which are named and rung as standard in every tower in the world. For example (on 6 bells) Queens is 1 3 5 2 4 6 & Titums is 1 4 2 5 3 6.
Bell ringing 'tunes' are called 'methods', and at Offenham we will ring two sorts - 'Doubles' and 'Minor'. In doubles you will hear the 5 smallest bells changing order with the tenor sounding as the last bell in every sequence, keeping a regular beat as a drum does. In minor the tenor changes place in the same way as the other bells so keeping the rhythm is more difficult.
Peals and Quarter Peals
Peal ringing is generally considered to be the pinnacle of change ringing, and it is the only area where there are rulles laid down by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. A peal is a minimum of 5000 changes and at Offenham it takes between 2 hours 30 mins and 3 hours to complete. The ringing should be of a very high standard throughout, and although a few mistakes quickly corrected are allowed, if the general standard falls too low then the peal should be stopped. There have been 22 peals at Offenham; the first was rung on 30th April 1899 by the St Peter's Society of Bengeworth. You can see the full list here Should there be any plans for a peal at Offenham it will be posted outside the Church and listed in the Parish magazine.
Quarter Peals are much more widely rung and we ring three or four at Offenham every year. A Quarter (as it is usually known) is 1260 changes and at Offenham we would expect to take about 40 minutes to ring one. They are a great way to mark special occasions - we usually ring one on the Sunday evening of Offenham Wake, we rang one on 3rd of June 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations (there are 200 peals and quarter peals recorded worldwide on that day!) and we usually ring one during the Christmas Tree Festival in the Church. They are often the basis of bell ringers' social events with quarter peal days, weekends or even weeks being organised by guilds, associations, towers or individuals. These involve several quarters being rung at different curches in the day, interspersed with coffee breaks, pub lunches and often ending with a meal in the evening. Quarters are also important milestones in learning to ring. Not everyone wants to ring a quarter peal, but for most people of any age their first quarter is a special occasion, marking their first ringing achievement recognisable as such by non-ringing friends and family.
Quarter Peals are much more widely rung and we ring three or four at Offenham every year. A Quarter (as it is usually known) is 1260 changes and at Offenham we would expect to take about 40 minutes to ring one. They are a great way to mark special occasions - we usually ring one on the Sunday evening of Offenham Wake, we rang one on 3rd of June 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations (there are 200 peals and quarter peals recorded worldwide on that day!) and we usually ring one during the Christmas Tree Festival in the Church. They are often the basis of bell ringers' social events with quarter peal days, weekends or even weeks being organised by guilds, associations, towers or individuals. These involve several quarters being rung at different curches in the day, interspersed with coffee breaks, pub lunches and often ending with a meal in the evening. Quarters are also important milestones in learning to ring. Not everyone wants to ring a quarter peal, but for most people of any age their first quarter is a special occasion, marking their first ringing achievement recognisable as such by non-ringing friends and family.