Bristol S Major at Bloxham, Oxon

Bloxham are a grand old 8, and the heaviest Ground-Floor ring if Dove's is correct. At 27cwt, the Tenor is the 2nd heaviest bell I have rung to date (35cwt Tenor at Westbury comes 1st!!) but it doesn't really go its weight -- I thought it required less effort than Adderbury's tenor, which is 2¾cwt lighter!!

The bells are a mixture of founders: 1, 2, 3 and 7 are all 1903 James Barwell. The 4 is 1830 John Rudhall, the 5 (the oldest bell in the tower) is c1570 John Appowell, the 6 is 1750 Abel Rudhall, and the Tenor is 1648 James Keene. For what they are, the bells are pretty good, overhauled in 1956, and apart from a couple, don't require too much effort. The 3 does drop a lot, and I think the 7 drops, and is extremely oddstruck.

There is a very long draught here, people reckon from ringing chamber to bells is about 100 foot; the ringing chamber draught alone has to be about 60-70 foot!! However, this doesn't affect the go, though some of them, notably 2 and 5, sound quite indistinct in changes inside. They really do sound grand outside though!!

Again, the church is very big and grand, with its spire nearly 200ft tall. It is so big because at one point, Bloxham was under Royal Patronage; for a picture and some history, follow the link below. Otherwise, enjoy hearing these beauties rung to Bristol and apologies for shaky start, and slightly shaky finish!! :)

Tenor 26-3-7 in C#.

http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=bloxham&DoveID=BLOXHAM
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwthornton/5733796090/

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Bloxham
• Bells
• Bell
• Ringing
• Change
• Changeringing
• Heaviest
• Ground
• Floor
• Ring
• Oxon
• Oxfordshire
• Banbury
• Campanology
• Bristol
• Surprise
• Major

[simonbellringer]

@maidstone10 Arent they!!! I liked these a lot - a very characterful ring!!

[maidstone10]

Lovely grand old style 8