| A First for
Thurstaston's Bell Ringers
On Wednesday 10th December the
first ever quarter peal to be rung by a band of ringers from Thurstaston
was rung on the Thurstaston bells, recently augmented to 6 for the Queen's
Golden Jubilee in 2002. Experienced ringers test and extend their
abilities by ringing quarter peals and peals: a quarter is 1,260 or more
changes without breaks or repeating a row. A peal is 5,000 or more
changes. The Thurstaston quarter peal took 48 minutes. Peals
customarily last about three hours. The first peal was rung in England in
1715. No 'home team' has ever rung either a quarter peal or a full
peal at Thurstaston since the bells were first hung in 1886.
The Thurstaston quarter
peal was 1260 changes of Plain Bob Doubles with the tenor bell rung
behind, conducted by the Tower Captain, Richard Turner. Those
ringing were:
Jane Lea -Treble
Janet Hand - 2
Elizabeth Reeve - 3
Martin Amlôt - 4
Richard Turner (conductor) - 5
Joyce Rossington - Tenor
The band had been trained
from scratch by Richard Turner. It was a first for Richard as well
since it was the first quarter peal that he has conducted.
In August 2005, to
commemorate the achievement, the first ever Peal Board was placed in the
ringing chamber. The board was made by Alfred Wallis whose handiwork
graces so much of St Bartholomew's Church. Peal Boards are a
traditional feature of ringing chambers and many have been in position for
hundreds of years.
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