Derby Diocesan Association of Church Bellringers: 6 Bell Results...

Imagine, if you will, a beautifully sunny afternoon in a country churchyard, with six bells ringing across the fields. This is how it was in central Derbyshire on the afternoon of May 9^th – only it was better than that as the bells were ringing in two churches in adjacent villages. The occasion was the finals of the two Derbyshire six bell striking contests. The Horsley Cup is competed for by teams ringing methods and the Arthur Ashby Cup is for those ringing call changes. The call change teams must include at least three ringers who have not rung a peal at the time of the District heat. This year there were six teams in each final; all these teams had succeeded in qualifying in the District heats, which had been held earlier in the year. It was particularly pleasing to see several teams which had never appeared in the finals before, especially in the Arthur Ashby Cup contest.

The ringing for the Arthur Ashby Cup took place at Denby and was judged by Graham Nabb of Kineton in Warwickshire. John Thorpe arranged the draw at Denby and marshalled the ringers so the contest ran smoothly. The Horsley Cup contest took place at Horsley (where else?) and the judge was Susan Marshall, a well-known former Derbyshire ringer. Here Sue’s father, David, oversaw the proceedings.

Cups of tea were available all afternoon in Horsley Village Hall and at 5.00p.m. everyone converged on the hall to enjoy the array of sandwiches, rolls, quiches, pizza, samosas, fruit and cakes which awaited them. During the afternoon the young Horsley ringers, who had helped with the preparation of the tea, had organised a raffle. This made £37, which was divided between the Horsley bell rope fund and the Derby Diocesan Association Bell Repair Fund.

Finally the moment all had been waiting for arrived: the pronouncements on the ringing and results of the contests. Graham started by making constructive comments on the ringing of each of the call change teams. He said the standard of ringing had been high. He placed the teams in the following order:

6^th: Hayfield 59.5 faults

5^th: Hartington 53 faults

4^th: Duffield 51 faults

3^rd: Netherseal 41.5 faults

2^nd: Old Brampton 17.5 faults

1^st Ashford in the Water 14.5 faults

Graham presented the cup to Linda Pelc, who said how pleased she was Ashford had won as some of the ringers were hoping to ring a peal in the next year and would no longer be eligible to enter.

Then Susan gave her verdict on the method ringing contest: she had had some excitement as during the ringing someone in the vicinity had started to use some very loud machinery and she had had to leave her car and find somewhere a little quieter to do the judging – the Vicarage lawn – it was lucky that it was a dry day! Sue also remarked on the high standard of ringing. She placed the bands as follows (no peal times as her dad had never brought her a watch):

6^th Mugginton 161 points

5^th St Peter’s Derby 167 points

4^th Old Whittington 183 points

3^rd Tideswell 207 points

2^nd Darley Dale 210 points

1^st Derby Cathedral 237 points

Sue presented the Horsley Cup to John Heaton. This is the fourth consecutive year that the cup has been won by the Cathedral – several teams have won it three years running, but this is the first time a team has won it four times consecutively.

You can listen to the top two teams - would you like to judge?!

The accompanying photograph shows the Derby Cathedral team (with supporters) and the two judges:

l-r: Roger Lawson, Edward & Anthony Cotton, Pam Timms (holding the Horsley Cup), Jennifer, Christian & Cameron Peckham, Stuart & John Heaton, Pat Halls, Graham Nabb and Susan Marshall.

Below - the Ashford in the Water team.

l-r: Ian Sterritt, Clive Thrower, John Thorpe, Linda Pelc, Alex Pykett, Ian Pykett.