Chester Branch Bell Ringers Website: -

Minor Curiosities

 

I tentatively offer for your delectation a few slightly more unusual Minor methods for the Meeting at Hoole on Thursday 6^th November.  They are not to be taken too seriously:  a bit of harmless fun, just for a change.  All should be within the capabilities of ringers who can ring, say, Cambridge. Apart from the first one I am not giving you the complete diagram.  Any method is adequately defined by one lead (indeed half-lead), and it is a simple task to work out the rest.

 

1.   A principle

 

You might well say there is only one principle worth ringing, and it is not for an even number of bells.  I would tend to agree.  The enduring popularity of Stedman reinforces that view.  Even other principles on odd numbers – Erin, Carter’s, Scientific Triples, etc – come nowhere near enough to challenge the appeal of Stedman.  Personally I love it, on all numbers.  As for principles on even numbers, they have never really caught on.  Forward was fairly popular at one time.  It is merely Treble Bob with Kent Places in 3-4 to stop the repetition. No doubt Sir Arthur Heywood thought he would make a hit with his Duffield, but it is rarely rung.  Original is sometimes rung.  I think I have rung just one quarter of Original – the Major version.  It is indisputable that principles, for the most part, are real ‘conductors’ stuff’.  They tend to need to need a lot of calls.  For a 720 of the standard calling of Cambridge just nine calls are needed; but for a Minor principle it would be necessary to make far more calls.  So we are definitely in curious territory with a principle on six bells.  Actually there are quite a few of them.    Here is my offering; it is very easy:

 

Canis Minor     

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
2	4	1	6	3	5
4	2	6	1	5	3
4	6	2	5	1	3
6	4	5	2	3	1
6	4	2	5	1	3

 

Bob     

 

6	4	5	2	3	1
6	4	2	5	3	1

                                 

Single

 

6	4	5	2	3	1
4	6	2	5	3	1

 

 

I’m sure you can complete the plain course; but to save you puzzling it out please refer to the other attachment to my e-mail.  Alternatively go to http://methods.ringing.org and you can find it – and, indeed, any method – there.

 Home

2.   An Alliance method

 

There are more treble hunts than just Plain or Treble Bob (or Treble Dodging as we must call it now). I remember seeing a peal of Minor once in the Ringing World which had 25 different treble hunts.  (No sinecure for the treble ringer there!)  Alliance Methods were once very popular with Minor bands who wanted to increase the number of different methods in an extent.  The 1961 Collection of Minor Methods (‘the book’) has two types of Alliance Methods.  This one differs from Plain merely in the dodges in 5-6.

 

 

 

Springfield Alliance

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
2	4	1	6	3	5
4	2	6	1	5	3
2	4	6	5	1	3
4	2	5	6	3	1
2	4	5	6	1	3
4	2	6	5	3	1
4	6	2	3	5	1
6	4	3	2	1	5
4	6	3	2	5	1
6	4	2	3	1	5
4	6	2	1	3	5
6	4	1	2	5	3
6	1	4	5	2	3
1	6	5	4	3	2
1	6	4	5	2	3

 

Essentially Norwich below the treble, and Plain Bob above.  Not hard.

 

 

 

3.   A method – not a bob lead of another one – with 4ths at the end of the lead

 

Yes, they do exist.  However, some of the old methods that can be seen on peal boards are really bob leads of other methods.  A good example is Merchants’ Return:  the plain lead is a bobbed lead of Woodbine.  Like Woodbine itself it was once a standard part of the Minor repertoire.

 

The method below, however, can be rung only with fourths place at the lead head.  You will notice that the work above the treble is a bob lead of Oxford.  Below the treble the work is that of Norwich Surprise.  And what happens at a bob?  I hear you ask.  Ring just Oxford above the treble.  In other words the bob-making bell makes 6^ths place, not 4^ths.

 

Anston TB

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
1	2	4	3	5	6
2	1	3	4	6	5
2	3	1	6	4	5
3	2	6	1	5	4
3	2	1	6	4	5
2	3	6	1	5	4
3	2	6	5	1	4
2	3	5	6	4	1
3	2	5	6	1	4
2	3	6	5	4	1
2	6	3	4	5	1
6	2	4	3	1	5
2	6	4	3	5	1
6	2	3	4	1	5
2	6	3	1	4	5
6	2	1	3	5	4
6	2	3	1	4	5
2	6	1	3	5	4
2	1	6	5	3	4
1	2	5	6	4	3
2	1	5	6	3	4
1	2	6	5	4	3
1	6	2	5	3	4

 

You may know that Oswald Delight is Kent-up and Cambridge-in.  With Oxford-up it is Morning Exercise (irregular).  Baden Powell is Kent-up and Norwich-in (also irregular).  This is the closest you are going to get to Norwich-in and Oxford-up.  (Definitely irregular.)

 

 Home

 

4.   A Slow Course method

 

Nothing too curious so far, but now we are getting a bit weird.  The method is not really up to much, but this is it.  It will be seen that the 2 and 4 lead and make 2nds until the treble comes back; the other bells then make 3rds and back.  The work above treble is Plain Bob.  It has conventional calls, and extents can easily be produced without too many bobs, and with just two singles.   What makes it a Slow Course method is the fact that the 2^nd, in the plain course, does the same work for each lead.

 

Maplin Slow Course

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
2	4	1	6	3	5
4	2	6	1	5	3
4	2	6	5	1	3
2	4	5	6	3	1
2	4	5	3	6	1
4	2	3	5	1	6
4	2	3	1	5	6
2	4	1	3	6	5
2	1	4	6	3	5
1	2	6	4	5	3
1	2	4	6	3	5

 

 

 

5.   A twin-hunt method

 

If the last method is just about tolerable and possibly worth ringing – once or twice (perhaps even a 720) – for its curiosity value, then this one is much more appropriate for the dustbin.  It was first rung in a peal earlier this year, but it is simply a Doubles method transferred to Minor.  Grandsire Minor has been known for a long time – and was surprisingly popular at one time.  This is just a variation.  Perhaps it can be rung once.  That’s enough.  Essentially rubbish.  (But you might like it.)

 

Home

St Simon’s

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	3	5	4	6
2	3	1	4	5	6
3	2	4	1	6	5
3	4	2	6	1	5
4	3	6	2	5	1
3	4	6	5	2	1
4	3	5	6	1	2
3	4	5	1	6	2
4	3	1	5	2	6
4	1	3	2	5	6
1	4	2	3	6	5
1	2	4	6	3	5

6.   A Little Surprise method

 

Now, as you know, Little methods are not at all unknown.  We have all rung Little Bob, and most ringers will have rung Spliced Plain and Little.  However, other Little methods are far less common. At a more advanced level and on higher numbers Little Surprise methods are rung quite frequently.  Littleport Little Surprise Royal is one example.  Little Surprise Minor on the other hand is somewhat esoteric.  To get an extent other hunt bells besides the treble need to be used, and to call (and ring) a 720 would need a fair amount of concentration.  I actually thought of introducing variable hunt, but thought better of it.  Something for Minor Curiosities Part II.  Anyhow here is one method which might be worth a go.  Endless dodging in 5-6 I’m afraid. (Horrendous when a bob is called.)  I suppose it is technically a Surprise method (although why not Delight?).  It is sort of Little Woodbine.  It is unnamed, and perhaps we should leave it to its anonymity.   Dog-end S. Minor??

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
1	2	4	3	5	6
2	1	3	4	6	5
2	3	1	4	5	6
3	2	4	1	6	5
3	2	1	4	5	6
2	3	4	1	6	5
2	4	3	1	5	6
4	2	1	3	6	5
4	2	3	1	5	6
2	4	1	3	6	5
2	1	4	3	5	6
1	2	3	4	6	5
2	1	3	4	5	6
1	2	4	3	6	5
1	4	2	6	3	5

 

 

7.   A common method reversed

 

 

In the middle of the 19^th century one James Platt of Saddleworth produced a true 720 of Spliced Treble Bob methods. (Nobody called it Treble Dodging in those days.)  It was the first true one in so many methods; and all the wonderful multi Minor ringing that has been developed since then flowed from this funny little 720, produced by a rather obscure individual ringing up in the Pennines.  One of the methods was the following one.  He called it something else, but this is the official Central Council name.

 Home

Navigation TB

 

1	2	3	4	5	6
2	1	4	3	6	5
1	2	3	4	6	5
2	1	4	3	5	6
2	4	1	5	3	6
4	2	5	1	6	3
2	4	1	5	6	3
4	2	5	1	3	6
4	5	2	3	1	6
5	4	3	2	6	1
4	5	3	2	1	6
5	4	2	3	6	1
5	2	4	6	3	1
2	5	6	4	1	3
5	2	6	4	3	1
2	5	4	6	1	3
2	4	5	1	6	3
4	2	1	5	3	6
2	4	5	1	3	6
4	2	1	5	6	3
4	1	2	6	5	3
1	4	6	2	3	5
4	1	2	6	3	5
1	4	6	2	5	3
1	6	4	5	2	3

 

But it’s really Reverse Oxford TB.  You recognised that straightway, of course.  Still I reckon this one will be a bit tricky to ring; it is only here because of the challenge of ringing it.  It is actually a regular method, but – for me – those 5-6 places away from the treble condemn it.  I really hate those.  I can easily put up with irregular methods (like Morning Exercise, for instance), but 5^ths place apart from under the treble is very ugly, in my book anyhow.  After all there are 147 Treble Dodging methods and 30 Plain methods in ‘the book’.  We don’t really need to worry too much about the curiosities.

 

Acknowledgement

 

I must acknowledge a handy little book by Jonatahan Deane:  Minor Curiosities (1^st ed. 1993).  At least two methods come from there.

 

JDA Tuesday, 28 October 2008

 

Return to Chester Branch website www.cdg-chester-branch.org.uk

 

I

Another Website by Phil Burton