BARROW & DISTRICT SOCIETY NEWS
THE MOBILE RINGING HERITAGE CENTRE
I recommend that the first lesson in ringing changes on five bells should be the practice of the hunting -course. Until that can be well and truly struck it
is of little advantage to attempt anything else. Ropesight – An Introduction to the Art of Change Ringing (Jasper W. Snowden 1923)
Issue 63A
SPECIAL EDITION
Sept 2008
A Newsletter from the Central Council Recognised Ringing Centre based at Holy Trinity Church, Barrow-upon-Humber,
Lincolnshire, for ringers and friends from towers in the surrounding district. The newsletter is available on request from
the Barrow & District Society, and may be viewed on-line at www.lowwood.org.uk . The Barrow & District Society of
Church Bell Ringers is a Registered Charity. Charity Registration No: 1120077
Heritage Lottery Fund
Bid for the
Mobile Ringing Heritage Centre
The Barrow & District Society of Church Bell Ringers was
inaugurated in 2004 as a development of the on-going
teaching work at Holy Trinity church, Barrow-uponHumber, Lincolnshire, in the historic heritage art of English
Change Ringing. The Society operates the Barrow-uponHumber Ringing Centre in Lincolnshire which is a
nationally recognised centre of excellence in teaching
ringing. This Centre serves the whole region of northern
Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire. The Barrow & District
Society has recently completed a five year £40,000
restoration and augmentation project at the Ringing Centre
and now has a track-record of managing ringing
development in the local area with considerable success.
The Central Council of Church Bellringers is the governing
and administrative body of the world’s 40,000 English-style
Change Ringers. Most of its work is done through specialist
committees, one of which is the Ringing Centres
Committee. The remit of this committee is to encourage
local ringers to form Ringing Centres with a view to raising
the standards of ringing teaching in their areas. Ringing
Centres, which take various administrative forms, are
centres of acknowledged good practice in ringing education.
Senior staff members of the Barrow & District Society sit
on this Committee and are closely involved in national
policies associated with the promotion of ringing. The
Master of the Barrow & District Society, the Rt Revd Prof
Barry Peachey is the current Committee Chairman.
PROJECT OBJECTS
 To operate a community social cohesion project that
brings people from across the community into contact
with a heritage art form. English Change Ringing is
often perceived to be exclusively a white middle class
activity. That is incorrect and the assumption needs to
be challenged so that other social groups are encouraged
to participate.
 To provide a unique experience to introduce the ringing
of church bells and our historic heritage art to people in
marginalised and disadvantaged areas where there is
normally little contact with such facilities. It is
particularly suited to reaching children and young
people in inner city areas as it can be driven into
virtually any area of hard standing, and made
operational within minutes for schools and youth
groups.
 To provide access to the art for physically disabled
people who would normally not have to access to
conventional bells hung in church towers due to the
limitations of architecture, and the risks associated with
heavy bells. The proposal that the unit is staffed by an
experienced tutor and available at almost any time
would mean that a disabled group could book the unit
on a once a week basis for regular practices.
 To provide a facility which encourages participation in a
healthy active lifestyle activity which ordinarily many
people would not think of as an option for regular
exercise.
 To provide a mobile training facility for ringers which
can be taken anywhere in the country, together with
experienced training staff where necessary.
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 To provide a public relations unit which can be used at
fairs, shows, fetes and galas and all types of public
gatherings to publicise ringing, and encourage people to
consider taking it up locally.
 To make the unit available for weddings at churches
without bells and at civil wedding locations in return for
appropriate donations to the costs, so that people who
are able to contribute funds to the project will subsidise
those who cannot do so.
 To provide a heritage display unit for the 2012 Olympic
Games in London.
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PROJECT TEAM
The team that has been working on this project thus far
comprise the current officers of the Society, assisted by
Heritage Lottery Fund Development Office staff at Leeds.
The project leader and Master of the
Society is the Rt Revd Prof Barry
Peachey. Barry Peachey learned to
ring at Lyndhurst, Hampshire, has
been a ringer for 39 years, and has
been Ringing Master at Barrow since
taking on the task of teaching a new
band of ringers commencing on 12th
April 1999. He is also Tower Captain of Elsham and Bigby.
For five years he served as Ringing Master of the Northern
Branch of the Lincoln Diocesan Guild of Church Bell
Ringers. He has previously served as Vice-President of the
Basingstoke District of the Winchester & Portsmouth
Diocesan Guild, and as General Secretary of the National
Guild of Police Ringers. He has been a Member of the
Central Council of Church Bell Ringers for 28 years, and
currently serves as Chairman of the Ringing Centres
Committee of the Council. He has a special interest in
ringing education and tower management. A legal academic
and environmental scientist by profession, being Chairman
of the Equine & Animal Lawyers Association. he is a
Bishop of the independent Anglican community.
Amanda Plaskitt was taught to ring by
Barry and Heather Peachey, and is now
Secretary of the Barrow ringers, and
performs the same function for the
Barrow & District Society. She
formerly
acted
as
combined
Secretary/Treasurer until the Treasurer
role grew to the state that it required an
accounting professional to handle it.
She currently has young children in Primary School, and
works in a school as a Kitchen Assistant, also having
experience as a classroom
Comprehensive School.
assistant
in
a
local
Heather Peachey learned to ring at
Bishops Waltham, Hampshire, and has
been a ringer for 40 years. She is a
former Ringing Master of the
Portsmouth District of the Winchester
& Portsmouth Diocesan Guild, a
former District Secretary of the
Basingstoke District of the same Guild,
and former Secretary and Education Officer of the Northern
Branch of the Lincoln Diocesan Guild. She is currently
Vice-Captain of Elsham and Bigby, Lincs, and is the
Ringing Centre Manager and Education Officer at Barrowupon-Humber, being responsible for educational liaison
with outside organizations. She has been an Honorary
Member of the Central Council of Church Bellringers for
the last seven years, where she is now Secretary of the
Education Committee. A former college science lecturer
and school teacher holding Qualified Teacher Status,
professionally she now works in a disability area as a
British Sign Language communications provider for Deaf
and Hearing Impaired people and has an extensive
knowledge of the disability world.
Paul Wilkinson is a Lecturer for the
Prison Service in the Doncaster area.
He made a brief entry into ringing
some years ago, but was re-taught
from scratch by Barry and Heather
Peachey. He is now Vice-Captain at
Barrow, is the Deputy Master of the
Barrow & District Society, and also
rings regularly at Elsham. Paul is
heavily involved in post-compulsory education provision
for disadvantaged people at the Tertiary level and brings
valuable experience to the team in the use of ringing as an
educational resource in a college context.
Patricia Donnelly was also taught to
ring at the Ringing Centre. She is an
Accounts professional and serves as
Treasurer to the Barrow ringers and to
the wider Barrow & District Society.
She
administers
the
accounts,
subscriptions and the Gift Aid scheme.
Professionally she works as an
Finance & Administration Assistant for the Yorkshire &
Humber Grid for Learning which provides management
central services to schools across The Yorkshire and the
Humber regions, and as a lifetime of experience in
administrative roles in various commercial concerns.
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VEHICLE TYPE
This vehicle is an
Alexander
Dennis
Enviro500
Double
Deck Bus. It is 40’
long and 8’ 4” wide
with a 430 litre fuel
tank.
Its
special
features include a low
floor throughout the
lower saloon, making
it suitable for standing under a ring of bells, with full
wheelchair access, and with ‘kneeling’ suspension, making
ringing training accessible to wheelchair users. It has a
minimum step access of 6.4” making wheelchair access
from a kerb or its own integral fold-out ramp very easy.
This is something that is currently very rarely available in
conventional bell towers. Our assessment is that this is the
design and size of vehicle that we need for this project,
although it may well not be a vehicle of this particular
make.
THE BUS BUSINESS
In July 2008 a meeting took place between the Rt Revd Prof
Barry Peachey and the owners and staff engineers of The
Bus Business headed by Adam Sullivan, at their main
engineering centre near Banbury in Oxfordshire. This is the
only company in Britain that customises designs and builds
buses for displays and special uses. After a lengthy
technical debate they said that this project can certainly be
done and they can do it in conjunction with the bell
engineering firm. It will involve considerable heavy
engineering work to support the bell frame, but it is not a
problem. It is the sort of thing that they are well accustomed
to doing for clients. They will also source the bus at the best
possible price using their extensive contacts.
They think it is a very good project and are prepared make a
major donation towards the costs. In addition they have also
carried the cost of the research and development involved,
which runs into several thousand pounds.
So far an outline schematic of the proposed unit has been
provide by them and may be found on the last page of this
Newsletter.
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THE BELLS
PLANNED USES OF THE UNIT
The unit will require
the installation of a
purpose built fixed
frame of the type
shown above in the
upper saloon carrying
a light ring of bells.
The bells would be
hydraulically raised
out above the roof level for ringing. When in the raised
position the public will be protected by a box of armoured
glass around the bell frame to prevent anyone being injured
by flying clappers in the event of a breakage. Sliding doors
in the box sides will allow access for maintenance and
instruction.
Discussions with the bell engineers have indicated that a
ring with a largest bell (Tenor) of about 1 ½ - 2 Cwt would
be readily accommodated. The lower saloon would
comprise the ringing chamber, the crew travel area and a
display area. The front of the upper saloon will contain a
kitchenette and crew bunks. The rear of the saloon will be a
viewing area in which visitors can see the bells whilst
ringing in close-up. To facilitate this, the roof of rear saloon
of the bus can be lifted up on hydraulic rams in suitable
weather conditions.
School, College and University Educational Visits
Community Groups & Clubs
Disability Awareness Campaigns
Heritage Conservation Promotional Events
Training of Bellringers
Heritage Training for Community Workers
Healthy Lifestyle & Exercise Promotional Events
Village Shows, Galas, Fetes.
Church Open Days & Flower Festivals
County Agricultural Shows
Weddings in churches without Bells
Weddings in Civil Venues
Civil Partnership Celebrations
At the time of writing we are already in possession of a very
generous offer to give us the bells required for the project.
Bell Ringing Training Days
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Ringing Roadshows
Corporate Hospitality Events
Major Sporting Events
Peachey for the charity, and Louise Clare, (Development
Manager), and Helen Peacock (Development Officer) for
Yorkshire and the Humber for the Heritage Lottery Fund.
At this meeting Prof Peachey presented the scheme to the
officers and discussed with them in detail proposals for a
full application.
Church Supplies Company Events
Centres for Life-long Learning
Church Resources Exhibitions
Charity Fund Raising Attraction
National Lottery/Heritage Lottery Fund Events
The Development Officers were impressed with the
proposal and advised that it fitted a number of Heritage
Lottery Fund priority criteria, especially for funding for
rurally-based projects, for innovation in a heritage area, and
for access to heritage for the disabled and for groups who
are otherwise disadvantaged for cultural or religious
reasons. It was considerably attractive in that it took a
heritage art form out of the religious and church
environment, and made it accessible to all.
Bellfounders/Bell Engineers Promotions
Leisure Industry Promotions
Holiday Centres & Resorts
As a result of the meeting they said that the proposal should
proceed to a full Stage 1 application for consideration by
the Area Committee, and the charity should approach other
sources of funding as well. These sources are now being
approached.
Hotel / Restaurant Promotions
Civic and Local Authority Events
Day Centres for the Elderly, Disabled, Jobseekers
Cenotaph Services
War Memorial Services (Military Cemeteries)
Military Base Services (including on board ships)
National Exhibition Centre Attraction
Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday/Wedding Parties
Fireworks Displays
Inter-Faith Relations Events
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HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND
It is believed that a major part of the funding could be
provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The level of their
involvement will depend upon what could be achieved in
terms of contributions in respect of the vehicle and bells.
Essentially this is not a complex scheme, as it does not
involve any considerations of buildings or extensive staff.
Most of the work will be done by the existing volunteer
team at the Ringing Centre who are already well
experienced in the management of ringing projects.
A series of meetings have taken place at the Heritage
Lottery Fund offices at Leeds between Rt Revd Prof Barry
This document has been issued subsequent to the
completion of the Stage 1 submission to the Heritage
Lottery Fund, and to the formal launch of the project at the
Ringing Roadshow 2008.
It should be clearly understood at this time that if this
project fails at either of the Heritage Lottery Fund
submission stages, it is most unlikely to proceed. However,
given the present situation we have every reason for
optimism.
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ROADSHOW LAUNCH
The bid is to be put in the public domain for the first time at
the Ringing Roadshow at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire,
during the weekend following the issue of this Newsletter.
This will be achieved by way of a display in the Personal
Development Zone which will contain very much the same
material as in this document.
This is being issued to the Society in advance of the wider
public announcement. You may be surprised that Society
members did not know about this until now, but it has been
kept confidential to the members of the immediate team for
reasons associated with obtaining commercially sensitive
quotations for work associated with the project. It was
necessary.
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SOCIETY & RINGING CENTRE CONTACTS
Patron:
The Rt Revd David D. J. Rossdale
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Suffragan Bishop of Grimsby. Diocese of Lincoln
Email: f.thompson3@ntlworld.com
Vice Patrons:
The Revd John C. Girtchen
Vicar of Barrow-upon-Humber with New Holland, and
Goxhill, Lincs.
Committee Belfries Technical Advisor:
Mr Stephen R. Colley
Taylors Eayre & Smith Ltd, The John Taylor Bellfoundry,
Freehold Street, Loughborough, Leics.
Tel: 01530 261393
Email: steve-colley@taylorbells.co.uk
The Revd Mark A. Batty
Vicar of the North Wolds Group of Parishes, Lincs.
Master:
The Rt Revd Prof Barry F. Peachey
Low Wood Lodge, Kings Road, Barnetby-le-Wold, Lincs,
DN38 6HG.
Tel: 01652 688819.
Email: chairman@animallawyers.co.uk
Deputy Master:
Mr Paul D. Wilkinson
Ivydene, Marsh Lane, Barrow Haven, Barrow-on-Humber,
Lincs
Tel: 01469 531953
Email: pw_ivydene@talk21.com
Secretary:
Mrs Amanda J. Plaskitt
150, Butts Road, Barton-on-Humber, Lincs, DN18 5JA.
Tel: 01652 634445
Email: amanda@adbl.freeserve.co.uk
Independent Examiner of Accounts (Non-Committee)
Mr David E. Hibbert
Tithe House, Owmby, Barnetby-le-Wold, Lincs, DN38
6AY
Tel: 01652 639158
Email: davidehibbert@btinternet.com
Society Fund Raising Consultant (Non-Committee)
Miss Vicky Turner
Humber Consultancy & Funding Advisors, 20, The Grove,
Barrow-upon-Humber, Lincs.
Tel: 01469 531159
Email: Vicky@hcfa.co.uk
Trustees of the Charity:
The Rt Revd Prof Barry F. Peachey
Treasurer:
Mrs Patricia A. Donnelly
16, Wold Road, Barrow-upon-Humber, Lincs, DN19 7BT
Tel: 01469 530106
Email: patriciaadonnelly@lycos.co.uk
Mrs Amanda J. Plaskitt
Central Council Ringing Centre Manager:
Mrs Heather L.E. Peachey
Address and telephone as above.
Email: heather@lowwood.org.uk
Mrs Heather L.E. Peachey (Barrow-upon-Humber)
General Committee Members:
Mrs A. Debbie Scarf
11, Crapple Lane, Scotton, Gainsborough, Lincs, DN21
3QT.
Tel: 01724 764526
Email: m.scarf@tiscali.co.uk
2007 James E. Hibbert
(Grasby)
2008 Jennifer A. Murch
(Barrow-upon-Humber)
Stewards of the Herbert Progress Trophy:
Mr Paul D. Wilkinson
(Barrow-upon-Humber)
Past Winners of the Herbert Progress Trophy:
Mr Nicholas D. Soanes
90, Mill Lane, Beverley, Yorkshire, HU17 9DH
Tel: 01482 862338
Email: nicholasdsoanes@tinyworld.co.uk
Mrs Frances Thompson
259, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe, Lincs, DN
Tel: 01724 337521
The Barrow-upon-Humber Ringing Centre is Grant Aided
by the North Lincolnshire Council Arts Development
Office.
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