Fabian Stedman

“ Every Practitioner, that has judgment to beat his own time, has the advantage of ringing his bell true, whilst the rest of the notes commit faults; for the compass being once fixed, as many bells as do either rise or fall from thence commit errors.
The truest way of raising a peal of bells according to the best of modern practice, is, as quick as may be; every Ringer taking assistance to raise his bell, according as the going of it requires. In raising of them, the lesser bells as the Treble &c. ”

“ Every other bell hath the same course with the whole-hunt; but observing, when they come down and have made a dodg in the second and third places, they lie still one change in the second place, and then make another dodg there, and so hunt up as the Treble did. But note, when the Treble goeth to lead and leaves leading, the bells in the third and fourth places lie still. Every single is made in the second and third places, and every bell lieth four times behind. ”

“ Any bell may hunt at pleasure, and it may move either up or down at the beginning of the peal. If the 1st or 3d do hunt down, or the 2d or 4th up at the beginning, the first change must be single, and made of the back-stroke (if ’tis rung at half-pulls) to prevent cutting compass; but if either of those bells do hunt the contrary way, then the first change must be double.
Old Doubles and Singles. 1 and 2. One change is double, the next single, and so by turns. The treble hath a direct hunting course, as in plain changes. ”

“ In this peal every change is a jumping change (in which one bell leaps over two bells at once,) except when the Treble is either behind or before, for then there is always a plain double change made, or else a single at the end of each sixty changes. Treble is a perfect Hunt; the two foremost bells always dodg until the Treble hinder. When the Treble is hunting up, the jumping changes are all made by the bell in the Tenor’s place, jumping into third’s, except only that one when Treble goeth out of second’s place into third’s ”

“ To make him expert herein, he must before hand perfectly understand, and readily remember the course and method of the changes prickt with figures, wherein he ought to be so well skill’d, as to be able to prick them down divers ways, that is, to make any figure a Hunt at pleasure; which when he can readily and speedily do, without pausing to consider of the course, then ’tis presumed that he understands the methods throughly. But yet he will not be capable to put them in practice, untill he understands the manner of making a change in ringing ”

“ As if five men were sitting upon five stools in a row; the stools are supposed to be fixed places for the five men, but the men by consent may move or change to each others places at pleasure, yet still sitting in a row as at first: now this Art directs how, and in what order those five men may change places with each other, whereby they may sit sixscore times in a row, and not twice alike. And likewise a Peal of five Bells, being raised up to a fit compass for ringing of Changes, are there supposed to have five fixed places, which time assigns to their notes or strokes ”

“ For which reason, the several practitioners of this Art, before they can become expert, are fain to form in their minds imaginary notions to guide them; some after one manner, some perhaps after another, according to their several fancies, yet all tending, to render the methods of changes practicable on bells; and having once form’d in their minds such imaginary helps, they become expert in short time: and then no sooner do they understand the methods of changes prickt with figures, which they commonly discover at first view ”

“ As every compleat peal of plain changes upon one number comprehends the compleat peals on all lesser numbers; so likewise every compleat cross-peal must of necessity do the like, although their cross course permits it not to be done so regularly and demonstrably as the former. From whence may be inferr’d, that every note in a cross-peal must of necessity lie as many times in one place, as the rest of the notes are capable of making changes ”

“ Therefore ’tis not enough that the young Practitioner can set a bell it may be half a score times together, when ’tis an even wager that he either drops or overturns it in those ten-pulls: but he must be so perfectly skill’d, as that he might adventure to lay ten to one, that he can set it thirty or forty times together, both fore-stroke and back-stroke, without dropping or overturning it, and without 29looking directly either on his hands or rope whilst he sets it. ”

“ When Treble leaveth 3ds place hunting up, the bell that then comes before, leads thrice, and likewise the next bell after it till Treble cometh back into 3ds place again; at all other times every bell leads twice. ”

“ Whole-pulls, is, when the bells go round at the fore-stroke and back-stroke in a change; and every time they are pull’d down at Sally, a new change is made. Whole-pulls was the general practice in former times ”

“ But should a contract be made with the Brick-maker to deliver as many Loads of Bricks, as there are Teams of six Horses in each, to be produced out of the aforesaid twenty, which shall stand in the Cart in a differing manner; that is to say, although there may be the same Horses in several Teams, yet their places shall be so changed, that they shall not stand twice alike in any two Teams. ”

“ They may well be termed Concords, in respect of their agreement 21and harmony; for the two notes (as if it were by mutual consent) being struck together at one instant, or else immediately after one another, affords delightful melody to the ear; in which respect, a peal of five Bells are capable of making better Musick than a peal of four; six better than five; and more especially will ten or twelve make more excellent Musick than any lesser numbers can possibly do, there being greater variety of Concords therein, and especially of Eights. ”