THE OLD - Old Wirral.com

THE BELLS OF WIRRAL
eight bells 40,320, and with twelve bells
the possible variety of changes is stupendous.
An old bell-ringer informed the
present writer that with twelve bells it
to the min-
is possible to ring 24 changes
ute, and that at this rate it would take 38
years to exhaust all the possible changes,
but H. B. Walters, in his " Church Bells
of England," says that at the rate of two
strokes a second it would take 91 years before
all the possible combinations were
exhausted. Neither of these programmes
can be put to a practical test, but
Ellacombe, in his " Bells of the Church,"
gives particulars of some surprising feats
in change-ringing. Thus in 1868 eight
members of the Ancient Society of College
Youths occupied the belfry of St.
Matthew's Church, Bethnal Green, and in
nine hours and twelve minutes rang a peal
of Kent treble bob major consisting
of 1.5,840 changes. The men were locked
in the belfry, and did not cease ringing
from 8.45 a.m. until the peal was finished.
This record was, however, surpassed in
1872, when at Earlsheaton, near Dewsbury,
in Yorkshire, a true peal of Kent
treble bob major, consisting of no less
than 16,608 changes,
53
was rung in nine