No 15 - Nailsea and District Local History Society

Reference has been made to paid ringing, a feature of the 19 thCentury and before that; the 1901 rules required a payment of5/-d from would be ringers - 2/6d to the Leader on entry, and afurther 2/6d to the general fund “when able to ring in peal”.Fees payable probably made it all worth while, the customarycharges being set as follows: for the day £2/2/0d; for part of aday £1/10/0d; for a muffled peal £1/1/0d - all monies to bedivided amongst those (six ringers) who ring”.Remember that in most towers there was also paid ringing onNovember 5 th and May 29 th to mark, respectively, the failure ofGuy Fawkes to blow up Parliament and the restoration of theMonarchy under Charles II. Other payments in Backwell’saccounts include £1/0/0d to the ringers on Queen Victoria’smarriage in 1840, and £1/1/0d for a muffled peal for theMarquis of Bath (the church’s patron) in 1897. A further sourceof income came from touring the parish with the handbells atChristmastime to collect donations from all and sundry, especiallythe big houses, who would provide supper into the bargain. Allpayments went into a common fund, and were shared outequally at Christmas.Changes to these old fashioned practices were a long timecoming, but Jim Lott, an old Backwell ringer, who still chimes thebells once a month at the great age of 94 has clear memories ofthe old ringers of that far off era who were required to signacceptance of the rules “in a book to be kept by the Presidentfor the purpose”.Perhaps our rules are a little more relaxed in 1996, but I like tothink, as we continue our art Sunday by Sunday, that we stillremember the heading which prefaced the Rules of both 1901and 1906 : “Do all to the Glory of God” - perhaps the best ruleof all?