Rushden Research Group: Higham Ferrers

Bellringing Snippets

Northampton Mercury, 4th June 1808
Transcribed by Greville Watson

To CHANGE-RINGERS

On Friday, June 10th, 1808, will be rung for, upon six Bells, at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, SEVEN HATS, which will be given to the six best Change-Ringers.

Wellingborough News, 22nd February 1879, transcribed by Kay Collins

CHANGE RINGING AT RUSHDEN—On Thursday evening, Feb. 13th, the Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough, change ringers met at the Parish Church for practice, by the kind permission of the Rector, the Rev. J. T. Barker. The bells in the ringers' respective parishes are mostly necessarily silent. The Church at Irthlingborough is in such a dilapidated condition that it was deemed advisable to stop the ringing; no change ringing has been performed on the Irthlingborough bells for the last three or four months. At Higham Church the bells are very much out of order, and it is very difficult to ring them, owing to the laborious effort required on the part of the ringers to keep the bells up at all, in consequence of the bells being so far away from the belfry.

Rushden Echo, 8^th February 1901, transcribed by Kay Collins

A Muffled Peal of grandsires was rung on the church bells on Saturday afternoon by the following: Treble, A. Everett; 2^nd, G. Randall; 3^rd, W. Pettitt; 4^th, J. B. Martin (jun) (Conductor); 5^th, G. Brown; 6^th, W. Parker; 7^th, A. H. Martin; tenor, S. Middleton.

Rushden Echo, 6th March 1908, transcribed by Kay Collins

Meeting of the Bellringers Association
The Wellingborough District of the Central Northamptonshire Association of Church Bellringers held their quarterly meeting at Higham Ferrers on Saturday. By permission of the Vicar the ringing of the bells was indulged in by various companies, and subsequently tea, served in the Church Room by the Higham ringers and their wives, was enjoyed, about 50 members being present from Northampton, Wellingboro’, Earls Barton, Rushden, Irchester, Doddington, Harrold, Irthlingboro’, Kettering, Isham, Sharnbrook, and Higham Ferrers.

A short business meeting followed, the Vicar (Rev G M Davidson) presiding.

It was resolved that the next quarterly meeting be held at Doddington in August, and that a special meeting be held at Wilby in May.

The secretary (Mr F Wilford) reported that the holding of a special meeting at Raunds in July to commemorate the 25th year of the Society’s existence was considered.

A vote of thanks was accorded the Vicar for his presence at the meeting, and for the use of the bells, and to the ladies for providing tea.

The Vicar, in the course of his remarks, said how pleased he was to welcome the ringers to Higham Ferrers, being fully convinced what a great amount of good the Association was doing in knitting the ringers together in one common brotherhood.

Ringing in various methods was indulged in until seven o’clock.

Rushden Argus, 8th May 1914, transcribed by Kay Collins

Bell Ringing–On Saturday last eight members of the Central Northamptonshire Association rang a peal of Double Norwich Court Bob Major, 5,088 changes, in three hours and ten minutes.

The following were the ringers:- A. Chapman, 1; W. J. Gilbert, 2; C. W. Bird, 3; F. Wilford, 4; F. Causby, 5; W. Gilbert, 6; A. H. Martin, 7; and W. Perkins, 8. The peal was composed by the Rev. Earle Bulwer, and conducted by W. Perkins.

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