Grandsire Cinques (Outside) at Lincoln Cathedral, Lincolnshire
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Filmed Sunday, 30th April 2023: A bob-course of Grandsire Cinques, heard from outside, as part of the service ringing for the County Service of Thanksgiving for the King's Coronation.
Sitting atop Steep Hill, Lincoln Cathedral is a stunning, stunning piece of Gothic architecture. With the first foundations being laid in 1072, it was consecrated in 1092; however, many rebuildings have since taken place. Much of the present structure is Norman and medieval, not least with major work being required following a fire (1124) and an earthquake (1185). The fine central tower reached its present height of 82 metres (271 feet) in 1311. All three towers were topped with spires; however, a storm in 1589 saw the Central Tower's spire blown off! Had it remained, Lincoln Cathedral would have retained its status as "the tallest building in the world" (a title it took from the Pyramids of Giza) until the construction of Paris's Eiffel Tower in 1889!
The West front is Norman, and the two towers - which are a little wonky, if you look closely - were completed in 1419. Their spires were removed in 1807, as the weight was endangering the tower; concerns had first been raised in 1724, but it took a riot before the Cathedral finally acted!
Until 1834, Lincoln Cathedral was unique in having two rings of bells. The Central Tower once housed a peal of 6, with a tenor of around a tonne; these were broken up, in part to provide additional metal for Great Tom, the fine bourdon bell which now hangs in the Central Tower, and still chimes the hours.
The South West tower (the one on the right, as you look at the West front), meanwhile, housed a previous ring of eight, with a tenor of some 16½cwt. They were restored, and the treble recast, by Thomas Mears in 1834; however, in 1913, they were recast entirely by Taylors of Loughborough into a heavier eight. Within ten years, these bells had become unringable owing to worries over the tower's stability. Following a major tower restoration, in 1927 the bells were once again rehung, just 14 years after their installation, also by Taylors, who augmented them to twelve.
The result is - in my opinion - one of the finest sounding rings of bells going. They rank as, quite possibly, my favourite ring of 12, which sound fantastic and handle very smoothly, although are let down somewhat by internal acoustics, not least lead flooring which means they are not as clear inside as they could (or should) be. It's a long climb up to the ringing chamber - well over 100 steps - but the bells themselves are hung quite low in the tower, well below the louvres, to minimise tower movement in this fragile structure.
Unfortunately, I arrived too late to make the ringing on this afternoon, but it was a treat to stand and listen to them outside, where they sing over the old town and Castle Walls (although interestingly, they are barely audible on Steep Hill itself!).
Lincoln Cathedral is well worth a visit - whether to ring or not. As well as the superb architecture and fabulous bells, its other attractions include the Lincoln Imp - a 14th century carving with its own legend - and its possession of one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.
Tenor 23-3-13 in D
dove.cccbr.org...
Potted histories of the Cathedral and bells may be found on the two below websites:
lincolncathedr...
www.inspirewebd... - Розваги
I absolutely love these bells. Have rung there a couple of times. The tenor is a magnificent bell. Hopefully this will be my home tower when i move up that way one day. Property prices are cheaper!
ive heard these in real life and they sound very good
Superb vintage Taylors.
They're magnificent!
rang here last Thursday the band are very friendly and make you feel welcome shall definitely be coming back here once my method ringing advances a bit more.
I rung there in October 2017 and they are a lovely 12
I'm pretty sure I was ringing in this touch at the time!
Yes, you were - this was the weekend we managed to miss each other three or four times!
@@simonbellringer All I remember that day is all other touches we did were perfect.......then Erin was a suggestion to ring at the end......booom.
The temptation to videobomb this was almost too great, but I controlled myself!!
Hang on a second... These sound almost the same as Calne, just as a ring of 12!?! The tenor is pretty much the same weight too!
Lincoln Cathedral is a beautiful building - I could only imagine what it must have looked like with the magnificent spires...
I disagree - away from the weight and key, these are nothing like Calne! (Which I like, just for very different reasons - but they are hardly a vintage Taylor sound like Lincoln, let's face it)....
It's a stunning building, well worth visiting - there's pictures or impressions online of what the spires may have looked like. They are a superb ring of bells, just a shame they're not quite as good inside but you can still tell something special resides upstairs 😊
I do suppose when I listen to it with headphones on, I can hear the difference! Scu'se the abrupt false accusation!
@BellringerBen I think Calne have more of a Mark 1 Whitechapel sound which includes rings such as Kent School Chapel, Westminster Abbey, Washington Cathedral and so on so forth. The tenor at Calne really makes the ring!
@@RingerThomas Indeed - The tenor sure sings now, especially with the wooden shafted clapper!