‘Ye Merry Bells of Benington’
The first we know of ‘the merry bells of Benington’ (the quotation comes from a peal board in the ringing chamber) is that in 1552 there were four bells in a steeple, two handbells and a Sanctus bell. According to Chauncy there were five bells in the year 1700. We know that there were six bells in 1793, because a board records a peal in that year, of which more below. Some forty years later, thanks to the generosity of George and Leonard Proctor, two trebles were added, which local tradition held came from Westmill, and the augmented ring was opened on Monday, 29th January, 1838, by the Society of Cumberland Youths from London. However, the two new trebles did not please the ear of Mr. Leonard Proctor, and they and the fourth bell were re-cast by Mears of London, in 1853, at his expense.
In 1855 the 5th was found to be badly cracked and so it was re-cast by Mears and the rest of the bells were quarter-turned. The ringing chamber was built in 1966; before this, the bells were rung from the ground floor, which proved somewhat difficult for ringers used to guides.
The Bells Today
The bells have the following inscriptions, diameters and weights:
- C&G Mears Founders, London. Gift of Leonard Proctor 1853 27½” 4½ cwt.
- C&G Mears Founders, London. Gift of Leonard Proctor 1853 28″ 5 cwt.
- John Cook, C Warden VOCE MEA DULCE CANO John Briant Hertford Fecit 1792 30″ 5½ cwt.
- C. & G. Mears Founders, London The Gift of Leonard Proctor 1853 31″ 5¾ cwt.
- MILES GRAYE MADE ME 1630 32½” 6 cwt.
- Pack and Chapman fecit 1777 34″ 7 cwt.
- John Archer C.W 1696 (Founder unknown) 37″ 9 cwt.
- John Fisher Churchwarden. John Waylett fecit 1721 42″ 12 cwt.
The Peal Boards
We have already referred to the peal board of 1793; this records a ‘peal’ of 720 changes only, not of course a true peal by today’s standards. Perhaps the ringers of those days did not know how to lengthen the changes to 5040. Most of the peal boards, however, come from the second half of the 19th Century; some of them are decorated with verse, of which the following is a specimen:-
“Ye Benington Bells, ye Benington Bells
How many a tale your music tells
Of youth and home and that glad time
When last we heard your merry chime.
How time will come when you are gone
Your tuneful peal will still ring on,
When other hands your ropes will anxious pull
And strive to ring the peal which on this tablet we write in full”
The visitor will wish to note particularly the board recording the opening of the 8 bell ring, and the complete peal of Grandsire Triples (5040 changes in 2 hrs. 50 mins.) rung the next day, Tuesday 30th January 1838. We are very proud of the fact that the first peal of Cambridge Surprise Major ever rung was heard on these bells on the 11th February 1873.
The Golden Age of Benington ringing was, of course, ‘Squire Proctor’s day’. Thomas North, in ‘Ringing in Hertfordshire’, writes:-
“Any record of the restoration of change-ringing in this county would be incomplete without reference to probably the best eight bell-ringers in England, namely the Benington Company under the tutelage and active presidency of Leonard Proctor, Esq. of that place. During the last thirty years (1850-1880) this talented band has rung peals which are the admiration of all change-ringers; indeed ‘Squire Proctor’ has done much by his knowledge of the science of change-ringing as well as by his personal devotion to it, to raise it from those changed to its performance to its proper position in the estimation of all thoughtful church folk.”
Leonard Proctor
Leonard Proctor was born in 1816 and died in 1895; apart from his generosity in giving bells to the church, his drive and leadership did much to promote ringing throughout the county. Most of the band who rang with him were men who worked on his Lordship estate, and so, if a visitor arrived who was a ringer, the Squire only had to call up his men who were capable of ringing any method then known. It is said that some of the band were unable to read or write and that the Squire taught them methods by the use of coloured stones. He was President of the Hertfordshire Association of 35 towers from 1888 to 1895, and was the Association’s representative at the Central Council Meeting from 1891-1893. What better representative could Hertfordshire have had?
Twentieth-Century Ringing
Squire Proctor died just before the turn of the century, but the standard of ringing set by his continued long after his death; in particular the tradition was carried on by Samuel Page, whose passing was marked by an article in ‘The Ringing World’, a copy of which hangs in the ringing chamber. The Revd. W.E. Mills, who became Rector in 1922, was one of the many Rectors who have encouraged the Exercise, and was himself a ringer who was never absent from service ringing. In his time a quarter peal was often rung for Evensong, Stedman and Double Norwich being most popular. Benington is particularly proud of the long length peal of Bob Major which was rung on the 5th June 1933 (18,144 changes), a record which stood until after the Second World War; perhaps the most remarkable thing about this feat is that the band were all great friends and lived within 15 miles of the tower. On his retirement in 1946, the Revd. W.E. Mills gave his set of handbells (4½ octaves) to the Church; these had always been rung round the village at Christmas time by the band, who were able to ring a variety of carols in four parts.
The Ringing Day
At Benington the Ringing Day was Whit Saturday or the last Saturday in May. This was a meeting of ringers from all over the county; they used to begin to gather in the morning and ringing went on into the evening with breaks for lunch and tea. Squire Proctor used to provide the food and barrels of beer, and Canon Mills (father of the Revd. W.E. Mills) continued the custom until he died in 1932. The Ringing Day at Benington went on until a few years ago but the meeting started in the afternoon and the ringers’ wives provided the tea. It is noteworthy that the Benington Band always used to go to Braughing to help with their Ringing Day.
Until 1939 a ringer had to be able to ring the treble to a plain method reasonably well before being allowed to ring for service. A number of ringers were lost to Benington during the war and in 1946 the band consisted of one ringer and many enthusiastic learners. The enthusiasm is still there but we have never reached the heights of the Thirties or of the Golden Age, when the most “intricate and melodious methods” of the Exercise were often heard in this tower.
Ringing Today
The previous sections were taken from a version of the leaflet in the Church circa 1970. Since then, the clappers were rebushed and reforged in 1980. In 1993, the ringers raised money to refurbish the Treble Headstock and other wooden fittings. The other 7 bells were refurbished in 1999 with help from the Millennium Fund, with completion for the Easter Services.