University of London Society of Change Ringers
Encyclopedia
The University of London Society of Change Ringers (ULSCR) is the official society dedicated to change ringing
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 universities and was founded just after the end of the Second World War. The objectives of the Society are the promotion of the art and science of change ringing
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....

 and ringing for church services.

Membership of the Society is open to all past/present members/employees of the University of London and any other college in London.

Current activities

ULSCR ringing is based at St Olave's Church, Hart Street in the City of London (near Tower Hill Tube - District & Circle Lines).

Practices take place on Thursday evenings between 7:00pm and 8:30pm during term time and Sunday service ringing is from 10:15am until 11:00am on the 1st and 3rd Sundays in the month.

Ringing including some practices also takes place at various other towers in the London area, see Upcoming Events.

The society includes ringers of all standards from rounds and call changes to spliced Maximus ringers, and also teaches students with no previous experience of ringing. It has an active social calendar including outings, picnics and parties together with an annual dinner and ringing tour during the summer vacation. The ULSCR also attends the SUA
Southern Universities Association
Sister to the Northern Universities Association the Southern Universities Association is a grouping of University Change Ringing Societies in the UK. Since 1996 the societies have met annually for a weekend. Meetings generally feature six and eight bell competitions at separate towers and open...

 competition each year.

The Early Years

Memories of the Society’s early years by Denis Layton extracts taken from pages 49–53 of University of London Society of Change Ringers 60th Anniversary, Annual Report 2005-2006 - extracts taken from pages 49–53 of University of London Society of Change Ringers 60th Anniversary, Annual Report 2005-2006

In 1944, at the summer training camp of the University of London Senior Training Corps, I met Vernon Benning for the first time - I think we were both trying to scrounge some extra supper from the cookhouse where Vernon was on fatigue duty that evening. We quickly established that he was at Kings and I at Imperial, both churchmen and both ringers.

Vernon introduced me to the Universities Association founded in 1942 to provide an organisation to which all universities could affiliate - Oxford University and Cambridge University had their own Society and Guild respectively established in the late 19th Century. Trouble arose when a peal for the UACR, conducted by me, was rung on 30 June 1945 which included in the band an External Student of London University. This was initially not acceptable since at Oxford and Cambridge only resident students existed. However, the matter was resolved at a general meeting of the UACR held during the Summer tour centred on Norwich in August 1945. It was pointed out that the University of London Act 1926 contained a comprehensive definition of the status of member of the University, which included External Students, and this definition was accepted. (During the week in Norwich VJ Day was announced and everyone joined in spontaneous and enthusiastic celebrations that evening).

As our ringing contacts became more extensive and frequent, we established that there was quite a number of ringers who were, or had been, at London University. Indeed, we discovered that some attempt had been made around 1937/8 to start a ringing society associated with the University but without success. In October 1945 Vernon Benning, Philip Gray, Paul Williamson, Ted Challis and I met at Imperial College and adopted a constitution for the University of London Society of Change Ringers. I was the first Master, Philip Gray the Secretary, and we invited Dr James C E Simpson - a very well known and respected ringer, and lecturer in the University at Kings from 1935 to 1939 - to be the first President. Of the founding members, Vernon Benning died in July 2004 but at the time of writing (May 2006) the other four are still alive. Vernon played a big part in ringing and teaching learners in the early years and was Master 1947-8.

Copies of the earliest reports were lodged (as was then thought to be required by law) at the British Museum Library. I have confirmed that they are still kept by the British Library, but since they are in store in West Yorkshire consulting them might require some effort and patience.

At the very beginning, the Society had its base at St Gabriel's, Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....

. The bells had not been rung since before the War, and Philip and I spent an exhausting afternoon clearing out what felt like tons of pigeon manure and nesting material from the bell chamber and cleaning the ringing chamber. The ropes were rotten at the top so, because we couldn’t afford new proper bell ropes, I obtained a large amount of hemp rope from a chandler in Dockland that my father knew, and we spent another afternoon splicing the bottom ends of the existing ropes, which were good enough for up to about 10 feet from the sallies, on to the new rope. Since the total draught was long and the hemp rope was initially very elastic we had some rather exciting times ringing!

We taught learners with silenced bells on Thursday evenings, and practised with open bells on Mondays. Regular Sunday ringing was not possible because most of us were attached to other local towers, but we did sometimes ring quarter peals for special occasions. The arrangement lasted for a couple of years or so, but eventually we were asked to leave because the level of complaints from residents in the area became too high -the church was completely surrounded by houses and we had no means of sound reduction. We then led a somewhat nomadic existence for a while - ringing on the 8 bells at S Mary’s Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...

 (by the gates to Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...

) and for quite a period at S Stephen, Belsize Park, Hampstead with 10 bells though we mostly rang the back eight or the front six.

Our headquarters became S Olave, Hart Street [1954]. In the very early years we rang a lot of call changes (very good for our striking), Grandsire Triples
Grandsire
Grandsire is one of the standard change ringing methods, which are methods of ringing church bells or handbells using a series of mathematical permutations rather than using a melody...

, Stedman Triples and Bob Major. The repertoire widened as we gained more members and experience, and, for example, on the Yorkshire tour, centered on Ilkley in 1948 we scored good peals of London Surprise Major and Little Bob Royal and rang a good half course of Cambridge Major on the back eight at York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

 with Bill Simpson on the tenor (he was in fact one of the highest rated heavy bell ringers in the country at that time).

When the ULSCR was founded in 1945, Dr J C E Simpson agreed to become the first President on condition that it should be for a reasonable but limited time - he was adamant that the Society must be the institution, not any of the officers. In the event, his untimely death in 1952 at the age of 43 coincided with the time he had in mind as the limit of his period in office. The principle he laid down concerning periods in office has been adhered to throughout the Society’s history...

After ten years of existence the members of the ULSCR reckoned that the Society was sufficiently well established to be affiliated to the Central Council. Application was therefore made and affiliation was approved at the Council’s meeting at Leicester on 22 May 1956. I was admitted as the first representative of the ULSCR at that meeting.

External links


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