Saturday 25 April 2026
THE RESULTS
8 Bell Competition at St Nicholas North Bradley
Judge: Julian Hemper (Salisbury Diocesan Guild)
General Comments: Julian was delighted to be sitting in a garden listening to ringing on a warm, sunny afternoon. He was pleased about the good turnout and enjoyed hearing a cross section of abilities. Not the easiest of bells to ring but rewarding when rung well. Several bands picked up faults for exceeding the practice time and also for not ringing the required number of rounds before and after their test piece.
| RESULT | Band | Method | Faults | Judge’s Comments |
| 1st | Melksham (1 Christine Purnell, 2 Richard Iles, 3 Karen McGrane, 4 Jenny Hancock, 5 David Hacker, 6 Chris Bush, Bob Purnell (C), 8 Julian Ferrar) | Grandsire Triples | 18 | Practice time was over 6 minutes. Good rounds before and after test piece. Took time to settle but went well when it did. A few errors in the middle but overall a good piece of ringing. |
| 2nd | Bradford-on-Avon (1 Sarah Quintin, 2 John Sealy, 3 Rachel Walters, 4 Harriet Feilding, 5 Alan Smith, 6 Tim Hawkings, 7 David Godwin (C), 8 Ian Mozley | Grandsire Triples | 21.5 | Practice time was over 5 minutes. Rounds unsteady at the start. A bit rushed but overall a good piece of ringing. |
| 3rd | Trowbridge Method (1 Sarah Dow, 2 Gill Verschoyle, 3 Giles Wood, 4 Brian Coward, 5 Rob Quartley, 6 Paul Staines, 7 David Norman, 8 David Parsons) | Grandsire Triples | 23 | Unsteady at the start and took time to recover but sounded very nice when going well. |
| 4th | Trowbridge Call Change (1, Giles Wood (C), 2 Rob Quartley, 3 Ange Escott, 4 Emma Willott, 5 Louisa Davison, 6 Mark Brittle, 7 Paul Staines, 8 Ian Rhodes) | Call Changes | 25.5 | Could have used more practice time. Test piece was over 9 minutes and therefore picked up more faults. The pace was very good and the band rang with purpose. Good effort. |
| 5th | Bratton (1 Dusty Millier (C), 2 Anne Wilks, 3 Ange Escott, 4 John Richardson, 5 Jim Boyle, 6 Mark Noble, 7 Caroline Noonan, 8 Graham Preuveneers) | Call Changes | 31.5 | Practice time was 5 minutes. Started in rounds and then stopped and re started. Leading was very quick – almost cartwheeling. Was stood up at 4.5 minutes and was therefore disqualified. A sterling effort in the circumstances. |
6 Bell Competition at St Mary Steeple Ashton
Judge: Rodney Cross (Salisbury Diocesan Guild)
| RESULT | Band | Method | Faults | Judges’ comments |
| 1st | Melksham Bell(e)s (1 Christine Purnell, 2 Pam Ebsworth, 3 David Hacker, 4 Jenny Hancock, 5 Chris Bush (C), 6 Bob Purnell | Grandsire Doubles | 10 | A few minor clips. The best ringing of the day. |
| 2nd | Bradford Orange (1 Louisa Davison, 2 Philip Gaisford, 3 Rachel Walters, 4 Alan Smith, 5 John Sealy (C), 6 Graham Findley) | Grandsire Doubles | 11 | A few early leads and tenor late on occasion. A good piece of ringing. |
| 3rd | Melksham Angels (1 Richard Iles, 2 Pam Ebsworth, 3 David Hacker (C), 4 Julian Ferrar, 5 Jenny Hancock, 6 Chris Bush) | Grandsire Doubles | 12 | A few minor clips. Tenor backstroke a little late but otherwise a nice piece of ringing. |
| 4th | Bradford Rainbows (1 Sarah Quintin, 2 Harriet Feilding, 3 David Godwin (C), 4 Tim Hawkings, 5 Ian Mozley, 6 Matthew Hubbard) | Grandsire Doubles | 13 | Slight variation of leads. Tenor slightly late on a number of backstrokes otherwise a nice piece of ringing. |
5th (Highest placed 6 bell tower) | Bratton (1 Dusty Millier (c), 2 John Richardson, 3 Mark Noble, 4 Jim Boyle, 5 Caroline Noonan, 6 Graham Preuveneers) | Call Changes | 40 | A good effort on heavy bells. |
| Joint 7th | Trowbridge Method (1 Sarah Dow, 2 Gill Verschoyle, 3 Rob Quartley (C), 4 Paul Staines, 5 David Norman, 6 David Parsons) | Grandsire Doubles | 42 | Faults incurred due to method errors. |
Joint 7th | Trowbridge Call Change (1, Giles Wood (C), 2 Richard Young, 3 Sarah Dow, 4 Emma Willott, 5 David Norman, 6 Ian Rhodes) | Call Changes | 42 | A good effort on heavy bells. |
