Five ringing friends set out to spend a day ringing in 5-bell towers to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Sherborne Abbey’s Jan Keohane’s election as a member of The Guild of Devonshire Ringers which marked the beginning of her lifelong love of the exercise.
Joining her for the day’s ringing were Mark Symonds, Paul Cottingham, Nick Baker whom Jan taught to ring and Andy Waring who Nick, in turn, taught.
Jan was “nagged” by a school friend to learn to ring and she joined the ringers at Lympstone parish church where she says she was lucky to have a very good teacher. Friday nights would see her at Withycombe Raleigh church in Exmouth where her friend rang and they also had a school band which practiced Wednesday lunch times.
In 1974 Jan left home to begin a career in the Womens Royal Naval Service where she trained to be an Aircraft Mechanic. Her ringing was intermittent until, after marrying, she and her new husband, Chris, moved to Leigh in October 1979 where she was welcomed into the local band and also joined the ringers at Sherborne Abbey. A few years later they moved to Buckland Newton where she was Tower Captain until another move took them back near to Leigh, at Hilfield.
Towers visited were: Melbury Abbas, Compton Abbas, Margaret Marsh and Kington Magna and all extended a warm welcome and very enjoyable ringing. Doubles was, of course, the order of the day and a variety of methods and variations were rung, achieving a quarter peal in each tower.
Jan is still a valued member of Sherborne Abbey band, some 46 years later! She says, “Ringing is still a large part of my life hence a day out with friends to celebrate 55 years of ringing.”
AW
