History

The bells were cast by Matthew Higby & Co in 2021, having been comissioned in 2019 in memory of the owner's grandparents, who both died in March of that year. The bells were collected from Matthew Higby's workshop in Somerset on 13th December 2021.

In October 2022 the bells were hung in Aylsham and named 'The John of Gaunt Ring'. The bells were rung for the first time on Tuesday 11th October 2022, and the ringers attending the try-out became the founding members of the 'Society of Aylsham Campanile Youths'. The first quarter on the bells was rung on Monday 17th October 2022, by a band that spanned the entire world. Ringers came from Carlisle, Jersey, Norfolk, Exeter and New Zealand! The bells were rung regularly, most Tuesday evenings, from 2022 until Tuesday 4th June 2024.

On the 16th August 2024, the bells were removed from Aylsham and transported to Sussex, where they are now located. On the 20th August the foundation beams for the 'floating frame' were installed and on the 21st August the bells were hung in their frames. On the 23rd August the ceiling holes were cut and the ropes dropped through into the newly decorated first floor ringing room. On Friday 6th September 2024 the first quarter peal on the bells in Sussex was rung. It was of Grandsire Triples and was also the first quarter of Triples rung on the bells. A quarter of Cambridge Surprise Minor was also rung that afternoon. It was discovered that the sound of the bells could not be heard in the new ringing room and sound grates were installed on 26th September and a second a week later. On 12th October, the owner's friends assembled and rang eight quarter peals of Minor in the same day, named after lyrics from Bohemian Rhapsody. On Friday 18th October a quarter peal of 'Horsted Keynes Surprise Major', a method created and named for the owner's 18th birthday in 2021, and is the name of the village the bells are now hung in.
On 14th November 2024, a peal of Minor (7 methods) was rung on the bells to mark The King's Birthday. This was also the first peal as conductor for the owner. Later on in the same month, on 30th November, a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Major was rung, for the owners 21st Birthday, celebrated 2 days prior. The band formed of primarily ringers from Sussex, but was also honoured to contain a founding member of the 'Society of Aylsham Campanile Youths' from the bells' time in Aylsham. The bells are due to be rehung in December 2024 to improve their internal acoustics. Visited 21/08/2024.

Timeline

2019 - an order is placed with Matthew Higby for a new peal of eight bells, tenor 19lb in D in memory of his
               grandparents Molly and Peter Watson, who had both died in March of that year.
2021 - the eight bells are cast by Matthew Higby & Co Ltd and are tuned and hung that year. The bells are
               collected from his workshop in Somerset on Monday 13th December 2021.
2022 - the bells are hung in Aylsham, Norfolk, and named 'The John of Gaunt Ring. The 'Society of Aylsham
               Campanile Youths' is formed on the try-out evening.
2024 - the first peal is rung on the bells, on 13th January.
             - following targetted discriminatory and manipulative  behavior by the Norwich Diocesan Association of
               Ringers, Diocese of Norwich, the Church of St Peter Mancroft, the Mancroft Ringing Discovery Center
               Manager, the Aylsham tower-captain and a further ringer in Aylsham, the bells were moved to Horsted
               Keynes in West Sussex, into the house of Ollie's grandparents for whom the ring had been
               commissioned in their memory. The ring is renamed to 'The Campanile'.

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Gallery

Sources for the information on this page are www.scacr.org, BellBoard, Kye Leaver and O. Watson's personal archive.