Cambridge Surprise Maximus at St Mary V, Redcliffe, Bristol

The Bristol band practicing for the 2016 National 12-Bell Final, which was held at Aston (Birmingham), and in which they finished 2nd (behind winners Birmingham). The test piece that year was Cambridge Maximus, with a 4ths-place bob Before and a tenths-place bob Home, splitting the back bells up and making for some different music. The recording (12th May 2016), taken on two Behringer XM8500 mics sited above the bells, is used with kind permission of Philip Pratt (St Mary Redcliffe Guild of Ringers). The photos are mine, taken over many visits (mostly from 2014-2016).
Redcliffe bells are (rightly!) amongst the finest and most famous in the world. With a 50cwt tenor, they are the heaviest ring of bells in a parish church, the fifth heaviest ring of 12 and sixth heaviest ring of bells overall. The interior acoustics have gradually been improved over recent years, making them a real treat.
The pre-existing heavy eight, with a tenor of ~39cwt, were augmented to ten in 1823 and 12 in 1872, both by Mears of Whitechapel. In 1903, John Taylor recast almost the entire ring - barring bells 8, 10 and 11, as the church ran out of money for a complete replacement! - to form the current, magnificent, heavy ring. To get the right note, the tenor had to be recast a good 10cwt heavier than the previous bell - it is consequently double the weight of the 11th (25-1-5!). It is also said that the 9th was not going to be recast - but was accidentally dropped, necessitating its replacement! In more recent times, the 8th was replaced with a new bell (Taylors 2012).
The church itself is also well worth a visit. Dating from the 12th-15th centuries, it was funded by wealthy merchants of the city. The site gets its name from the "red cliff" the church sat upon above the River Avon. The spire (rising to 292 feet or 89m), was severely damaged by lightening in 1446, and was not fully rebuilt until 1872 - the same year the bells went up to 12! Upon her visit in 1574, the church was famously described by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."
Tenor 50-2-21 in B.
bristolbells.w...

[@Steven_Rowe]

Simon Such a high quality audio. 10 out of 10 I though Birmingham would win I think the best video I have seen of any ringing as far as close to perfection is he Brummies at Liverpool pierhead. If only the Cathedral acoustics could be corrected. That is one peal I would love to hear.

[@RingerThomas]

Oh Liverpool Cathedral is starting to get unringable due to the concrete breaking and the pipes.

[@simonbellringer]

Full credit to Phil Pratt for the audio - I have had this on my computer for some time and had forgotten how good quality it was! The Pier Head video is excellent - though there are some other fabulous 12-bell recordings on KZbin too. Cathedral could be super - the bells themselves are fine, but acoustics are terrible!

[@AshleyMonck]

Ringer Thomas they’ve been ringing since the 1950s. I think they’d be unringable by now if there were any issues

[@JesusTilapia]

@@RingerThomas Where did you that find information?

[@ringermikey]

Nice bells

[@simonbellringer]

Yes - amongst the very, very best!

[@Dzwonek05]

Sound like from Worcester cathedral but good video!

[@simonbellringer]

The bells sound fundamentally similar. Maybe not quite as powerful in the ringing room as Worcester but a darn sight easier to ring!

[@sdgwebb]

They’re the 5th heaviest 12 not 6th...

[@simonbellringer]

Of course! Amended. Can tell it was late when I wrote this...

[@RingerPeter]

@@simonbellringer 6th heaviest - after Liverpool, Exeter, St Paul's, York and Wells. Great video.

[@simonbellringer]

@@RingerPeter correct - a typo quickly pointed out after I published, and corrected in the description above. Glad you enjoyed the video!