Great Peter and The Ormerod

I have been waking up too early these past few days, combing emails for the confirmations for our lodgings for our next trip abroad. After going through those, as the daylight lightens the sky, I link around the web. Today, in my early-morning haze, I read about the York Minster bell-ringers and their Tuesday evening practices for their Sunday morning services.


York Minster's bells (click *here* for a listen) are in two places: the south-west tower contains the main ringing peal of 14 bells and the north-west tower contains the clock bells. The clock bells are comprised of the quarter bells, which are a set of six hung rigidly and struck with electro-magnetic hammers, and 'Great Peter', the hour and bourdon bell.


In the picture below, Great Peter is being tuned at the foundry in 1845. According to their website, "the hours [are] struck on Great Peter."


The chiming bells were purchased second-hand from St Mary's Church, Nelson, Lancashire, after the church was closed, and each bell has a silent inscription.


The name of the bell is first, then in caps is the inscription. As I glanced over the list (at the end of this post), I was intrigued by who donated the bell to that earlier Lancashire church. A few were named (Omerod, Townsmen's, Walton, Prosperity) and all had words of praise for the Almighty: We Call Upon Thee, We Adore Thee, We Give Thanks to Thee, as if the bells themselves would act as individual prayers.

I like to think that this was town project--the church ladies collecting coins from passersby, a special donation basket on Sunday mornings, perhaps the properly busy wife of the mayor buttonholing her husband to buttonhole the other mayors to give up a few pounds for the bells. The children could give a few pence for their bell as well. The mill workers, spinning their threads might have given up some tobacco money occasionally, or forgo one round at the local pub in order to donate as well.

And then, how did they feel as they heard the new bells around the town?

The bell ringers, dressed in red vests and pressed white shirts, would slowly begin by tugging on the cords, working it down and up and down until the bell lifted them off their feet, the sound falling on them and on the entire town.

The church woman in her home would hurry her children to get ready for service. The textile worker, reading his paper, allowed a faint smile to rise at the corner of his mouth. The mayor's wife looked in the mirror, adjusted her hat, and took His Honor the Mayor's arm as they strolled to church.

The children, once they had grown, would tell their children about the time they had given up their penny candy money to help buy those bells.

I guess I have no idea how they would feel.

I guess I think most about John Omerod and his wife Ann Omerod, and her giving money for that tenor bell. Maybe her husband was one of the tradesmen who did well, or maybe he was the owner of the local textile factory, or maybe it wasn't about him, but about her.


Perhaps she became one of those quiet Victorian widows who saved every last penny and shilling, living out her widowhood in slowly decaying black satins and taffetas, writing in careful Spencerian script her last wishes, the vision of the bells hatched while she was yet alive, but the casting at the foundry happening after her death.

Or maybe she was a vibrant woman with a passel of children and wanted them to have something tangible to remind them of their father, her husband.

What grand visions do we give to now? And where do we leave our silent inscriptions? The only grand visions I had were long ago, to have children and raise a family, to marry Dave. Sometimes I look at my life and think it so quiet, so invisible, so silent. What will remain?

Since I'm fully in English mode, from Confessing Evangelical blog comes this quote:

To those who know a little of christian history probably the most moving of all reflections it brings is not the thought of the great events and the well-remembered saints, but of those innumerable millions of entirely obscure faithful men and women, every one with his or her own individual hopes and fears and joys and sorrows and loves - and sins and temptations and prayers - once every whit as vivid and alive as mine are now.

They have left no slightest trace in this world, not even a name, but have passed to God utterly forgotten by men. Yet each of them once believed and prayed as I believe and pray, and found it hard and grew slack and sinned and repented and fell again. Each of them worshipped . . . and found their thoughts wandering and tried again, and felt heavy and unresponsive and yet knew - just as really and pathetically as I do these things.

There is a little ill-spelled ill-carved rustic epitaph of the fourth century from Asia Minor: “Here sleeps the blessed Chione, who has found Jerusalem for she prayed much.”

I'm fairly certain that when I hear the bells in York Minster, I won't be able to distinguish the Omerod bell from the others. It's only in a chorus of sound and prayer that they--these individual bells--make their impact.

The Chiming Bells of York Minster
Extra Treble
AMICUM MINISTERII EBOR: D. D.
AMICI NECNON C. H.
A. D. MCMLXXVIII

Treble
ALLELUIA--GIVEN BY THE CHILDREN

2nd
WE CALL UPON THEE--GIVEN BY TEXTILE WORKERS

3rd
WE ADORE THEE—GIVEN BY MAYORS OF NELSON, 1901-1933

4th
WE TRUST IN THEE--GIVEN BY FRIENDS OF S. MARY'S

5th
WE REJOICE IN THEE--GIVEN IN PIOUS MEMORY OF ALL FOUNDERS OF S. MARY'S CHURCH & CONGREGATION

6th
WE GIVE THANKS TO THEE--GIVEN BY ALBERT HENRY CANDLER, FIFTH VICAR & THOMAS BARDSLEY, VICAR'S WARDEN

Sharp 7th
WE GLORIFY THEE—PROSPERITY-GIVEN BY TRADESPEOPLE OF THE PARISH & TOWN

7th
WE WORSHIP THEE--TOWNSMEN'S-GIVEN BY TOWNSPEOPLE OF NELSON

8th
WE BLESS THEE--GIVEN BY THE CONGREGATION

9th
WE ACKNOWLEDGE THEE—WALTON-GIVEN BY HENRY MANCKNOLS WALTON, TRUSTEE

Tenor
WE PRAISE THEE O GOD—ORMEROD—TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THIS BELL, THE FOUNDATION OF THE PEAL, WAS GIVEN BY THE LATE ANN ORMEROD IN LOVING MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND, JOHN

Note: If you want to hear a break-out of the bell ringing patterns, head to The York Minster Society of Change Ringers and click on the MP3 files one by one. One of my favorites is the Plain Bob Triples.