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Bellringers’ News

Blacklands Ringing Outing

On 23rd October 2013 a band of 10 ringers from Hastings set out on our trip to Big Ben. There were members from Blacklands, St Clement’s and All Saints, and Christchurch St Leonard’s on Sea. Sadly two of our longest serving members, Geoff Muggridge and Joan Downing were not able to join us that day. We caught the train to London, arriving around noon, so the first priority was lunch, which we had at the bustling Giraffe Café. After this we wandered along the Embankment with its street performers, jugglers and living statues, and went on the London Eye for a fantastic panoramic view of the city and beyond. It was turning into a beautiful warm sunny day.

To gain access to The Houses of Parliament for our Big Ben trip we went through the air-port style security to get into Portcullis House, the modern block where many MPs now have their offices, a busy place with a constant stream of the suited and booted flowing in and out, the press setting up their cameras and the police strolling by with machine guns. Two forms of ID are needed for the trip and then all your bags and cameras are removed and locked in a cupboard for security before you are led through a tunnel under the road to emerge inside the Palace of Westminster.

There are 334 steps up to Big Ben but these are taken in easy stages and are wide with plenty of landings so no challenge for bell ringers used to climbing towers. Along the way we stopped to learn about the history of the place, which is now called the Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee in 2012. We emerged behind the clock face, lit up by sunlight, and it was amazing to see the shadow of the minute hand moving rhythmically every two seconds and to think that thousands of tourists were standing down below gazing up. We learned that prior to 1910 the clock was lit by gas and man climbed up every night to light the jets; the pipes can still be seen. Now they use powerful long life bulbs and abseil down from the top when the glass needs cleaning. There is also a light on the very top of the tower, named after Ashton Smee Aryton , a Victorian MP, which is lit when the House is sitting, allegedly so that Queen Victoria could look out of her window at Buckingham Palace and check that her Government was working hard.

Behind the clock face is the clock room where we saw the enormous mechanism, similar in design to ours at Blacklands, but on a much bigger scale, at least 30 foot long. It weighs 5 tonnes. We watched and listened as the quarters were struck, the clatter and clicks of the toothed wheels, drums turning and the air brakes spinning.

Finally we came out in the open air bell chamber, gazing down on the view below, and marvelling at the massive size of the bells. Big Ben itself has centre place of course. It has two holes cut in it to stop a crack spreading in its skirt. We were privileged to be there when it struck 5, watching the hammers beating out the Westminster Chimes around the quarter bells, and then the great pounding of the hour on Big Ben. Even with ear plugs in the sound reverberated through one’s entire body and resonated for some time after. It was the most exciting moment of the day, but not the last, as we then hurried off to ring at St James Garlickhythe, an ancient church tucked in between the office blocks of the City, which now houses the bells of the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant. This is a church re-built after the Great Fire of London and damaged again by bombing in 1940-41. The bells are accessed through a trap door in its ancient stone tower. They were light and beautiful and we dedicated our efforts to the Christening of Prince George which also happened earlier that day not far away.

After a quick drink to revive us at the historic City pub The Hatchet, we were on our way home, tired by happy after a brilliant day, all thanks to Blackland’s Tower member Pam Holland, organiser extraordinaire.

Kay Waters.