oddstruck

Reflections on a bygone age
By
Oddstruck

On Friday 12th September 2003 8 ringers from various towers in the Ely Diocese and beyond rang a peal of Grandsire Triples at St Mary’s, Whittlesey, Cambs. Nothing remarkable about that; the bells are quite challenging but hundreds of similar peals are rung every year. In fact our peal was rung to commemorate another ‘unremarkable’ peal; it was the 100th anniversary of the first peal on these bells which was also Grandsire Triples. Although important both to us and the original band, both these peals were fairly minor achievements in the wider ringing world, but as I enjoyed a well earned pint afterwards, I started to wonder about those ringers 100 years ago and what life was like for them. Who were they? Where had they come from? Why did they choose Whittlesey? In many ways life is so much easier now and we take for granted things which were unheard of 100 years ago. I set out to answer these and other questions.

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My first task was to discover their names; all I knew was the date and method, not even which Association the peal was rung for. The Ely DA General Secretary checked the report for 1903 and found it had indeed been rung for the Ely DA. It was peal number 103 since the Association’s formation 6 years previously. It also told me where the ringers came from, and I was interested to see that, like our peal in 2003, the band did not contain a single Whittlesey ringer. (Actually I had hoped to include at least one, but they had all cleared off to Bruges for the weekend!). Whittlesey certainly had a band in 1903 and they most likely rang changes as a peal in 1904 contained at least 3 ringers from the tower and a peal board in the tower for 1907 records the first peal by a local band. Details of the 1903 peal are given below:
Saturday 12th September in 2h 54m
A Peal of Grandsire Triples (5040 Changes)
Holts 10 Part.
1 Sidney. J Coleman (St Neots)
2 Ernest Baker (Peterborough)
3 William J Goss (Ramsey)
4 Arthur Holmes (Edenham)
5 Charles R Lilley (Bedford) (C)
6 George D Coleman (St Neots)
7 William T Johnson (Peterborough)
8 Robert Rowell (Peterborough)

Some helpful people on Bell Historians checked in Bell News which gave some additional information, namely that it was the first peal for the ringers of 2, 4 and 8. It must have been quite an achievement; they were last rehung in the middle of last century and may have been just as tricky in 1903 as they are now, as the peals in 1904 and 1907 both had 2 men on the tenor. 1903 was also the centenary of the recasting, by Osborn and Dobson of Downham Market of 4 of the bells, the treble, 2nd, 5th and Tenor.
Many ringers will recognise some of these names, especially Arthur Holmes, Bill Holmes’ father, and Charles Lilley who called a number of peals in the area. I was, however, slightly surprised at how far some of the ringers had travelled. It is now quite normal for ringers to travel large distances to ring a peal, but it must have been much harder 100 years ago before everyone had cars. Below is our 2003 peal and where we came from:

Friday, 12 September 2003 in 3h04 (19)
5040 Grandsire Triples
Composed by: Joseph J Parker (12 part, 7 observation)
1 Susan E Marsden (Chatteris)
2 Peter V Rogers (Huntingdon)
3 C Douglas Linnington (Ramsey)
4 Michael V White (Hemingford Grey)
5 Wendy Piercy (Eaton Socon)
6 Andrew J Davey (Clenchwarton)
7 Peter J Waterfield (Downham Market)
8 Colin A Johnson (Chatteris)

Conducted by Peter Waterfield
First peal of Grandsire Triples - 2.

We travelled a total of 338 miles at an average of 42 miles per ringer, whereas our 1903 counterparts travelled only 250 miles (average 31), but their mode of transport would have been quite different. None of the ringers would have travelled by car whereas we all did. There was and is still a station at Whittlesey (still spelt ‘Whittlesea’ as in 1903) so most would probably have come by train. From Bedford, Charles Lilley would probably have had to change at Sandy (this line closed in 1968) and Peterborough. The Peterborough ringers may have cycled the 8 miles or so and this would also have been the most likely way that William Goss travelled from Ramsey, 8 miles away. It would have been possible by train but would have involved at least 2 changes and a journey of about 20 miles. Ramsey North station and branch line closed in 1947. The branch line from Edenham to the main line closed in 1871 so Arthur would have had to make his own way to nearby Little Bytham Station (also now closed) to pick up the train to Peterborough.

So what changes have taken place in Whittlesey over the past 100 years? It is now a typical, unremarkable Fenland market town. St Mary’s (photo) magnificent spire still dominates the Fen skyline, as do the brick chimneys, which are still, as 100 years ago, Whittlesey’s main industry. Jobs in agriculture have declined but new service industries have developed.
The local landscape is politely described as ‘uninspiring’ but the town centre has retained most of its old buildings; Barclays Bank is the only modern blot on the landscape and the Buttercross looks much as it did 100 years ago. (photo) There are still plenty of pubs to choose from although the opening hours in 1903 were less restrictive than now. The George Hotel is closest but like us they may have chosen the slightly less formal Bricklayers Arms. The major change is at the railway station. The line is still open but the fine old station building is no more, surreptitiously demolished in the 1980s and replaced with an inadequate ‘bus’ type shelter. The station is unmanned although one person is employed to close and open the Crossing Gate, which must be one of very few non-automatic gates left in the country (photo). Of course the way of life has changed dramatically over the last 100 years. Peals are far more frequent and we ring much more complex methods, travelling up and down the country in a way that was impossible even 50 years ago, thanks to motorways and the increased ownership of cars. Whittlesey itself has increased in size enormously, with many of its inhabitants now travelling (by car!) to Peterborough to work.
Speaking of work, jobs have also changed enormously in 100 years. Our band included a librarian, two teachers, a C of E vicar, a naval officer, a maths graduate and a cabinetmaker. The 1901 on-line census allowed me to discover the occupations (and ages) of the 1903 band. I managed to identify 6; there were 4 ‘William Johnsons’ for Peterborough; our ringer could have been an Engine Cleaner, Bricklayer, Butcher, or a Civil Engineer/Draughtsman. Likewise Ernest Baker could have been a Cabinet Maker (the only job represented in our 2003 band!), Shoemaker, or a Railway Clerk. The Coleman brothers (aged 23 and 31) were Parchment Dealers; not many of those around now! Robert Rowell, (55) was a Flour Miller; William Goss, (24), a Harness Maker; Arthur Holmes, (25); Carpenter, and finally the conductor, Chas (Charles) Lilley; (28): was a Joiner Inspector, whatever that may have been! Ignoring the ‘duplicates’, only the carpenter would have no difficulty finding employment today.
Some questions remain unanswered and are lost in the mists of time, such as why they chose Whittlesey and how that group of ringers got together. As Edenham was only a 6 in 1903, did Arthur Holmes regularly travel to Peterborough to practice on eight? Further research in Bell News would reveal whether they rang together again. Did they return to Whittlesey in 1904 to ring the first peal at St Andrew’ just along the road? Now those bells really are a challenge!

A final thought. Charles Lilley (or the organiser of the peal) would probably have contacted most of the band by letter or postcard. Later most people used the phone to make arrangements. Now, email is taking over, which almost brings us full circle, back to a written form of communication!

Sources: Bell News, 19th Sept 1903
Ely DA Report, 1903
1901 Census on-line http://www.census.pro.gov.uk/index.html
Cambridgeshire Libraries Local History on the net: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library/history/whig.htm
Church Bells of Cambridgeshire; J J Raven, 1881
Complete Railways Maps and Gazetteer: C J Wignal

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