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Glossary of Terms
Back- The
last position in the ringing sequence.
Backstroke- The part of the bells cycle that is started by
the ringer pulling on the tail end of the rope.
Ball - The heavy part at the end of the clapper, that
strikes the bell to produce the sound.
Band- A group of ringers sufficient to ring the bells
required.
BearingThe device on which the headstock (and hence the
whole bell assembly) turns about its gudgeon pins.
Bell Chamber - The part of the tower containing the bells
mounted in the bell frame.
Bell Frame - The frame holding the bells.
Box - A platform on which a ringer stands if they are not
tall enough to reach the sally safely.
Call Changes - Ringing starting from (and usually ending in)
rounds, in which each change is called individually by the conductor,
either calling up or calling down. Changes are normally called only at the
handstrokes.
Calling Down - Initiating call changes by calling the bell
which moves down For example calling 4 to 2 from rounds (123456) creates
the sequence 124356.
Calling Up - Initiating call changes by calling the bell
which moves up For example calling 3 to 4 from rounds (123456) creates the
sequence 124356.
"Catch and Hold" - At the end of ringing down, the bells are
chimed for a few rounds, ending with an instruction such as "After three,
miss and catch in rounds." meaning that after three more rounds of
chiming, the bells are let swung freely for one swing, then caught (making
a last note from each one) and held.
Chiming - Ringing a bell while it is down, with just a small
movement causing the clapper to strike the bell on one side only.
Clapper - The metal rod with a ball on the end which strikes
the soundbow of the bell to make the sound
Closed Leads - When ringing with closed leads, each
handstroke change follows the preceding backstroke change without a gap.
See also open leads.
Coil - When a bell is being rung up or rung down, the ringer
has a lot of extra rope to handle; to stop it flapping around, it is
coiled up. While ringing up, the ringer lets the coils out as needed, and
while ringing down, takes in more coils.
Conductor - The ringer calling the bobs and singles in a
touch, quarter, peal etc.
Crown - The top part of a bell (when it is in its down
position).
Down - The safe resting position for a bell, mouth down,
with the stay pointing up and not in contact with the slider. When a bell
is down, pulling the rope will make it swing slightly, perhaps chiming it
if pulled hard enough.
"Downwards" - The command to start ringing down.
Flight - Part of the clapper.
"Go" - The call to start ringing the method, from rounds,
usually given with the name of the method, for example, "Go Plain Hunt".
The call to finish is "That's All!".
Gudgeon (or Gudgeon Pin) - A peg protruding from the
Headstock and reaching into the bearing.
Half-muffled - Muffled on one side of the clapper only, so
that handstrokes ring normally and backstrokes ring quietly.
Handstroke - The part of a bell's cycle of movements that is
started by pulling on the sally.
Headstock - A beam, of wood or metal, to which the bell is
attached. It transmits the torque from the wheel to the bell itself, and
turns on bearings to which it is attached by gudgeon pins.
Leading - Ringing first in a sequence.
"Look to, Treble's going, she's gone" - The sequence of
calls made by the leading bell ringer when starting a round of ringing.
Method - An agreed (and usually named) sequence of changes
Muffle - A relatively soft object attached to the clapper of
a bell to muffle it so as to make it quieter.
Odd-struck - A bell which sounds earlier in its movement at
one stroke than the other is said to be odd-struck.
Open Leads - When ringing with open leads, there is an extra
gap, equivalent to the time between two adjacent bells sounding, between
the end of a backstroke change and the start of the following handstroke
change.
Peal - A true touch of at least 5000 changes. This typically
takes around three hours to ring.
Plain Hunt - Alternately running in and running out, that
is, ringing from the front to the back then back again.
Pull off - To start ringing, from the bell in the standing
position.
Ring Down - To take the bells from Up to Down, by ringing
them through a decreasing angle of swing, taking in a coil of rope from
time to time as the swing gets smaller.
Ring Up - To take the bells from Down to Up, by ringing them
through an increasing angle of swing, starting with the rope coiled and
letting out a coil of rope from time to time as the swing gets larger.
Ropesight - The facility by which you can tell which bell to
follow.
Rounds - Ringing the bells in descending order of pitch,
that is, from the treble to the tenor.
Sally - The tufted handgrip on the rope, used to pull at
handstroke.
Set - To let the bell come to rest in an up position, with
the stay resting against the slider.
Slider - A moving wooden bar pivoted at one end to the frame
with the other end sliding between two stops. It is pushed from one
position to the other by the stay, allowing the bell to turn just over a
full circle and be set at either handstroke or backstroke.
Soundbow - The thick part of the bell that is struck by the
ball of the clapper.
Sound Chamber - The room above the ringing room and below
the bell chamber, through which the ropes pass.
Stand - To set the bell (at handstroke) at the end of a
touch.
Stay - A wooden bar attached to the headstock and pointing
away from the bell. When the bell is set, the stay rests against the
slider.
Striking - Accuracy of timing while ringing.
Tail End - The end of the rope, usually doubled back on
itself used to pull at backstroke.
Tenor - The lowest-pitched bell in a tower.
"That's All" - Finish ringing the method, as it comes round
to rounds. .
Treble - The highest-pitched bell in a tower;.
Up - Balanced ready for ringing. The bell is mouth up, with
the stay resting against the slider. The bell can be up and handstroke or
backstroke.
Wheel - A large wheel attached to the Headstock and which
the bell rope runs around the rim.
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