The Bromborough Block
Created | Updated Jun 20, 2008
Created by Mr. Robert Peers of Bromborough, Wirral, England, The Bromborough Block is a wonderfully clever and elegant composition for ringing 1440 Changes of Stedman Doubles.
Confused?
You’re not a bellringer then.
I’m going to aim this entry at bellringers. Hopefully non-ringers will be able to glean some pleasure from the poetry of the incomprehensible jargon. Most of the words are Bob’s own. I don’t mean he made up the words, I mean...oh you know what I mean.
STEDMAN is constructed from alternating sets of six changes called Quick and Slow Sixes.
Quick Six .................................... Slow Six
12345 ........................................ 12345
----------.............................. -----------
21354 ....................................... 13254
23145 ....................................... 31245
32154 ....................................... 32154
31245 ....................................... 23145
13254 ....................................... 21354
12345 ....................................... 12345
----------.............................. -----------
Stedman Doubles is rung on five bells - see this link.
http://www.vismeth.co.uk/methview2.php?P=3.1.5.3.1.3.1.3.5.1.3.1&T=Stedman+Doubles&S=Doubles&R=Rung
There are 120 possible changes on five bells - i.e. 120 different orders in which five bells can be rung consecutively (120=5!).
So - and this is the clever bit - if each Six starts with a different change, then there are 120 possible Slow Sixes and 120 possible Quick Sixes.
The Bromborough Block is a composition of 1440 changes which contains all 240 Sixes without repetition.
Every change appears 12 times; six times at handstroke and six times at backstroke, and each time Rounds(or any other change) occurs it occupies a different row in either a Quick or Slow Six.
The 5th is the observation bell throughout and is unaffected by any of the forty-six Singles(a shout of “Single” is the conductor’s instruction to his fellow ringers to alter slightly what they’re doing according to pre-determined rules. It’s actually more complicated than it sounds), which are called at Quick and Slow Sixes alternately. The minimum distance between each Single is 18 changes.
There are four calling positions. In an ideal world we’d have a diagram and arrows. That wouldn’t be any less incomprehensible than what is to follow, but it would look prettier, and it would break the page up a bit. OK. Four positions:
1. Thirds place on the way in quick.
2. First blow in thirds on the way in slow.
3. Snap lead of first half turn.
4. Snap seconds of the second whole turn.
Now we come to the composition itself.
1 3 1 2 4 12345
__________________________
s s s s 14235
s s s s 13425
s s s s 43215
Each line represents two courses i.e. 120 changes.
The 120 changes on each line are in Sixes which are different from the Sixes on any other line. The Sixes in the Plain Course occur only once.
Rounds occurs at rows 185, 302, 367, 478, 663, 800, 865, 976, 1161, 1278, 1343, 1440, alternating Handstroke and Backstroke.
And that's all there is to it. The advice for conducting it is a little more complicated and may have to wait for another day.
Confused?
You’re not a bellringer then.
I’m going to aim this entry at bellringers. Hopefully non-ringers will be able to glean some pleasure from the poetry of the incomprehensible jargon. Most of the words are Bob’s own. I don’t mean he made up the words, I mean...oh you know what I mean.
STEDMAN is constructed from alternating sets of six changes called Quick and Slow Sixes.
Quick Six .................................... Slow Six
12345 ........................................ 12345
----------.............................. -----------
21354 ....................................... 13254
23145 ....................................... 31245
32154 ....................................... 32154
31245 ....................................... 23145
13254 ....................................... 21354
12345 ....................................... 12345
----------.............................. -----------
Stedman Doubles is rung on five bells - see this link.
http://www.vismeth.co.uk/methview2.php?P=3.1.5.3.1.3.1.3.5.1.3.1&T=Stedman+Doubles&S=Doubles&R=Rung
There are 120 possible changes on five bells - i.e. 120 different orders in which five bells can be rung consecutively (120=5!).
So - and this is the clever bit - if each Six starts with a different change, then there are 120 possible Slow Sixes and 120 possible Quick Sixes.
The Bromborough Block is a composition of 1440 changes which contains all 240 Sixes without repetition.
Every change appears 12 times; six times at handstroke and six times at backstroke, and each time Rounds(or any other change) occurs it occupies a different row in either a Quick or Slow Six.
The 5th is the observation bell throughout and is unaffected by any of the forty-six Singles(a shout of “Single” is the conductor’s instruction to his fellow ringers to alter slightly what they’re doing according to pre-determined rules. It’s actually more complicated than it sounds), which are called at Quick and Slow Sixes alternately. The minimum distance between each Single is 18 changes.
There are four calling positions. In an ideal world we’d have a diagram and arrows. That wouldn’t be any less incomprehensible than what is to follow, but it would look prettier, and it would break the page up a bit. OK. Four positions:
1. Thirds place on the way in quick.
2. First blow in thirds on the way in slow.
3. Snap lead of first half turn.
4. Snap seconds of the second whole turn.
Now we come to the composition itself.
1 3 1 2 4 12345
__________________________
s s s s 14235
s s s s 13425
s s s s 43215
Each line represents two courses i.e. 120 changes.
The 120 changes on each line are in Sixes which are different from the Sixes on any other line. The Sixes in the Plain Course occur only once.
Rounds occurs at rows 185, 302, 367, 478, 663, 800, 865, 976, 1161, 1278, 1343, 1440, alternating Handstroke and Backstroke.
And that's all there is to it. The advice for conducting it is a little more complicated and may have to wait for another day.
