The Lincoln Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers

Celebrating Lincolnshire Day!

October 1st is now firmly established as Lincolnshire Day, a day when Yellowbelly�s and the county celebrate Lincolnshire�s history and culture. The day was officially launched five years ago and has grown ever since with more and more events taking place. The date was specifically chosen as it commemorates the Lincolnshire Rising of 1536 against King Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries, as this is regarded as one of Lincolnshire�s most significant historical events. The rising started at Louth on the 1st October 1536 and quickly gained support as it marched towards Lincoln. By the time it reached Lincoln there were 40,000 supporters camped around Lincoln Cathedral. Of course this year�s Lincolnshire Day had the added significance of it marking the 475th anniversary of the Lincolnshire Rising.

2011 saw Lincolnshire Day fall on a Saturday, the first time it has fallen on a weekend and as predicted this encouraged more people to take part and more events were organised all over the county. It was als helped by the unexpected heat wave which saw temperatures in Lincolnshire rise to over 28°C on October 1st. However this was not the best weather to be ringing quarters and peals in, especially at towers which do not have any means of ventilation!

As expected the ringers from Lincolnshire (along with two from neighbouring Nottinghamshire) marked the day with a variety of ringing. The day started with the now usual Quarter Peal in the morning on the four ancient bells dating from 1616 & 1636 at the Parish & Civic Church of St. Mary le Wigford, Lincoln, which stands in the City centre on the High Street. They are the oldest peal of bells in the City as well as the Church being the oldest Church in the City, with the tower dating from 980AD. The bells pealed out over the City centre where there were a number of Lincolnshire Day events taking place in the forms of a Farmers Market on the High Street selling Lincolnshire produce and a Craft Fair taking place in the Cornhill Square just off the High Street selling Lincolnshire goods. The High Street was packed with people enjoying the sunshine which made it feel more like a day in mid summer and a number of people came into the Church to say how nice it was to have the bells pealing out. A special date touch of 1536 Single Court Place Minimus was rung to mark the 1536 Lincolnshire Rising.

In the afternoon the main piece of ringing for the day took place in the form of a Peal at St. Lawrence�s Church Bardney. This is the first time that a peal has been rung for Lincolnshire Day and so the conductor decided that something special was required in the form of an unnamed Treble Place Minor method which we named Yellowbelly (pronounced Yellerbelly). It has now become a tradition each Lincolnshire Day to go and ring the bells at Bardney which has close connections with the Lincolnshire Rising. Six monks from Bardney Abbey took part in the Lincolnshire Rising in 1536 and the following year they were executed for their roles in the rising against King Henry VIII. I am very grateful to the Tower Captain, Church Authorities and the local residents for allowing this peal to take place. The last peal at Bardney was back in 1995 and that was only the sixth ever peal on the bells. The bells are very loud outside and the Church stands in the centre of the built up village. The bells are not the easiest to ring as they are incredibly loud in the ringing chamber which made things difficult for the conductor. However after 2 hours and 41 minutes the bells came round and a very good peal was scored.

Christopher C. P. Woodcock