Bell Power in the Tower ...

or ... The Spinster in the Minster!

Sunday 3rd August 2008

York Minster Cathedral

www.carillons.org/york

Our arrival in York was rather less eventful than our introduction to Newcastle. We stayed in a fabulous B&B in Escrick just outside York - http://www.yorkblackbullinn.com/ -a place to be highly recommended, with a top notch menu; we just had to have three courses - it would've been rude not to!

The following day, after yet another hearty breakfast, we met up with David Potter, the Ringing Master at York, at around 12:30 and he took us back to his home to meet his wife Christine who laid on a fantastic lunch for us at their home which was just a stone's throw from the Minster with awesome views of it through nearly every window!

(One could be forgiven for wondering if this tour is more about food than bells at times but, with so many steps to be climbed, nourishment has obviously had to be a priority consideration!)

Once replete, David walked us over to the Minster dodging all the queues of toursits waiting to get in. Here's David pointing out the Bell Founder's window in the north nave aisle to Caroline.

This window was given to the Minster by Richard Tunnoc, a York bell founder, in the 14th century.

The carillon is housed in the South West tower - here's Caz bracing herself for the climb!

David showed us the bells first, starting with Big Peter which weighs over 10 tonnes and is the deepest-toned bell in Europe. Big Peter had quite an effect on poor Caroline - he made her go weak at the knees as she panicked at his sheer magnitude. (And just when I was saying how well it was all going in that respect!) A few choice words escaped when David said he'd sound the bell for us - poor Caz didn't know what to do with herself as she clung precariously to the tower walls feeling trapped by height, narrow winding stairs and BIG BELLS!!!! No photos, sadly, but the video footage is eagerly awaited on that one ...

After that trauma we then had to cross back over to the tower housing the carillon bells and clavier -or in Caroline's case, shuffle precariously. To be fair, I think walking on the roof of the Minster between the two bell towers was a bit 'hairy' for all of us!

Next David showed us the Carillon bells which are hung above the swinging bells which were resting in their upturned position. Because of their distance away, David has installed wooden trap doors so that the sound of the carillon can be heard in the clavier room.

It's difficult to get really good pictures of the bells but there should be some good video footage coming soon ...

Caroline played a recital for half an hour before Evensong. What a fantastic brand new clavier and what an honour to be invited to play it! The clavier room is bright and airy and is also the ringing room for the swinging bells complete with playpen and pretend bell rope to keep the little ones happy while parents are ringing.

Not surprisingly, Caroline found this the easiest and quietest clavier to play - as long as she didn't take a peek out of the window to her right!

The carillon sounded beautiful from outside, stopping many people in their tracks as they stood listening to the gentle melodies chiming over the City of York.

We'd like to thank David and Christine very much for their hospitality and for making our visit to York Minster extra special. Thanks to David for showing us around and inviting Caroline to play and thanks to Christine for such an excellent lunch in such a beautiful setting.

An amble through the Shambles took us back to the car and to a trip to the NW for a day off and some much needed R & R.

Coming up on the blog front (I'm desperately trying to catch up but the lap top just won't play ball) we have Parkgate and St Helens ... betcha just can't wait!