X586/21/2

Composition notebook of Charles W. Clarke of Bedford (yellow card covers), with loose papers

1884-1888, 1920s-1930s

From: 1884 To: 1939

Contains (described here as blocks of similar material): 1. Quarter peal compositions by Clarke for 1260 Grandsire Triples, one marked “composed 1/8/84 published Bell News 4/10/84”, another “was rang for the 1st time at St.Paul’s Church Bedford on Thursday Feb 26th 1885 conducted by its composer”, another rung at Bedford on 31 December 1887 (ringers listed) and published in Bell News 24 December 1887, another rung at Bedford on Easter Sunday 10 April 1887 (5pp) 2. Compositions by others, including peals of Grandsire Triples (Shipway) and Caters (Henry Johnson Senr.), peals of Treble Bob Major (by Henry Dains - rung at Dunstable 28 March 1896 - and another by Sottanstall), peals of Stedman Triples (Thurstans and Haley’s variation), long touches of Bob Major (2334 and 2688) (10pp, some in red ink) 3. Peal compositions, e.g. Treble Bob Major (W. Harrison, H. Dains, J.S. Wilde, S. Marsh), Bob Major (J.R. Pritchard, J.S. Wilde), Grandsire Caters (anon), two long peals of Bob Major (6048 and 6720) and a quarter peal by Charles Clarke, three peals of Bob Major by Clarke (10pp) 4. Peal of Stedman Triples (Brook’s variation), date touch of 1888 Grandsire Triples (John Carter), peals of Bob Major (one by Clarke), plain course of Duffield Major, peals of Grandsire Triples (J.F. Penning, John Carter, Holt’s six-part), half peal of Kent Treble Bob Major, date touches of 1888 Bob Major (S. Marsh, F.W. Harding), peal of Kent Treble Bob Major (A Knights, 1887), two peals of Bob Major (both Clarke, 1887), peal of Grandsire Triples (Holt’s Original) with note of being rung at St.Chad’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Birmingham conducted by Clarke on 25 February 1888, peal of Bob Major by Clarke rung at Bedford 22 December 1887, two peals of Bob Major (A. Knights), peals of Grandsire Triples (J. Hollis of Wakefield, and Snowdon’s variations) (22pp) 5. Date touch of 1887 Grandsire Triples (John Carter) rung at Cardington (ringers listed) on 21 May 1887, date touch of 1886 Grandsire Triples (Clarke) rung at Bedford 20 September 1886, peal of Treble Bob Major (Henry Dains), peal of Grandsire Triples (Carter’s 10-part), peal of Treble Bob Major (John Thorpe) rung at Woburn (ringers listed) 17 September 1887, peal of Grandsire Triples (Holt’s Original by bells before) rung at St.Chad’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Birmingham conducted by Clarke on 25 February 1888, peal of Treble Bob Major (Sottanstall, 1883), peals of Bob Major (N.J. Pitstow 1885, C.H. Hattersley 1884) and a touch (1728), date touch of 1887 Bob Major (A.P. Heywood) and two peals of Treble Bob Major (S. Wood 1883, A. Knights 1884) (14pp) 6. Short touches of Stedman Triples from 168 to 1260 changes, a 504 marked as rung at Bedford on 4 December 1887 “the longest length by the Bedford Company” (5pp) 7. Quarter peal (A.B. Carpenter) and peal (Shipway) of Oxford Bob Triples, three quarter peals (Carpenter) and a peal (Holt’s) of Union Triples, and touches and quarter peal of Union Triples (Clarke, 1885) (6pp) 8. Date touches of 1888 Treble Bob Major and Bob Major (S. Marsh), peal of Bob Major (Charles Jackson, 1885), peals of Treble Bob Major (J. Thorpe 1884 and A. Knights), two date touches of Bob Major (Clarke, no date), sheet of figures (loose), quarter peals of Plain Bob Triples (one rung at Titchmarsh, Northants, 26 December 1885), peal of Treble Bob Major (Samuel Knott, 1887), peals of Bob Triples (J. Holt, T. Morris, F. Gilbert, H. Hubbard and John Carter 1884 and 1886) the peal by Gilbert rung at Titchmarsh on 14 June 1886 and one of the Carter peals rung at Cardington on 14 August 1886, peal of Bob Major (A. Knights), touches of Bob Major 224 to 1334 changes, Clarke’s 1334 rung at Bedford 9 November 1886 (17pp) 9. Peals of Bob Major (C. Jackson, H. Johnson sen., T. Lockwood, J.S. Wilde, and five by Clarke 1885-6), one of Clarke’s rung at Cardington on 12 February 1887, and 1296 Grandsire Caters (9pp) 10. Table of touches of Treble Bob Major 576 to 1088 changes and quarter peal (one by Clarke, 1886), date touches (1887 by Heywood and 1888 by Dains), half peal and peal (Noonan, Thorpe, Hubbard, Reeves, Brierley, Wood, Harrison, Day, Cox) compositions (9pp) 11. Loose sheets including callings for Surprise Minor, note of investments £906 9s. 2d. (on the back of a printed flyer for a Cook’s Easter Holiday Excursion on the L.M.S. Railway, Monday 13 April 1925), peal of Cambridge Surprise Major (Middleton’s and variations), the Bankes James arrangement for Cambridge Surprise Minor, figures for a peal of Kent Treble Bob Major (the Cambridge and Kent on the back of printed dividend notices dated 1934-5) (7 items) 12. Quarter peal of Grandsire Triples rung at Wellingborough (ringers listed) 4 August 1884 (Clarke’s first quarter peal as conductor), more quarter peals of Grandsire Triples (one rung at Bedford 10 November 1884, another 19 September 1887, another 18 January 1888, and one rung on handbells at St.Albans 14 April 1888) (8pp) 13. (At back) Pages with cuttings of peal reports from the Bell News pasted in: Plain Bob Minor at Biddenham, 26 April 1884 (the first peal by the Bedfordshire Association); 5760 Minor (eight methods) at Raunds, Northants, 27 December 1884; [Top of page missing] 5040 Grandsire Triples at Bishop Ryder’s Church, Birmingham, 30 January 1886; 5040 Bob Triples at Titchmarsh, Northants, 14 June 1886; [Top of page missing] 5040 Minor (seven methods) at St.Mary’s, Bedford, 20 December 1886; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at Ringstead, Northants, 28 December 1886; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at Bromham, 8 January 1887; 5088 Bob Major at Cardington, 12 February 1887; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at Houghton Conquest, 26 March 1887; 5040 Grandsire Triples at Cardington, 11 April 1887; 5040 Grandsire Triples at St.Paul’s, Bedford, 30 May 1887, a Jubilee peal; 5024 Kent Treble Bob Major at Woburn, 17 September 1887; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at Sharnbrook, 1 October 1887; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at Bromham, 3 December 1887; 5040 Minor (seven methods) at St.Mary’s, Bedford, 21 December 1887; 5056 Bob Major at St.Paul’s, Bedford, 22 December 1887 (7pp - damaged) 14. More quarter peals of Grandsire Triples, and a peal of Treble Bob Major (3pp)

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