A year after bell-ringing took Frome by storm at last year’s Frome Festival, the legacy pages on the Ring Out project’s website are now live, documenting the project through audio and film.
These pages allow visitors to relive events they attended, experience those they missed and explore the world of bells.
Devised by Martin Bax, of Rook Lane Arts Trust and Helen Ottaway, of Artmusic, Ring Out aimed to shine a light on bell-founding and bell-ringing in the Frome area and spread knowledge and enthusiasm about bells. “It was a central aim of the project to promote the historic bell-founding activities of the Cockey family, more usually associated locally with the iconic Frome gas lamps,” explained Martin. “There are well over 50 church towers in the South West that include Cockey bells in their rings.
“Ring Out was the centrepiece of last year’s Frome Festival. There were bells on the cover of the brochure and bell-themed events taking place in parks, halls, streets, factories and bell towers in Frome and surrounding villages. The project attracted funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (with thanks to National Lottery players), Frome Society for Local Study and Frome Town Council (the Mayor’s Fund). Many organisations and individuals in and around Frome contributed to making the project a huge success.
“Ring Out’s legacy includes the recruiting of new bell-ringers; the bringing together of people from the worlds of music, bell ringing and historical research; the growth of local knowledge about bell-ringing and bell-founding in Frome; a new bell-ringing method; a Ring Out mobile phone ringtone; a programme about bell-related books on FromeFM and a new handbell group, The Postlebury Handbell Ringers, led by Ring Out’s bell coordinator Mary Hooper. Mary’s work on the project led to her being awarded Highly Commended in the Association of Bell-ringing Teachers’ annual awards – The Len Roberts Award for the Promotion of Ringing.
“The virtual Frome Carillon, created by Alastair Goolden and Helen Ottaway, which played tunes above the market square throughout the festival, was used to set the scene in the BBC’s coverage of the local elections.
“The carillon and the popular tours of Matthew Higby’s Bell Engineering Works may be repeated in the future. And St John’s Church bells, of which several were cast by Cockey’s of Frome and which have been silent for a number of years, may ring out again soon.”
Visit https://www.rooklanearts.org.uk/ringout/ to find features, press stories, photos and links to film and audio. The material tells the story of the project as well as providing links to local, national and international bell-ringing organisations.
