2011 W. W. Worthington Memorial Trophy

Derby win 30th Worthington Trophy

The 30th contest for the W. W. Worthington Memorial Trophy was held at Beeston, Nottinghamshire on 24th September 2011. The trophy, for 10-bell ringing, was contested by five bands each ringing a plain course of Lincolnshire Surprise Royal. The event received coverage on BBC Radio Nottingham including a joke that the Birmingham team’s late withdrawal from the competition was because they were scared of the competition! Matthew Jones and Jonathan Radcliffe also featured on the station’s ‘team of the week’, skilfully ignoring the cringe-worthy puns from the DJ.

The draw was held at 12.45pm with Rev. Wayne Plimmer welcoming the bands and saying how delighted he was that the bells were being used for this purpose. He subsequently drew the home team to ring first before retreating, well stocked with cake, to listen to the ringing from the vicarage next door. The afternoon progressed smoothly – each band having 30 minutes to practice and ring the test piece, and those not ringing enjoying themselves with a cup of tea and a piece of home-made cake in the church, or a drink in The Crown (and some enjoying both!). During the afternoon the local jeweller, also a bell ringer, spared Derby’s blushes by engraving the trophy with the details of their win in 2010!

At the allotted time everyone gathered in the church to listen to the judges, Andrew and Sharon Mills, deliver their verdict. Andrew noted that the bells had some degree of oddstruckness with the treble also a little tricky to hear – however he was aided by the microphone feed in this respect so there was no hiding place for the treble ringers! As is common with contest judges, Andrew revealed who he thought each band was based upon certain characteristics. His guesses were somewhat wide of the mark but did at least cause some amusement. The final positions were: 1st – Derby DA– 217 faults; 2nd St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol – 274 faults; 3rd – St Wilfrid’s, York – 329 faults; 4th – St Mary the Virgin, Nottingham – 380 faults; and 5th – Beeston – 401 faults.

The silver rosebowl trophy was presented by Andrew Mills to Tim Peverett, captain of the winning team, with appropriate congratulations. The day finished with the traditional visit to the pub, with the winning team drinking from the trophy. Thanks are due to Andrew and Sharon for judging the competition, and to the Beeston ringers for organising the day and providing such tasty refreshments.

The 2012 competition will be held at Derby Cathedral on Saturday 22nd September, the method will be Stedman Caters. Details of the competition, and entry for next year, can be found on this website.

Photo & sound gallery.
St John the Baptist, Beeston Back row: 6 Christine M Langton, 7 Tim Poole (C), 8 Jonathan Ratcliffe, 9 Duncan McBurnie, 10 Alistair J E Smith Front row: 1 Tom Langton, 2 Katy Idle, 3 Katheryn Smith, 4 Leah Wignall, 5 Michael Garle	St Wilfrid, York Back row: 6 Stephen J Hall, 7 Simon P Hartley, 8 David R Mitchell, 9 Robert W Lee, 10 Timothy P Bradley Front row: 1 David G Hull, 2 Jennifer H Backhouse, 3 Holly Webster, 4 Pamela M White, 5 Judith M Hartley
St Mary Redcliffe Guild, Bristol Back row: 6 Richard J Barclay, 7 Simon D G Webb, 8 Simon A Percy, 9 Stephen J Bateman, 10 Philip M Pratt Front row: 1 Anthony M Bulteel, 2 Katharine A Hill, 3 Elizabeth Evans, 4 Susan P E Bateman, 5 Molly Waterson	Derby Diocesan Association Back row: 6 Anthony P Cotton, 7 Simon Humphrey, 8 John E Heaton, 9 Richard L Taylor, 10 Paul Jopp (C) Front row: 1 Simon C Melen, 2 Pamela J Timms, 3 John Fisher, 4 Tim Peverett, 5 Christian Peckham
St Mary Virgin, Nottingham Back row: 6 Gary Harden, 7 Martyn Marriott, 8 Peter England, 9 Jonathan Young, 10 Robert Metcalfe Front row: 1 Denise Harden, 2 Sarah Young, 3 Emma Chapman, 4 Matthew Jones, 5 Andrew Wignell

Listen to the ringing!