The East Anglian inter county 10 bell striking competition, known as the Ridgman Trophy in honour of William J. Ridgman, past president of the Cambridge University Guild, and past General Secretary of the Ely D.A. took place at Boston Stump in Lincolnshire on 21st June.
The draw for the competition is always done in advance and bands notified a week or two beforehand. Essex were drawn to ring second, which meant a very early start for those who travelled up on the day. It did mean however, we got to hear most of the other bands ring their test pieces throughout the day.
There are 196 steps up to the ringing room, a challenge before you’ve even started. Then there’s a large ringing circle, or rather square, as the ropes surround a protruding dome in the middle. However, after our ringing we were rewarded with the opportunity to go out onto the balcony around the tower for some spectacular views whilst the next team started their practice piece, before the long climb back down the other staircase, being careful not to get dizzy on the way.
After a lovely afternoon in the sunshine the results were given in the chancel. The judges were Deborah and Penelope Thorley. The test piece was half a course of Yorkshire Surprise Royal.
Our ringing was described as “generally good”, and the results were announced as follows:
1st Essex 82.3%
2nd Hertford 78.7%
3rd Cambridge University 78.5%
4th Lincolnshire 75.7%
5th Ely 74%
6th Suffolk 73.5%
7th Bedforshire did not complete
The Essex band were: Julia Taylor, Sarah Robbins, Gill Sparling, Theo Johnson, Christina Brewster, Vicki Chapman, David Sparling, Colin Chapman, Steve Nash and Nigel Taylor (c).
Next year’s competition will be held on 13th June 2026 at Stowmarket; the test piece will be Stedman Caters.
Vicki Chapman
Interim General Secretary
