The Ridgman Trophy is awarded to the winner of a striking competition on ten bells, held annually in May or June. Participants come from East Anglia and several of the surrounding counties.
The 2025 competition was held on 21 June at Boston, St Botolph (aka Boston Stump) by kind invitation of the Lincoln Diocesan Guild. The judges were Deborah and Penny Thorley and the test piece was half course of Yorkshire Surprise Royal.
It was the first time since 2021 that Hertfordshire was represented by a team. The county has won 9 times since 1988. In common with other teams, we have had mixed fortunes over the years.
| Year | Location | Test piece | Hertfordshire placed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Wisbech, Cambridgeshire | 200 changes Cambridge Surprise Royal | Joint 7th |
| 2016 | Holy Cross, Daventry, Northamptonshire | 212 changes Erin Caters | 2nd |
| 2017 | Great St Mary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | Yorkshire Surprise Royal | 5th |
| 2018 | St Peter, St Albans | Three courses of Stedman Caters | 1st |
| 2019 | The Norman Tower, Bury St Edmunds | Cambridge Surprise Royal | 1st |
| 2020 | Competition cancelled | ||
| 2021 | St Michael, Braintree, Essex | 179 Grandsire Caters | 5th |
| 2022 | St Margaret, King’s Lynn, Norfolk | 212 Erin Caters | No team entered |
| 2023 | St Lawrence Towcester | Plain and Little Bob Royal | No team entered |
| 2024 | St Andrew’s Biggleswade | 179 Grandsire Caters | No team entered |
Boston Stump was an interesting choice for a striking competition. The tower is one of the tallest medieval structures in the country. At just over 81metres, this parish church is a Grade 1 listed landmark which can be seen for miles around the flat Fens and out at sea. There are 198 steps up to the ringing chamber and, presumably, the same number down a different staircase to the ground. A balcony affording splendid views surrounds the tower at the level of the belfry louvres and it was here, mainly with ears covered, that each team waited their turn to ring. Although very audible outside the tower and throughout the town, the bells are not easy to hear or to ring whilst inside the ringing room. There is some odd-struckness, variable volume from each bell and a certain amount of rope noise and unpredictable rope movement to contend with. The short practice time before ringing the test piece was vital in order to iron out these anomalies. Ringers are positioned around a raised dome which sits above the intricate tower vault which can be seen from the floor below. There is a two layered shutter in the ringing chamber which can be opened to view the church and its floor 42 metres below.
Richard Sales and Julie Grimwade did a great job in organising the team. During February between 20 and 22 Hertfordshire ringers were approached for possible participation. Omitting those who have shown no interest in (or even aversion to) striking competitions, each person contacted was known to have rung surprise royal methods recently, to strike their bell reasonably (or very) well and to be reliable both while ringing and in committing to rehearsals. A team of 12 possible competitors emerged.
Julie organised dedicated practices at the Abbey, Hatfield and St Peter’s, St Albans. Two others took place during a County 10 bell practice at Watford and as part of a 10-12 bell session at Bishops Stortford. Julie also arranged a quarter peal of Yorkshire Surprise Royal at Hitchin. See BellBoard for details.
Having several rehearsals enabled the band to be placed to best advantage, to practice the method and the touch and to gel as a team. Ringing a quarter peal together gave us more confidence in ourselves and in each other. There were mixed feelings about practising at Hatfield where some of the bells are not easy to ring. The final competition band was ably supported by Kevyn Hopkins-Hall, Pat Lay and Lucas Williams.
Fr David Stephenson, Rector of St Botolph’s, warmly welcomed us with an assurance that visiting bands are always welcome at his church. The results were:
- 1st Essex (Rang 2nd) 82.3%
- 2nd Hertford (Rang 7th) 78.7%
- 3rd Cambridge University Guild (Rang 5th) 78.5%
- 4th Lincoln (Rang 4th) 75.7%
- 5th Ely (Rang 6th) 74%
- 6th Suffolk (Rang 3rd) 73.5%
- 7th Bedford (Rang 1st) Did not complete
Next year’s competition will be at Stowmarket, Suffolk on Saturday 13 June. The test piece will be a touch of Stedman Caters. If you are a full resident member of HCACR, can strike well, reliably ring methods on 10 bells and are interested in participating, please attend the 10/12 bell County Practices and make yourself known to the team organisers. Even if this is not for you but you would like to support the team, please save the day!
Quotes from the 2025 team
“Well organised event and we rang as well as we could given the challenges”
“Bonding over the entire stock of bar snacks after the Hatfield practice was probably essential to our progress”
“Our commitment paid off and Julie kept us all in order with impeccable organisation”
“Phew, I’m glad that’s over but I think we did pretty well”
“Stupendous building, enormous ringing circle, unpredictable ropes and surprisingly quiet bells”
“I think we rose to the challenge as a team and were rewarded with a very good result”
“A really enjoyable day out”