Coburn Trophy 2026

Much Fun at Much Hadham – The HCACR Coburn Trophy 2026.

The thick, 33 degree, summer haze hung lazily over the Hertfordshire countryside as the tea was brewed and the cakes laid out in the vestry of St Andrews Church, Much Hadham. The sleepy little village on the outskirts of the county was about to spend the morning playing host to the Coburn Trophy, the HCACR’s 8-bell, inter-district striking competition. 

This year 6 teams were in attendance, including the defending champions of the previous year, the Eastern District, and two teams from the hosting district, Bishop’s Stortford District. 

Tony and Julie Bloomfield, of the Essex Association, having graciously agreed to judge the competition, were set up in the churchyard, ‘neath a gazebo to protect them from the scorching sun, and were lavishly supplied with cakes and coffee, despite having brought their own, “just in case”.

The rest of the bands, whilst not ringing, found themselves, lounging sedately across the lawn, shaded by trees, enjoying good ringing, great conversation, and the fresh, if not dense, festival air. 

It must be remarked that the quality of ringing was quite admirable, with no team exiting the, thankfully ground floor, ringing chamber, feeling they had disgraced themselves, with almost unanimous consensus on how enjoyable the bells had been to listen to. Much Hadham, have a light set of eight, which aren’t particularly odd struck, but can be challenging to find a rhythm as it was remarked, by competitor and judge alike, that the front bells needed to keep pulling in to maintain the pace. 

After all six teams had completed their piece, a short jaunt to the nearby pub of The Chequers Inn in the almost neighbouring village of Wareside, at which an enjoyable meal, served by friendly staff was had, and the judges relayed the following comments and scores, noting they all rang either Grandsire or Plain Bob Triples and how they were using the latest in Hawkear style equipment of ear, paper and pencil. 

Team One: The Northern District – They were steady with an excellent start, however they seemed to lose rhythm half way through, but that said, it was hard to find faults and they recovered towards the end. (Peal Speed – 3hrs 10mins)

Team Two: The Eastern District – Consistent and enjoyable to listen to. Most of the faults came from slight lead issues, being a bit slow, which bunched up the bells after them a little bit. Lots of clean rows. (Peal Speed – 2hrs 57mins)

Team Three: The Bishop’s Stortford Bobs – Felt very tense but the band worked well together. Some method mistakes and the conductor did well to put everyone right and the recovered well. It felt like the band needed to relax a bit more. (Peal Speed – 3hrs 0mins)

Team Four: The Bishop’s Stortford Singles – They were pleasant and consistent, however there were method errors, and the faults seemed to appear in pairs. (Peal Speed – 3hrs 3mins)

Team Five: The Western District – Enjoyable to listen to, and mostly clean. They slowed down part way through and there were some method errors, but they sounded good. (Peal Speed – 3hrs 13mins)

Team Six: The St Albans District – Consistent, ringing that the same pace throughout. Slight variations occasionally, and they recovered very quickly from any mishaps and had lots of clean rows. (Peal Speed – 2hrs 55mins)

The final results were:

Rank	Band	Faults	Peal Speed
1st	St Albans	27	2h55
2nd	Eastern	34	2h57
3rd	Northern	38	3h10
4th	Bishop’s Stortford Singles	39	3h3
5th	Western	82	3h13
6th	Bishop’s Stortford Bobs	140	3h

– Kevyn Hopkins-Hall