Cunecastre Surprise Minor

About Cunecastre Surprise Minor

Cunecastre joins London Surprise above the treble with Cambridge Surprise below the treble, but introduces 3rds place at the half lead.

Cunecastre Surprise Minor is one of a group of 4 Treble Dodging methods all having identical work below the treble.

• Sterling Delight Minor
• NETHERSEALE Surprise Minor
• ANNABLE'S LONDON Surprise Minor
• Cunecastre Surprise Minor (Ibid)

At of June 2025 Bellboard had 190 performances that included Cunecastre Surprise Minor 12 of which including 1 peal were on handbells.

Method Structure.

Place Notation:
36 X 36. 14 X 12 X 36 X 14 X 36, 12, Bob 14, Single 1234.

Grid:

Diagram: Cunecastre Surprise Minor, plain lead, change-rows and grid.

Plain Course structure
The "London above" brings 6ths place bell down to dodge in 3-4 with the treble. That bell then makes 3-4 places and becomes the pivot bell by making 3rds at the Half Lead. With 6 being the pivot bell the first Lead End becomes 135264, and the Lead End Sequence for the course is as per Plain Bob.

Learning Cunecastre Surprise Minor.

The Structure

The work above the treble is pure London which demands respect and careful learning.

The method structure once the treble has finished dodging in 3-4 is an alternation of 4-bell hunting boxes or cages, 3-6, 1-4, 3-6, 1-4, 3-6. In the 3-6 boxes, treble is either hunting or making 6ths at the half lead. When 1-4 is made treble is first dodging 5-6 up and then 5-6 down

The temptation is to dismiss the work under the treble as merely Cambridge with 3rds at the Half Lead; whilst the statement is factually correct, the 3rds place half lead pretty much eliminates any feeling of ringing Cambridge.

The Rules

Cunecastre Surprise Minor - the rules
Ring London Surprise above the treble and Annable's London Surprise below the treble.

Double Blue Lines

Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 1-2

Diagram: Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 1-2.

Points to note:

• The Place Bell sequence is as per Plain Bob: 2, 4, 6, 5, 3.

Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 3-4

Diagram: Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 3-4.

Suggested approach.

• The double place bells are as per Plain bob:
  3-4 2-6, 2-6 4-5, 4-5 6-3, 6-3 5-2, 5-2 3-4.
• The pivot bell (6ths place bell) rings the "crankshaft" that links the treble's 3-4 dodges.
• The work for 2-5 to become 3-4 to become 2-6, includes the only times 3-4 dodge together, and has strong visual properties.

Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 5-6

Diagram: Cunecastre Surprise Minor, 5-6.

5-6 pair is as hard to ring as 3-4. Suggested approach.

• The double place bells are as per Plain bob:
  6-5 5-3, 5-3 3-2, 3-2 2-4, 2-4 4-6, 4-6 6-5.
• The only time 5-6 dodge together is at the half-way point.

Artefacts

The most useful artefact is the crankshaft of 6ths place bell.

Place Notation and Grid

Use the grid as the primary guide to places made, which in turn gives dodging and hunting work.

Pictels

Familiarity with Cambridge is a good preparation for "Annable's London below"; pictels are described there.

Ringing Cunecastre Surprise Minor.

Track the treble

Awareness of the position of the treble is a key skill for most bellringing methods, and a significant help in ringing London Surprise Minor. Some hints and tips for developing the skill are given in the techniques section.

In Cunecastre Surprise Minor the work above the treble is London. Hard, but rewarding. The work below the treble is even more fluid than in Cambridge.

Positional Awareness

The method is a way of getting into ringing "London above".

Place Notation Elements

The method only contains 5 elements (36X36, 14, 12, 36).

Place Bells, Pivot Leads, and Staging posts

The Plain Bob place bell sequence for 5-6 is very helpful.
The crankshaft of 6ths place bell is a staging post (aka handrail).
At the halfway point, 2 is the pivot bell (of course), the coursing pair 5-6 dodge together in 1-2, and 3-4 cross with each other in 4-5.

135264 LE 12: Plain Bob; Morning Star T.B.; Westminster S.

1-2: 1-2, 1-4, 1-6, 1-5, 1-3, 1-2
3-4: 3-4, 2-6, 4-5, 6-3, 5-2, 3-4
5-6: 6-5, 5-3, 3-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-5

Awareness of other bells

Build some experience ringing plain courses, use your experience of Cambridge, and build up awareness of the work of the other bells from what you can see easily.

Coursing Order in Cunecastre Surprise Minor

Coursing Order in Cunecastre Surprise Minor is a mess. Even the crankshaft requires close concentration in order to check the bells are correct. Make sure to check that the correct bells affected by calls.

Ringing the Method

Our suggestion is to concentrate on using the grid structure to begin with, and hence to generate your own preferred approach.

Bobs and Singles.

Bobs
Running in and out at the bob is more intuitive than making the 4ths and turning round to hunt out to the back.

Singles
All the bells make places and reflect back down the blue line.

Touches of Cunecastre Surprise Minor.

Use bobs only touches of Plain Bob..