Barham Delight Minor

About Barham Delight Minor

Barham is a member of the group of methods having 2nds place Kent Treble Bob above the treble.

Below the treble, the method is purely CAMBRIDGE Surprise Minor .

Barham Delight Minor is one of a group of Treble Dodging methods all having identical (Cambridge Surprise) work below the treble.

• Barham Delight Minor (Ibid)
• Oswald Delight Minor
• CAMBRIDGE Surprise Minor
• PRIMROSE Surprise Minor
• Carlisle Surprise Minor

At of July 2025 Bellboard had just 5 performances that included Barham Delight Minor.

Method Structure.

Place Notation:
34X34. 16 X 12 X 36 X 14 X 56, 12, Bob 14, Single 1234.

Grid:

Diagram: Barham Delight Minor, plain lead, change-rows and grid.

Goals and learning approach

What you are trying to achieve needs to drive your approach.

Ringing by structure

Get going:.
Use whatever learning approach you like most to acquire enough knowledge to ring a plain course. Ring a few and see what aspects of the method spring out, and study these. Practice until courses and simple touches are ringable.

Performance Level

If you are wishing to achieve 720s, Quarters, or peals:
start with the "get going" as above, add in the bits that are natural to you.
Study the Double Place Bell sequences, and the lines.
Practice a lot.
Achieve some performances .

Method Mastery Level

It is unusual for a band to wish to achieve mastery in a method like Barham. But this is a valuable method for developing the ability to associate structure with the treble's position, whilst also developing the skill of continuously following the coursing order.

Learning Barham Delight Minor.

The Rules

Assuming that Kent TB and Cambridge Surprise have already been learned):

Barham Delight Minor - the rules:
Ring Kent Treble Bob Minor above the treble, and Cambridge Surprise below, and with a 2nds place Lead End.

The Structure

The work above the treble is very much like Kent Treble Bob except that the 2nds Place Lead End double up the Kent places and adds a dodge in 5-6 at the Lead End. However, 3rds place bell is the pivot bell and hence the Lead eds are presented in Double Bob / Cambridge Surprise sequence.

Double Blue Lines

The Double Blue Lines give a useful overview of the method, adding context which is helpful for overcoming trips.

Barham Delight Minor, 1-2

Diagram: Barham Delight Minor, 1-2.

Barham Delight Minor, 3-4

Diagram: Barham Delight Minor, 3-4.

Barham Delight Minor, 5-6

Diagram: Barham Delight Minor, 5-6.

Artefacts

3-4 get a Christmas Cracker in every lead except the pivot lead.
Note the way 5-6 work together via the places, and the reverse lead 2-4.

Place Notation and Grid

The choice here is personal preference. The author’s preference is the visual nature of the grid.

Section by Section

(To follow once more practise has been achieved).

Ringing Barham Delight 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 Barham Delight Minor. Some hints and tips for developing the skill are given in the techniques section.

Positional Awareness

In Barham Delight, the fluid nature of some place bells is facilitated by the 4-bell hunting boxes. These features are explored in detail on the CAMBRIDGE Surprise Minor Page.

Place Notation Elements

The method only contains 34X34, X, 12, 14, 16, 36, 56.

Place Bells, Pivot Leads, and Staging posts (Handrails)

156342 LE 12: Double Bob; Chadkirk T.B., Cambridge S.

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

3rds place bell is the pivot bell.

From 2-4 to 6-5 to 3-2 is both interesting and easy, use as a handrail.

Awareness of other bells

3-4 only ever dodge together once in the plain course, whereas the coursing pair(s) dodge together 7 different times.

Coursing Order in Barham Delight Minor

• Natural Coursing Order is well preserved above the treble.
• Below the treble, the Coursing Order is harder to use.
• The bells either side of the pivot bell (5ths pb & 2nds pb) in the coursing order dodge together in 1-2 at the half lead.

Ringing the Method

Just enjoy it, it’s easier than expected.

Bobs and Singles.

As per Kent TB.

Touches of Barham Delight Minor.

2nds place lead end 156342, with 6th observation, the calling positions are 4ths, In, Wrong, Out, Home.

Use touches of Cambridge Surprise.