The Whitechapel Guild: Ringing Through the Decades at NCS

 

If you routinely passed through one of the Cathedral's locked gates, climbed stone stairs to a high-ceiling gallery which houses a dusty manquette of the Cathedral, a plaster figure of Christ, and a suit of armor, then took two elevators or open metal spiral staircases to reach a dramatic sky-high view of Washington, D.C., you must have been in the Whitechapel Guild.

 

Since 1964, members of this NCS institution have been ascending to the ringing chamber of the Cathedral's central tower to practice the 400-year-old art of change ringing, an activity like no other at NCS and one that almost no other high school in America can offer.

 

Change ringing is a form of bell ringing in which a set of bells (generally 6-12) sounds in changing rhythmic sequences (called "methods") rather than in tunes. Change ringing originated in England in the 17th century and today is primarily practiced in the United Kingdom and former British colonies. The bells are rung by a group of trained ringers, each of whom rings one bell by pulling on a rope that swings the bell in a 360-degree arc from mouth-upward position to mouth-upward position each time it sounds.

 

The Whitechapel Guild is named after the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, which cast the National Cathedral's 10 change-ringing bells. The bells were dedicated in a day-long festive celebration on Ascension Day 1964, following the completion of the Cathedral's central tower. Because there were almost no change ringers in the United States at that time, the Cathedral brought over a band of 10 expert ringers from England to ring for the dedication. Some of those ringers gave an enthusiastically received presentation about change ringing at NCS morning chapel. They followed this with an introductory lesson in change ringing for interested girls that afternoon (albeit only on handbells), and the Guild was born.

 

That fall, Fred Price, a retired Englishman and an experienced ringer, came to stay for several months in order to teach both students and adults to ring. Because the then-head of NCS, Katherine Lee, was a strong supporter of ringing, members of the Whitechapel Guild were able to spend free periods (even skipping gym!) in the tower learning to ring.

 

Not surprisingly, NCS students were good at this new activity, and they've been doing it ever since, ringing for the December service of Lessons and Carols, graduation in June, and when schedules permit, for Friday Cathedral services. In addition, several of the original members of the Guild were invited to join the newly formed band of Cathedral ringers that performed for Sunday services and special Cathedral occasions.

 

As Ann Gardner Martin '66 remembers, the Whitechapel Guild thus early on became the backbone of Cathedral ringing, and members used to laugh at the notation at the end of the Cathedral service bulletins that the bells were "rung by the men and boys of Washington Cathedral." Whitechapel students and alumnae continue to be core members of the Cathedral band today.

 

Since the Guild started, scores of girls have learned this physical activity that combines music and rhythm, logic, teamwork, leadership, and learned skill and finesse. As Elizabeth "Beth" Sinclair '81 comments, all Whitechapel members have "done EXACTLY the same thing—technique, rounds, call changes, plain hunt, etc.," forming a different connection than that formed in other team activities. Some of this continuity is in the nature of ringing, and some of it came from Rick Dirksen, who led the Guild for 45 years and established it as an activity that builds confidence, enables long-term friendships, and gives girls skills and an interest they can enjoy all their lives. As Abby Troobo Goldman '96, said, "Mr. Dirksen made us feel competent and able and strong—all very good things for adolescent girls!"

 

Ringing is something that has always been the "challenging and exhilarating" experience that Sarah Myers Lewis '81 found. After all, the first thing you learn is how to make a large bell swing almost full circle by pulling firmly, but gently, on a rope that extends from your hands, through a small hole in the ceiling, to a room 23 feet above, where the rope is tied to a large wheel connected to the bell. The bell rings once per pull and full-circle swing. Then you have to do it again, and again, pulling roughly every two seconds, and doing it safely, keeping your feet on the ground and the rope falling and rising rhythmically in a straight, vertical line.

 

This learning to "handle" the bell takes several weeks of one-on-one instruction. Then you get to try ringing with other girls. At this point, you learn that ringing several bells accurately in rhythm, one bell (rung by one girl) sounding after the other, is hard. Yes, you can make the bell swing full-circle, but can you stop it at will and hold this hundreds of pounds of bell metal immobile and balanced precisely enough that you can then again make it swing (and sound) with just a slight pull on the rope? And do this repeatedly? This requires finesse, not brawn, and is what allows you to ring rhythmically and accurately. Next you start learning "methods" (the "change" part of change ringing), how to change the order in which the bells sound in predefined patterns. This adds mental challenge to the physical challenge and opens the door to a world of specialized learning and enjoyment.

 

But in addition to being a challenge, ringing is full of fun and friendship, both within the Whitechapel Guild and beyond. Haley Barnett '97 remembers the year she studied in London, ringing at a tower where she met a London-resident Whitechapel alumna who stayed in touch and welcomed her to family events over the year, something especially nice for someone away from her own family. Susan Cummings '83 says that ringing, which she took up again in London 19 years after NCS, introduced her to a great group of people and "is just a lot of fun." Many Whitechapel Guild alumnae also remember fondly the occasional trips that Rick Dirksen led to other towers in the U.S. as well as some to England. Caroline Bartman '07 recalls visiting so many English churches that, when everyone tried to go to sleep each night, they'd still hear the bells ringing.

 

A variety of things made the Whitechapel Guild special and even keep some of us ringing long after graduation from NCS. For some, it was the chance to do something unique and different. For others, it was being part of a select group that regularly saw hidden parts of the Cathedral. As Beth Sinclair said, "We had the keys to the castle and got to go up there all the time." For Anne Matthews '77, it was partially the connection with the Cathedral's adult ringers and the resulting "chance to get to know people of all ages and to experience the joys of dedication to a common pursuit where everyone's contribution [regardless of age] is equally vital to the result." Sarah Irwin '67 learned from ringing a new kind of discipline that has served her well in school and in life.

 

For many who went on one of Rick Dirksen's trips to England, a highlight of the Whitechapel Guild was the bonding that occurred on the trip while getting to ring bells (often very different from those in the Cathedral) in an amazing variety of English towers and to spend time with English ringers.

 

For those who continued ringing after NCS (or returned to it later), Whitechapel opened a world of continuing worldwide and lifelong friendships. Anne Samuel '94 found that "learning how to ring tower bells gave me an instant and ongoing international family. When I studied abroad, I rang with a group in Cardiff, Wales, and still have friends from that time." Vanessa Countryman '96 had a similar experience when in graduate school at Oxford. Kathleen Barker '09 likes "having something specific to come back to on the Close. ... Whitechapel Guild definitely strengthened my relationship to the Cathedral (as well as to NCS) which now being away from D.C. is important to me." Like other Whitechapel alumnae, Elizabeth "Liz" Banks '05 still loves ringing before the service of Lessons and Carols, when alumnae come back and ring with current Whitechapel Guild members.

 

Like the Cathedral, NCS has many traditions. Thanks to the Whitechapel Guild, making the unique, joyous, and loud Cathedral music that is change ringing is a long-standing and still active tradition and one that I hope will continue to be there for girls for many years to come.