Dating back to that infamous flower pot in the hose reel the dream of the Midways Campanile has always been to peal these interesting and challenging bells. With the superb re-hang initiated by Steve Hough in 2002 this prospect began to look far more likely.

The main difficulty encountered in this however was managing to get a band who would be willing (mad enough) to attempt a peal on them! After the best part of 18 months of trying to get a band a date was eventually fixed for 5th September.

Unfortunately this attempt came to a rather premature end due to 7/8’s of the band (guess who the 1/8 was...) not having the confidence that the two was striking at every stroke despite the fact that it most definitely was, quietly I grant you, but striking nonetheless. So it was that after numerous quotations and offered interpretations of the Central Council’s rule “For peals, all bells must be audible outside the tower...” (Midways are in another league to the Central Council…) the peal was abandoned.

However, true to form, Hough bell-hanging promptly had the offending bell out of the tower and an entire replacement bell was hung not just for the 2nd but also for the “ash-tray” 3rd with 24 hours for a Quarter Peal to be scored the following evening.

And so a final date was set for 27th September. With the weather getting colder and the nights drawing in our window of opportunity was tight. If the peal were to be scored within the next six months it had to be that night.

And so it was at 19:21 that we embarked upon the great peal of our age, the elusive Midways Peal! The first part of Mr Smith’s fine composition passed without great catastrophe and the sound of the mighty back bells of Midways was to be enormously enjoyed, churning out roll-up, after roll-up, after roll-up! Towards the part end however a faint clicking sound began to develop from the tenor at every backstroke. Inevitably this clicking became louder and louder over the next few leads until it was a full out thump which most of the band could feel through their own ropes every time the tenor turned. It was at this time (realising that the peal was doomed) that the conductor asked for everyone to have great faith in the bells, as “miracles can happen!” And miraculous it was, for only two leads later the thumping stopped, and what was left sounded like glorious silence. We all knew that if this peal was ever to be scored it would have to be a miracle anyway, so then realising that we had just witnessed one illustrated that this peal was no longer a question of luck, but a matter of destiny. This was to be the time that the bells of Midways would succeed, the night that miracles would be born...

As the peal progressed, the tenor went through many more phases similar to that experienced in the first part not least the one which occurred in the very last course in which the sound was worse than ever. Despite this however, Stuart J Heath of Portsmouth Cathedral, displayed undoubtedly what was the greatest piece of tenor ringing ever accomplished. As the tenor became increasing difficult to ring, Stuart battled on valiantly towards the finish, never once did he lose faith in that prestigious bell that is Midways tenor! It was agreed by the band that it was an outstanding performance and in my opinion should be the pinnacle achievement of his tenor ringing career.

It is at this point that I’d like to thank the rest of the band for their perseverance in scoring this peal and their commitment to “stretching” the boundaries of ringing. Without seven other ringers this peal could never have happened.

From her origins in June of 1999 the Midways Campanile has existed in many wide and varying forms. On September 27th 2004 at 21:34 BST the sound of the great bells of Midways echoed over the rooftops of Stubbington as they cascaded into immaculate rounds, a perfect ending for a peal that can only be described as legendary.

And so concluded what is to be the one and only peal at Midways for they have accomplished what they set out to achieve. That moment marked the ending of a 5 year quest for these fine bells, and it was, by far, Midways’ finest hour.

By Norman Smith

In 2 Hours 13 Minutes (8.5 oz)

                                                  1 Ian Hopkins

                                                  2 Ian J Carey

                                                  3 Stephen N Hough

                                                  4 Sarah A Carey

                                                  5 D Annabel Preston

                                                  6 Peter W J Sheppard

                                                  7 Benjamin J Carey

                                                  8 Stuart J Heath

     Conducted by Benjamin J Carey