The Soham ‘Queen Caroline’ Peal Board
By “Oddstruck”

Click image to enlarge.

Peals today are rung for all sorts of different reasons: birthdays, anniversaries and national celebrations to name but a few. In the early days of peal ringing, however, they seem to have been mainly rung for the achievement of ringing a peal. An exception however is the “ Queen Caroline” peal board at Soham. 

Soham is a small market town in the northeast corner of the Cambridgeshire fens. It has an impressive Norman church with a late 15th century tower, and a ring of ten bells. For many years they could be described as ‘challenging’ though recent work has improved them considerably. Tonally they are an old-style ring, not to everyone’s taste but when rung well they can be rewarding.

The bells date back to the late 18th century. At the Easter Vestry meeting in 1783 the '' principal inhabitants of the parish of Soham '' agreed and ordered that the bells be recast and sufficient quantity of new metal be added to make a peal of 8 bells. The project however, seems to have fallen through for a time, for on Easter Monday, March 24th 1788, the matter was again bought forward and the following resolution passed: '' Whereas, at the general Vestry meeting of the principal inhabitants of the parish of Soham, the present bad state of the bells has been taken into consideration, the Tenor being split, and the other bells of so bad a tone that it is the opinion of Mr Osborn, bell founder, the work cannot be well completed without recasting them”. Six bells were cast at Osborn’s Downham Market Foundry.  They were opened on October 8th 1788, by  “a Society of gentlemen of Ely and Soham, with a Peal of Oxford Treble, Court, and Plain Bob, consisting of 720 Changes each”

In 1790, the parishioners having agreed ''that the [six] bells are very good ones and give general satisfaction;'' two more bells were ordered. They were opened on Thursday, the 9th September 1790 and on October 25th 1790 the first peal was rung: Oxford Treble Bob Major, by the Society of Soham Youths, in 3 hours and 33 minutes. This was the first in a series of peals and they are no mean achievement for a small country town. The peal is recorded on the first of a series of impressive peal boards. Perhaps the most intriguing  is the one from 1820, which was rung ‘In honour of the Queen’s Acquittal’. An asterisk refers to a note (possibly added later) at the bottom of the board, which says “Queen Caroline from the Bill of Pains and Penalties’. But what exactly was this? Who was Queen Caroline and of what was she accused?

Queen Caroline was born in 1768 in Brunswick. Her uncle was George III of England. She had a strict and sheltered upbringing, but by her mid twenties she had a reputation as a flirt and lacked tact and discretion. She was also still unmarried, which was unusual for a lady of her status. In 1795 a marriage was arranged with Prince George, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George III and therefore her first cousin.

Prince George had been in conflict with his father since early adulthood. He also had been strictly brought up but had rebelled, having numerous love affairs and gambling and drinking liberally. He also made friends among his father’s political opponents, the Whigs and secretly ‘married’ a Catholic widow, Maria Fitzherbert. Although this contravened both the Royal Marriage Act, which forbade marriage to a Catholic and the Act of Settlement, which required the Monarchs permission, it was probably legal from a church perspective. Finally, his extravagant lifestyle forced him into ‘marriage’ with Caroline – not only would his debts be paid off but he would receive an increased allowance.

Unfortunately the marriage was a disaster. They detested each other on sight (Caroline’s poor personal hygiene certainly did nothing to endear her to the fastidious George) and George was reportedly drunk on his wedding night. Despite this, they had a daughter- Charlotte –nine months later but by then they were living separate lives. Both almost certainly subsequently had affairs, and Caroline spent much of her time abroad. Princess Charlotte’s death in childbirth in 1817 was difficult for Caroline, as increased pressure to produce a royal heir made it difficult for all the royal family, but the real problems did not start until George III’s death in 1820. As Prince George was now King it was possible Caroline would return to England to claim her rights as queen consort. This was totally unacceptable to George. He and his supporters insisted that Caroline was unfit to sit on the throne because she had committed adultery. Never mind that George himself had kept a string of mistresses throughout his marriage. He had her name removed from the Liturgy of the Church of England and tried to find a way to end the marriage. Since an ecclesiastical divorce would leave George open to the scandal of his secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert, his only option was to obtain a divorce through a private bill in parliament. Caroline returned to England, and, largely due to George’s unpopularity, found that public sympathy was on her side.

Somewhat reluctantly, the Government introduced the ‘Bill of Pains and Penalties’ in the House of Lords, which would deprive Caroline of the title Queen and declare the marriage "for ever wholly dissolved, annulled and made void". The Whigs opposed the measure and there were public demonstrations against the new king. Debate lasted more than three months and was, in effect, the public trial of Queen Caroline. Witnesses against the queen were presented by the government and cross-examined by her legal advisers. The proceedings were covered closely by the newspapers, and Caroline herself attended almost every day. Surprisingly for a traditionally conservative paper, The Times staunchly defended her, also increasing publicity and public support. They did not necessarily presume her to be innocent: as George was well-known for his philandering ways, it was considered she was justified in doing the same. When the House of Lords approved the third reading of the Bill by the narrow margin of 9 votes on 10th November, the bill was withdrawn. Lord Liverpool, for the Government, said that ‘he could not be ignorant as to the state of Public Feeling with regard to this measure’, and it would not be sent to the House of Commons.

There was widespread public rejoicing as the news quickly spread. The Times reported “The most lively enthusiasm…….by the inhabitants [of Dover] on the arrival of the coaches from London bringing the result of the proceedings…….joy beamed in every countenance.”  Bells were rung in Windsor, Southampton and Winchester, and the bells of St Thomas, Portsmouth, were reported to have been rung for most of Saturday Nov 11th; flags were displayed, towns ‘illuminated’ and fireworks and bonfires lit. Bristol, Monmouth and Abergavenny also celebrated the news, mostly spread by the passengers on the Stage coaches and confirmed later by the Mail and newspapers. Soham would have received the news in similar fashion, and on November 16th the Soham Youths rang their celebratory peal, Oxford TB Royal. (In 1808 the 2 existing trebles had been re-cast and two new bells added by John Briant of Hertford) This was the first peal on the 10 bells.

Caroline’s triumph was short-lived. She was barred from the coronation but attempted to gain entrance anyway, making quite a spectacle of herself. She fell ill and died in August 1821, a sad end to a controversial life.

 George IV reigned until 1830, when he was succeeded by his brother, William. As he was also childless, the only child of his youngest brother the Duke of Kent followed him to the throne: Princess Alexandrina, better known to history as Queen Victoria.

The Soham Youths rang two more peals: New Treble Bob Royal in 1821, and Grandsire Caters in 1830. Subsequently the band seems have declined, for JW Snowdon, writing in Church Bells in 1876, reports  “no ringers at Soham worthy to occupy the places of these proficents” and it seems the bells were seldom rung. Local ringers were sparse throughout the 20th century, but now a new band has been formed and is making good progress, so perhaps the 21st century will see another peal by the ‘Soham Youths’

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Here is some additional information I was sent by a fellow bell ringer:

1. Extract from the peal book of the Union Society of Newport, Isle of Wight, quoted in Bell News 10 September 1910:

October 8th 1788, the new peal of six bells at Soham, in
Cambridgeshire, was opened by a Society of gentlemen of Ely and Soham, with a Peal of Oxford Treble, Court, and Plain Bob, consisting of 720 Changes each

2. Report from the Norfolk Chronicle Sat. 4 September 1790
(advertisement), quoted in Ringing World 2 February 1990:

"RINGING, A New peal of EIGHT BELLS, in the key of E, is now completed at SOHAM, in CAMBRIDGESHIRE, by Thomas Osborn, Bell Founder at Downham, in Norfolk; and will be opened on Thursday, the 9th of this instant September; when the company of Gentlemen Ringers will be esteemed a favour, By their humble Servant,
JOHN REDGRAVE,
At the Crown Inn, at Soham".

Sources and Acknowledgements
E Morris, History and Art of Change Ringing 1931
Chris Pickford for providing additional information on the opening of the bells via Bell Historians
The Times, November 1820.