Marple Delight Minor

About Marple Delight Minor

Marple Delight is a member of the group of methods having 2nds place Norwich Surprise (a.k.a. Westminster) above the treble, but with 4ths place being the pivot bell, the leads are presented in Little Bob sequence.

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

• Cheviot Treble Bob
• Marple Delight (Ibid)
• Braintree Delight
• Abbeyville Delight

At of June 2025 Bellboard had just 5 performances that included Marple Delight.

Method Structure.

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

Grid:

Diagram: Marple 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 Marple Delight Minor.

Learning Marple Delight Minor.

The Rules

Assuming that Oxford Treble Bob has already been learned:

Marple Delight Minor - the rules
Ring Oxford Treble Bob with three variations:
At the 2-3 cross-section, 4ths place is made
At the Lead End 2nds place is made.

Marple Delight Minor - alternative rules
Ring Westminster Surprise above the treble and Cheviot Treble Bob below the treble..

The Structure

Familiarity with the grid is very valuable owing to the separation between the pair in 1-2 versus the other 4 bells. Use of the grid is helped enormously by an ability to see the position of treble.

Double Blue Lines

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

The Double Place Bell sequences are identical with Little Bob Minor.

Marple Delight Minor, 1-2

Diagram: Marple Delight Minor, 1-2.

Marple Delight Minor, 3-4

Diagram: Marple Delight Minor, 3-4.

Marple Delight Minor, 5-6

Diagram: Marple Delight Minor, 5-6.

Artefacts

The Blue Line features worth noting are:

Place Notation and Grid

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

Pictels

Section by Section

(To follow once more practise has been achieved).

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

Awareness of the position of the treble is useful as a structured counting technique. The seven-pull dodge is counted as: Section, cross-section, section, Lead End, section, cross-section, section.

Positional Awareness

Place Notation Elements

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

Place Bells, Pivot Leads, and Handrail

164523 LE 12: Little Bob; Duke of Norfolk T.B., Bourne Surprise

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

5ths place bell is the pivot bell, see notes above.

Awareness of other bells

The 7 pull dodging will be seen as a handrail, but take care over up versus down. Use Structured Counting as an extra way of knowing when to stop dodging.

Coursing Order in Marple Delight Minor

Natural Coursing Order is preserved by the “Norwich above” nature of the work above the treble. Natural Coursing Order is well supported below the treble, particularly at the Half Lead, indeed the arrangement of the bells at the half lead is pure natural coursing order.

Ringing the Method

Just enjoy it, it’s easier than expected, especially if you have rung Kent, Oxford and Norwich.

Bobs and Singles.

Bobs replace the 2nds place at the Lead End with 4ths as per Plain Bob.

Touches of Marple Delight Minor.

Use Bobs only touches of Little Bob Minor.