FRANCIS GENIUS Delight Minor

About FRANCIS GENIUS Delight Minor

FRANCIS GENIUS Delight Minor has the fluid hunting work above the treble of the Chadkirk Group, while retaining a comfortable 2nds place Lead End. Below the treble the method has 3rds place as the treble crosses 4-5 in each direction together with a 4 bell hunting box below the treble for the 5-6 section. However, the Half Lead is full plain hunting, 1-6, as per the Cambridge Surprise group methods Norfolk and Ipswich.

3rds place bell is the pivot bell and with the 2nds place lead end, the calling sequence for 6ths observation is as per Double Bob / Cambridge Surprise.

Francis Genius Delight Minor is one of a group of 6 Treble Dodging methods all having identical work below the treble.

• FRANCIS GENIUS Delight Minor(Ibid)
• CAMBRIDGE Delight Minor
• IPSWICH Surprise Minor
• NORFOLK Surprise Minor
• Northumberland Surprise Minor
• Whitley Surprise Minor

In June 2025 Bellboard had just 6 performances that included FRANCIS GENIUS Delight Minor.

Method Structure.

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

Grid:

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

Plain Course structure
This is a highly fluid method both above and below the treble. With 3rds Place Bell as the pivot bell, and a 2nds place Lead End, the leads are presented in Double Bob sequence.

Goals and learning approach

What you are trying to achieve needs to drive your approach.
Francis Genius is Chadkirk Treble Bob
above the treble, and can be approached as a variation of Chadkirk, See rules.

Ringing by structure

DO NOT learn the lines, learn the structure, ring, make mistakes and learn from them. Track-the Treble skills, Place Notation skills, coursing order skills can all be developed in this manner

Performance Level

If you are wishing to achieve 720s, Quarters, or peals:
start with the structural ringing as above, add in the bits that are natural to you.
Study 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 Francis Genius but don't dismiss it out of hand.

Learning Francis Genius Delight Minor.

The Structure

The 1-2 Section is Chadkirk Treble Bob (X 36 X 16).
After the standard 3-4 section, the 4-5 cross-sections are 3-6. The 3rds causes the bells in 1-2 to dodge.

The Rules

Francis Genius Delight Minor - the rules
Ring Chadkirk Treble Bob Minor
except:
At the 2-3 sections, 3rds place is made (causing a dodge in 1-2), and the Half Lead is 1-6 (Plain Hunting).

Supplementary Rules based on Oxford TB

Ring the maximum amount of Forward Plain Hunting commensurate with a 3rds place delight method. Ring a seconds place lead end.

Double Blue Lines

Francis Genius Delight Minor, 1-2

Diagram: Francis Genius Delight Minor, 1-2.

Francis Genius Delight Minor, 3-4

Diagram: Francis Genius Delight Minor, 3-4.

Francis Genius Delight Minor, 5-6

Diagram: Francis Genius Delight Minor, 5-6.

Artefacts

Place Notation and Grid

The pictorial grid emphasises the structure of the method better than the Place Notation.

Pictels

As with Oxford Treble Bob Minor, the rules are a good approach to the method, and splitting into individual elements is of no value.

Ringing Francis Genius Delight Minor.

Track the treble

Awareness of the position of the treble is a key skill for most bellringing methods, and is the major key to ringing Francis Genius Delight Minor. Some hints and tips for developing the skill are given in the techniques section.

Positional Awareness

Good positional awareness is necessary as the bells "fly around"..

Place Notation Elements

The method only contains 5 elements (X, 12, 16, 36).

Place Bells, Pivot Leads, and 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

The pivot bell (4) makes 5ths the half lead. For 3-4 pair, the pivot point is when they meet and cross in 2-3 at the Half Lead. For 5-6 pair, the pivot point is when they meet and cross in 4-5 at the Half Lead.

Handrails
There are no handrails.

Awareness of other bells

Most ringers on encountering Francis Genius Delight Minor will find it quite straightforward to ring owing to the simple structure below the treble.

Coursing Order in Francis Genius Delight Minor

Francis Genius Delight Minor exhibits glimpses of natural coursing order. Experienced ringers will pick out the parts that are valuable to them, others should concentrate on features that are more helpful

Ringing the Method

Francis Genius Delight Minor makes excellent use of the skill of following the treble in combination with the structural variation on Cambridge S.

Bobs and Singles.

Bobs replace the 2nds place at the Lead End with 4ths. This causes the bell that has just made 3rds to make the bob, make thirds once more.

Singles Singles are rarely used in Francis Genius Delight Minor.

Touches of Francis Genius Delight Minor.

Wilmslow Delight Minor has the same lead-end order as Double Bob Minor, use bobs-only touches of Double Bob.
600: WWWHHH; 720: WHW WHW WHW.