The Instrument
English
or American?
In the UK, there is a distinction between "American Handbells" and "English handbells," where bells of the latter type specify a handbell with leather clapper heads and handles, like those of Whitechapel bells. American handbells, however, use modern materials, such as rubber or plastic for handles and clappers. Malmark and Schulmerich handbells fall into this category. However, keep in mind this distinction does not exist in the United States, where we call all of these handbells "English" handbells, and that's how we get AGEHR (American Guild of English Handbell Ringers). Of course, one may ask "From where did these instruments come?"
Tower Bells
Most English villages In the 1600's had a church. That church, if it was well funded, had a bell. The bell, when rung, could be heard for quite a distance across the countryside. If your town were a bit richer, it might have two, three, or more bells. As a way of showing off the affluence of the town, the people of the village would get together and ring all of these bells in different orders. This is called change ringing. One bell may only be run one way, and two bells, two ways: 1-2 and 2-1. Three bells can be rung 6 different ways: 1-2-3, 1-3-2, etc. Six bells can be rung in 720 distinct orders. To ring all the combinations, called an extent, on six bells, should take about 30 minutes. But to ring an extent on 8 bells may take 23 hours (40,320 distinct orders). An extent on 12 bells would take 30 years. Since different churches have different numbers of bells, we don't talk about extents, but peals. A peal is what you'd get ringing an extent on 7 bells, or 5040 changes, which takes several hours. The poor townsfolk would be left with their ears ringing if a peal were practiced every day.
Change ringing in a tower is a cold and drafty business. Handbells were used to practice change ringing. With the creation of handbells came another benefit. You can "damp" the bell to stop the ringing, making it easier to hear a melody, without the notes all running together.
From Tower to Table
Handbells are light enough to carry around, and don't make nearly as much noise. This means that you could use one hand to ring a bell, and the other to hold your pint down at the local pub.
In the 1700's ringers began to ring familiar melodies on their bells, with each person playing two bells at the same time. Often, only one bell could be rung at a time because of the poor sound quality. Shortly thereafter, more notes were required than the typical 7 or 8 of a bell tower. Not many tunes could be rung with just 8 bells. Sharps and Flats were added, and then higher and lower notes.
Handbell competitions were held in Belle Vue Gardens in Manchester, England, from 1855 to 1925, with up to 200 bells being played at one competition. However, this era ended with World War 1 and the invention of the radio. Interest in handbells declined until the later 1900's, when it gradually became popular again.
Bells in the United States
In the United States, our handbell legacy begins with Phineas Taylor Barnum, the renowned showman of the greatest show on earth, better known as P.T. Barnum. While in Liverpool in 1850, he saw a five person handbell ensemble, or team, as they're known in Britain, who called themselves the Lancashire Ringers. He brought them over to the United States for his show where they toured for ten years, renamed the Swiss Bell Ringers, before returning to England. For decades, handbells were just a novelty, until Margaret Schurcliff began introducing handbells to people around Boston, Massachusetts.
Modern handbell ringing in the United States is attributed to Margaret Schurcliff who began ringing carols on Beacon Hill in Boston in the 1920's. She had received her bells as a gift from the Whitechapel foundry in England, after becoming the first American woman to ring a complete peal on tower bells in England, as well as two peals on handbells in 1902. She introduced numerous people to handbell ringing, began the first community group in Boston, and started the tradition of playing carols on Beacon Hill on Christmas Eve. In 1937, she formed the New England Guild of English Handbells, later to become the American Guild of English Handbells. In 1954 the first handbell festival took place on May 24th.