St Mary the Virgin
Sunday, 7 March 1819 in 5h 50 (14–1–13 in F♯)
10080 Plain Bob Major
1 John Reeve
2 Joseph Howard (C)
3 John Baker
4 James Carter
5 Robert Thornback
6 Robert Lowe
7 Thomas Harris
8 James Rowland
There are no contemporary reports of this peal, but it is mentioned in the Essex Newsman of Sat. 4 May 1872:
DEATH OF A VETERAN BELL RINGER.—We have to record the death of Robt. Carter, Lowe, [sic] of Writtle, Essex, who died on Friday, April 26th, aged 83 years. The deceased was the last surviving of the eight ringers who rang the quarter peal of Bob Major, consisting of 10,080 changes, which was rung on the eight bells of Saint Mary's church, in the parish of Great Baddow, on the 7th of March, 1819, in five hours and fifty minutes, and was at that time the masterpiece of the art of campanology ever performed in the county.
Subsequent reports in the Essex Herald of Tues. 7 May 1872 and Chelmsford Chronicle of Fri. 10 May 1872 went on to say: ‘The following were the ringers:—John Reeve, 1st; Joseph Howard, 2nd; John Baker, 3rd; James Carter, 4th; Robert Thornback, 5th; Robert Lowe, 6th; Thomas Harris, 7th; and James Rowland, 8th. The tenor weighed 13 cwt. The peal was called by Joseph Howard'
These newspaper extracts were kindly provided by John Eisel.
RW 1916.0116 carries the same information (with minor spelling discrepancies), but no named ringer on the seventh. The peal is described as a 'quarter', the view taken by the ringers evidently being that a whole peal of Major was 40,320.