A collector extraordinaire!

Ian Hayes is probably the first to admit he’s a bit of a hoarder, not too keen on throwing anything away - it could come in useful after all . . . 

That’s why he’s ended up with an astonishing collection of around 800 handbells, ranging from a set of rare Chinese models some 2,000 years old, to one of the largest sets of American Deagon tap bells in the world. And when it comes to mechanical music, there are just as many incredible finds in his Okehampton home, from an antique symphonium to horn gramophones and phonographs - even an instrument that allegedly once belonged to one of the Brink’s-Mat bullion robbers! 

Ian, originally a motor mechanic from the London area, first became interested in handbells when he lived at Mells, near Frome in Somerset. 

Having volunteered to wind the local church clock every day, he became involved in a new tower band and decided to branch out into handbells after being invited to attend a ringing rally by a friend. 

‘I thought it was brilliant!’ said Ian. ‘I acquired a set of handbells and started a town ringing group - Mells Bells.’ 

Inspired by his new hobby, he began doing work for the famous Whitechapel Foundry, casting bronze bells and learning how to tune them. The more he learned about handbell ringing history, the greater his collection grew, as he purchased bells from all over the world. 

‘The Chinese ones came from the Zhong Dynasty - unbelievably they are more sophisticated than the bells we have today, which basically have one note,’ Ian explained. ‘My Chinese ones are so elaborate you can actually strike them in two different places and get two different notes.’ 

Ian owns sets of bells originating from Switzerland, Holland, America - even Pakistan - and his knowledge on his subject is positively encyclopaedic. 

He also has piles of handbell music books, comprising pages and pages of spidery ink copperplate handwriting, dating back to the mid 19th century. 

‘They were all written by hand in those days,’ explained Ian, who has exhibited his bell collection all over the country. 

Having moved to Okehampton in 1988, Ian set up a handbell ringing group in the town which has been running ever since. Two members, John and Jane Willis, became so enthused by their hobby they were recently awarded British Empire Medals in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to handbell ringing. 

Recently, Ian has diversified musically, starting a new group called Pan-Tastic. 

Ian said: ‘I’ve always been interested in steel bands - they were started in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1960s. There were lots of old oil drums around after the war and they found by carefully shaping them they could get 19 or more notes from the top of each drum pan.

‘I bought an old set, had them re-tuned and my partner and I played them at a handbell event. It went so well I wanted to start a larger group - I’ve now bought more pans and we are looking for more people to join. We rehearse in the Table Tennis Club in Castle Road every Monday - it would be lovely to see some new faces!’ 

While he loves to make music, his feels his talents veer more to the practical - in repairing, restoring and tuning. Having worked as a mechanical and marine engineer - he was involved in the ill-fated Spirit of Teignmouth boat project - it shouldn’t have been a surprise to hear that he also collects old motor homes, saving them from dereliction and re-building them - he has six so far! 

Ian said he has learned a huge amount thanks to his handbell hobby - more than that, he has got to know so many fellow enthusiasts. 

‘I’ve made friends all over the country, which is quite wonderful,’ he said. 

Anyone interested in joining Pan-Tastic or The All Fours handbell group should call Ian Hayes on 07810 301155.  

Jane Honey