The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-20
OLD CHURCH BELLS.
How and Where They Were Made Many
Years Ago.
Corr. of the London Times

Although the Oldest English founders
very rarely dated their bells, u few in
stances exist to the contrary. Lancashire
possesses q dated thirteenth century bell,
and Lincolnshire one dated 1928. A Sus-
sex church has, or had, q bell by Low
Country founder, dated 1869. The me-
dieval English founders turned out such
fine Tells that there was small temptation
to employ foreigners. In Scotland for
eign work is less uncommon. A few
bells of Mechlin founder have been
found In England, and one of these, hung
IN IL bell cot on the roof of tiny seaside
church in Cover, misled a popular author
into supposing that foreign foundry
had existed in that secluded corner OF
Glamorganshire.
The last forty years have witnessed the
rise of an antiquarian hobby which con-
Germs itself with church bells, and more
especially the few medieval bells which
still hang in church towers, or lie cracked
on belfry floors. The ancient founders
cast very hne-toned bells and adorned
them with deliberately nodded inscrip-
uons and devices. But, though our
churches have been noted and described
IN numberless publications the bells till
quite lately received little notice, and
were too often neglected in every sense OF
the word. The compiler of one of the
latest accounts of the church bells of q
county records that belfry keys were con-
stantly handed to him with the friendly
caution, I'm afraid you will find
great mess up there. but, to tell you the
truth, have never been up myself
The medieval bells usually bear in
soriptions, very commonly in rhyming
leonlne hexameters, pious invocations, or
slaves in honor of their supposed benef-
cent powers. The Oldest founders rarely
put on the bells their own names or the
dates; but most of them have been iden-
titled by the foundry stamps and other
devices with which they ornamented
their works. Large bells were introduced
in England about the sixth century, the
earliest founder being monastic. Dun
stan concerned himself with bell found
ing. The Croyland Abbey ring, cast by
monklsh experts, persisted by fire in 1897.
A manuscript in the library of Corpus
Christi College, Cam bridge contains di-
rections for bell founding, by monk OF
Evesham in the time of Henry III. The
modern art of "change-ringing, which
took it's rise in the seventeenth century,
led to rings of eight and even twelve bells
being hung In some towers but in very
early times cathedral and abbey churches
often had rings of heavy bells, and some
of the Oldest surviving parish churches,
such as Brigstock and Brixworth in
Northamptonshire. and Bene't church in
Cambridge, were evidently designed to
hold several bells. Change-ringing some
what tended to rescue the bells from the
neglect and disesteem into which they
had fallen after the Reformation, but it
also led to the disappearance of many me-
dieval bells. as ancient heavy bells were
recast into smaller ones of larger number.
Moreover, the Oldest bells, being "long-
wasted" in shape, were for that reason
frequently made TO give place to shorter
ones, which the ringers deemed easier to
raise.
FEW OLD BELLS SURVIVE.
The medieval bells now surviving are
comparatively few in number. In Sur
rey, out of 1 ,030 bells, only trife over 2
per cent, were found to date before the
year 1900. In Lincolnshire the proportion
was 17.5 per cent. In Norfolk about one
bell in six dates before the reign of Queen
Elizabeth.
Norwich, Salisbury, Reading and
Nottingham hard by, Gloucester, and
other English places had bell foundries
in the Middle Ages. London from early
times was the home of long series of
founders, belyetters, and potters, as fhe
bellmakers were variously styled. Bill
ter street in the city owes its name to
them. Nearly all the London bells per-
ished in the Great Fire of 1866, but the
fine church of ST. Bartholomew, Smith
field, still possesses ring of five, adorned
with sanity invJcations and tho devic Q
of Thomas Bullisdon, who was casting
bells in London about the year 1900.