The Church of

BY

F. H. Cheetham

File – 03: Part III The Hundred of Blackburn

This document is provided for you by The Whiting Society of Ringers visit www.whitingsociety.org.uk for the full range of publications and articles about bells and THE CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

BY F. H. CHEETHAM.

PART III. FOREWORD. HAD hoped in this volume of the Transactions to I include both the hundreds of Blackburn and Amounderness, but owing to the disorders and exigencies of war time I have been able to complete only half of my task. The hundred of Amounderness is, therefore, left over for the present, but I hope it will be ready for next year's volume. My thanks are again due to all who have assisted me in this further instalment of the catalogue of bells in the older churches of the county, and especially to those incumbents who have so readily afforded me access to the bells under their charge; to the minister and deacons of Lower Chapel, Darwen, for permitting me to inspect the there; and to Mrs. Baxter, of Stanley Grange, Hoghton, for permission to inspect the old bells from Samlesbury, now in her possession. My thanks are also due to the Rev. H. J. Elsee, M.A., for help in proof reading; to Messrs. Mears & Stainbank, of Whitechapel, and Messrs. John Taylor & Co., of Loughhorough, for information regarding hells cast hy them; and to Mr. H. B. Walters, M.A., F.S.A., who, as before, has helped me in many ways, and has been good enough also to read over the proofs. B 2 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE

It is, perhaps, as well to repeat what was stated in the original Foreword (Part I.), "The inscriptions have in all cases been copied from the bells themselves," never merely from printed sources. It is my endeavour to provide in these lists an authoritative account of the bells of the county. A recent writer (1917), in dealing with the bells of some of the churches of West Derby, Leyland, and Amounderness hundreds, has unfortunately repeated many of th e errors of th e former transcribers, having in most cases taken the inscriptions from the older publications. F. H. C.

THE HUNDRED OF BLACKBURN. The hundred of Blackburn comprises the ancient parishes of Blackburn, Whalley, Chipping, and Rib­ chester, and lies wholly within the diocese of Manchester. Blackburn and Whalley form part of the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and Ribchester and Chipping, which lie north of th e Rib ble, are included in the archdeaconry of Lancaster. There were one hundred and twenty-two modern parishes within th e Blackburn hundred in 1915.* The ancient parish of Whalley was of great extent, comprising no less than 106,395 acres (I66t square miles), of which a small part was in Yorkshire. The parish church being situated close to the western boundary of thi s vast tr act, it is not surprising that

------._--.- _._-- -_ . - _..__.- • Part of the parish of Mitton is in the hundred of Blackburn, but the church is in th e West Riding of Yorkshire, and th ere is no chapel of ancient foundation in the Lancashire portion of the ancient parish. Hurst Green Church dates only from 1838 (bell by " T homas Mears, Founder, London, 1841." 25~in. diam.] and is in the diocese of Ri pon. On the other hand, the an cient chapel of Whitewell, in York sh ire, is in the Manchester diocese and archdeaconry of Blackburn. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 3

a number of chapels soon came into existence, and others were founded from time to time down to the reign of Henry VIII. These pre-Reformation chapels were Accrington, Altham, Burnley, Chatburn, Church, Clitheroe, Colne, Downham, , Holme, Little Marsden, Newchurch - in - Pendle, Newchurch - in - Ros­ send ale, and . Langho was founded in the sixteenth century, sometime before 1557, but probably after the Dissolution. dates from 1540. In Blackburn parish the pre-Reformation chapels were Great Harwood, Samlesbury, Tockholes, and Walton-le­ Dale. Darwen existed in the sixteenth century, but was probably founded after the Dissolution, and Balderston is of uncertain date, though probably sixteenth century. In Ribchester parish were the chapels of Longridge and Stidd, but Chipping- had, and still has, only its parish church. As regards the inventory of 1552 in this hundred, only the indentures of Blackburn parish have been preserved, consequently the number of bells in the other parishes at this date, except in a few instances, is not known. There are four mediseval bells in the hundred, two at Downham, one at Longridge, and the other, formerly belonging to Samlesbury, in private possession. The Long-ridge bell is of fourteenth century date, and those at Downham are by a fifteenth century founder, perhaps J ohn Walgrave. The old Samlesbury bell I have, as yet, not been able to examine. The only sixteenth century bell in the hundred is the priest's bell at Whalley, cast by Peter van den Ghein, of Louvain, in r537. Th ere are two seventeenth century bells, both dated 1633, and from the Cliburys' foundry at Wellington, Shropshire. One of these is at Tockholes and the other 4 CHURCH BEI.LS OF LANCASHIRE. at the modern church of . The history of this latter is somewhat' obscure. Itwas formerly at Church, near Accrington, and appears to have belonged there originally. The later discarded bell from Samlesbury Church, also in private possession, is undated, but belongs to the class B known as \v . bells, which were apparently the work of a founder, R. B., at a place with a name in w. These bells 'occur in different parts of the kingdom, but so far nobody has succeeded in tracing their origin. The date of this particular example is probably about the end of the seventeenth century. The bell at Lower Chapel, Darwen, is apparently a recasting of one of the same type, and preserves part of the original lettering. The number of eighteenth century bells yet remaining in the hundred is disappointingly small, being in all only twenty-one, made up of three. rings of six-Blackburn, Chipping, and Walton-Ie-Dale-and three single bells. The oldest of these is the bell at (St. John'S), which was cast in 1717 by Samuel Smith, of York. It is more than half a century older than the first chapel at Bacup, so must have been cast for some other place. Next in order of date are the six old bells at Blackburn Parish Church, cast as a ring in 1737 by Abel Rudhall, Gloucester, the tenor recast in 1747. These are the only Rudhall bells I have come across in Blackburn hundred, and are, indeed, the only ones in this part of the county given in the "C :~talogue of Bells cast by the Rudhalls" printed in Ellacombe's Church Bells of Gloucesiershire. The old bell at Holme-in-Cliviger was cast in 1747 by Edward Seller, of York, and Seller also cast a ring of six for Whalley Parish Church in 1741, but these have since been recast. The single bell at Langho is by Luke Ashton of Wigan, 1756, and at Walton-le-Dale is the CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 5 earliest cast for Lancashire at the Whitechapel foundry. Four of these are dated 1760 and one 1761, the style of the firm being t~en Lester & Pack. The tenor, by Pack & Chapman, is dated 1780. The ring of six at Chipping was cast at Whitechapel in 1793 by Thomas Mears I. The more modern work of the Whitechapel foundry is represented in fifteen of the older churches by seventy­ five bells. In alphabetical order they are as follows: Accrington (six), Balderston (one), Blackburn (four), Blackburn, St. Paul (one), Burnley (eight), Chatburn (one), Clitheroe (eight), Colne (eight), Great Harwood (one), Haslingden (eight), Newchurch-in-Pendle (one), Newchurch-in-Rossendale (eight), Padiham (eight), Rib­ chester (six), and Whalley (six). The earliest of these bells are seven of the old ring at Burnley by Thomas Mears I., 1802, and the latest the ring at Padiham, by Mears & Stainbank, 1901. Messrs. John Taylor & Co., of Loughborough, cast two bells for Downham in 1881, a ring of eight for Samlesbury in r899, and a bell for Balderston in 1907. The bell at St. John's, Blackburn, is by William Dobson, of Downham, Norfolk; that at Altham by John Warner & Sons, London : and at Church, near Accrington, is a ring of six by W. Blews & Sons, Birmingham. The single bell at Little Marsden was cast by W. Roberts & Co., Nelson. At St. James', Darwen, the bell is blank. At Holme-in-Cliviger is a set of eleven hemispherical bells by Mears & Stainbank, which, with the old bell, mak e up a "ring" of twelve. The firms of Mears & Stainbank, John Taylor & Co., and John Warner & Sons are, of course, responsible 6 CHURCH B E L LS OF LANCASHIRE. for a large number of bells in churches built since the year 1800. The present series of papers, as explained in the introduction, is concerned only with bells in churches founded before the end of the 'eighteenth century.

ACCRINGTON. ST. JAMES. Six bells.

1. ACCRINGTON LANCASHIRE 1805 ~ THO~ MEARS & SON OF LONDON FECIT (2 8 ~ i n. diam.) 2. The same. ( 2 9 ~ i n . diarn.) 3. The same. (31in. diam.) 4. The same, but with THOMAS instead of THOS. (jain, diam.) 5. The same as No. 4- Usin. diam.) 6. ~ ACCRINGTON LANCASHIRE 1805. THIS PEAL OF BELLS WAS PURCHASED AND THE STEEPLE BUILT BY THE

Below band in twv lines: JOINT SUBSCRIPTIONS OF THE LAND. OWNERS AND INHABITANTS OF ACCRING· TON. THE REVD. GEORGE WEARING INCUMBENT THE REVD. GEORGE PARK RESIDENT CURATE. THO~ MEARS & SON OF LONDON FECIT. (38in. diarn.)

Hung in wooden frame ill west tower. In numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5 the space after the inscription is made out with a plain lozenge border, and NO.5 has a short border of four lozenges after the date instead of the single leaf ornament as on the other bells. On the treble there is CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 7 a small leaf ornament after the date, and on the tenor a similar ornament precedes the inscription. The bells were rung for the first time on Christmas Day, 1805. The treble was given by Mr. Robert Peel, of Church Bank, and the tenor by Mrs. Peel, of Accrington House. The bells were rehung and rededicated in 1897, being rung again for the first time at Queen Victoria's Jubilee Memorial Service. The tower was restored at the same time. The weights and notes are given on a card in the ringing chamber as follows:-

Cwts . qrs . Ibs. Note. I 4 2 8 F sharp. 2 5 I 19 E. 3 6 I 8 D. 4 6 3 0 c sharp. 5 7 3 1I B. 6 9 0 23 A. ------Total . ~o 0 13

The present church was built in 1763 in place of an older chapel, the tower being added in 1805. The Rev, George Wearing was incumbent from 1804 to 1813. "Since 1887 the bells had been rung by automatic machinery, but this has not been found so satisfactory as the old arrangement. ... The ringers are voluntary, and quite recently an auxiliary set of ringers has been formed, who are learning the art under the tuition of Mr. Abraham' Scholes,":"

• Short H istory of Aarington Churcb and Parish, 1903, by the Rev . J. T. Lawrence, M.A. 1553. The Commissioners sold to the inhabitants of Accrington for the sum of £2. 6. 8. the chapel with one bell to be continued as a place' of divine worship. 8 CHURCHB ELLS OF L ANCASHIRE.

Concerning this old bell Mr. Richard Ainsworth writes : ~i "Its subsequent history is entertaining, as we find from th e wardens' accounts that the lavish expendi­ ture of threepence was incurred in repairing the with its one bell. It is no wonder that afte r this expen­ diture the belfry was unsafe to hold the bell, so it was rung from a tree in th e cha pel ya rd. Benjamin H ar­ greaves mentions th e lat er adventures of this bell, which did duty at the old Woodnook Mill. Then it was removed to Broad Oak, and he mentions how the diffi­ culties in adjusting it were overcome. The bell is now in th e poss ession of Mr. J ames Henry Hindle, but it must have been recast, as the date on it is 1798."

ALTHAM. ST. JAM E S. One bell.

1. CAST BY JOHN WARNER & SONS LONDON 1859. all waist:

PATENT. (Z7in. dia m.)

Hung in west tower in wood fram e. Metal cannons, wooden headstock. The tower was added to the church in 1859, prior to whi ch date there was a bell-cote over th e west gable cont aining one bell. The site of the church is und ermined with coal workings and some settleme nt of the buil ding has occurred, hence the idea of a , more than once entertained, has been abandoned .

1552 : One little bell, weighing 181bs., was sold by th e Com missioners for 6s.t - - - .. _ -_._ ------

•H istory and Associations of S t. j ames' Church, A tcrington, 1915. p. I I. t 1554 : E dward Parker . th e receiver. ren ders account " ·de vjs de precio sive valore unius paroule campan e pertinentis cap ella de Altham, ponderantis xviij Iibros." CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 9

BACUP. ST. JOHN. One bell.

1. BEATVS EST POPVLVS QVI EXAVDIVNT CLANGOREM 1717. (39!in. diarn.)

Hangs in wooden frame on floor of unfinished south­ west tower. By Samuel Smith, of York. The inscription is between triple bands, and the space is made out with ornament, .much weathered. The bell has four metal cannons and wooden headstock. Below the inscription band is the founder's mark twice repeated, a small shield or medallion with the initials ib ~~. Bacup Chapel was first built in 1788 and was a plain rectangular structure with wes~ bell turret. It was replaced by the present church in r883. The bell, being seventy-one years older than the first church at Bacup, must have come from elsewhere, but I have been unable to trace its original location. In his History oj Burnley Church (1856), Mr. T. T. Wilkinson says that when the present ring of eight "vas placed in the tower in r803 the four old bells were "disposed of to various parties," the first bell, which weighed 755 lbs. (6 cwt . 2 qrs. 27Ibs.), being sold to " Mr. Maden, for Backup" in January, r804, for £45. IIS. rod . (see BURNLEY). Mr. Wilkinson says these four old bells were cast by Samuel Smith, of York, in 1702, and though the name of the founder corresponds with that of the bell at St. ] ohn's Church, neither the date nor the size accords. The Burnley treble, weighing 755Ibs., would have a diameter of about 33 in., and was, therefore, a bell of much less size than that now at Bacup. The old Burnley third, which weighed ro cwt, I qr. 10Ibs., would be approximately the size of the bell at St. John's, but fO CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. this was sold to Mr. Mears. But if Wilkinson is right in his date (1702) for the Burnley bells it, of course, follows that the bell now at Bacup cannot be one of them. In 1804, the sum of ten shillings was paid the sexton for" ringing eight o'clock" at Bacup for one year (New­ bigging, Forest of Rossendale, znd ed., p. 135).

BALDERSTON. ST. LEONARD. Two bells.

1. C&G . MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1853. (rgin. diam.)

2. Peace ano 0000 Neigbboarbooo On waist: Cbe Gift of C. A. Aspoen Csq,J.P. of 5yke's fjolt in tbis Parish, Other side of waist: o 1907 (38in. diarn.)

Hung in north-west tower. The church was rebuilt in 1853-4 and the tower added in Ig06. Till the latter date the smaller bell hung on the south side of the chancel above the vestry, from which it was rung. It now hangs in the south-west corner of the tower above the larger bell and has old-fashioned cannons. It is rung daily at noon. The larger bell has the circular trade mark of JOHN TAYLOR & CO. LOUGHBOROUGH on the waist imme­ diately above the date. Below the inscription is a vine border. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. II

BLACKBURN. ST. MARY. Ten bells.

1. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1851 (25in. diam.) 2 . Tile same. (26in. diam.) 3. The same. (28in. diarn.) 4. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON .1851 On waist : JOHN TURNER HOPWOOD ESQR BARRISTER AT LAW ROCKLIFFE HOUSE BLACKBURN BORN MARCH 2ND 1829 (Coat .of-Arrns.) (join. diam.)

5· WHEN YOU US RING WE'LL SWEETLY SING (3Iin.diam.)

6. PEACE AND GOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD 1737 (33in. diam.)

7· MAY THE CHURCH OF FOR EVER FLOU RISH A. R. 1737 (36in. diam.)

8. WE WERE ALL CAST AT GLOUCESTER BY ABEL RUDHALL 1737 (38in. diam.)

g. THE REVD MR IOHN HOLME VICAR 1737 (4oin diarn.)

10. THOs MARTIN. IN ° CROSS. HEN. DREWITT. ROBERT WHITACRE CHURCHWARDENS A.R. 1747 (Hin. diam.)

Hung in west tower. A complete ring by Abel Rudhall, of Gloucester, 1737 (the tenor recast in 1747 in conse­ quence of a fracture), to which four new bells were added in 18S1. Abel Rudhall's ring of six are said to have been cast from the remaining five bells of a former 12 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. ring of six, the inscriptions on which are given by Mr. W. A. Abram in his History of Blackburn (1878), page 308, as follows :-

I. Vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgura frango. 2 . Laudo Deurn, plebem voco, congrego clerum, defunctos ploro , pestem Iugo, festa decoro. 3. Funera plango, fulgura frango, Sabbata pango. 4. Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos. 5. Nomen Jesu Christi, tu attendas et defendas. 6. Te laudamus et rogamus, nos a morte tristi.

Mr. Abram does not state from what source he obtained these inscriptions," or say anything about the date or founder of the bells. But according to him the six had been reduced to five in 1690, and from these Rudhall's ring of 1737 was cast. Five bells only, however, are mentioned at Blackburn in the inventory of 1552. The old church was pulled down in 1820, but the tower was allowed to stand in the churchyard till 1870' The bells remained in the old tower till 1832, when they were hung in the new church, which stands a little to the south of the old one, and was consecrated in 1&26. The weights and notes of the present ring are given on a card in the ringing chamber as follows :- t

CWIS. qrs. lbs. Note. CWl S. Note. 4 0 8 A. 6 8 approx. C. 2 2 G. B flat. 4 14 7 9 " 2 F. 8 10 A. 3 5 5 " 6 0 E. 1 2 G. 4 14 9 " 6l approx. D. 10 F. 5 IS " ------_._- -- _._-_ . • Mr . H. B. Walters writes :" I do not think these were media-val bells. The lines, of course, are well known, but I cannot recall ever having seen any of them on a medireval bell." tThe weights are given differently in Abram's History of Blackburn, p. 308. The card in the rin ging chamber is signed by Mear s. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 13

The inscription spaces in numbers 6 and 9 are made out with ornament, and there is an ornamental border below the inscription band in No.8. The Rev. john Holme was vicar from 1706 till his death in 1738.

1552 : The Commissioners delivered to the Vicar an d Churchwardens of Blackburn" fyve bells for which thei aw xxvjli xijs j.d." 1740: Browne Willis about thi s time notes six bells .

BLACKBURN. ST. JOHN. One bell.

1. IOH: GVL: WHITTAKER VIC. DE BLACK­ BURN. JACOBVS DODGSON ECCL. MINIST. HENR: DVNKERLEY SACR : RIC. EDELSTON ORG . JOH: ALSTON. THO: STONES. AEDIT. RIC: CVNLlFFE. GVL: CRABTREE. AEDIT DEP. GVL. DOBSON. FEC: A.D. MDCCCXXII. SVAVI DVLCIQVE SONO CANITVR. EZEK. 33. 32. (+sin. diam.)

Hung in wooden frame in west tower. The church was built in 1789. By William Dobson, of Downham, Norfolk, 1822. The bell has metal cannons and a wooden head sto ck, and the inscription run s round the shoulder in three lines between four double bands. The Rev. John William Whittaker, D.D., was vicar of Blackburn from February rfith, 1822, till his death, August 23rd , 1854. Ezekiel xxxiii., 32, reads 111 the Authorised Version, " And, 10, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

BLACKBURN. ST. PAUL. One bell.

1. 1814. Below, top of waist : T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT. (37! in. diarn.) Hangs in wooden frame in west tower. The bell is tolled; it has not been rung for some time. The date alone occupies the inscription space on the shoulder, the maker's name being just below the lower band. The bell has metal cannons and a wooden headstock. St. Paul's Church was built in 1791, but the vicar of Blackburn putting obstacles in the way of. consecration it was used by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion till 1829, when it was consecrated, the congregation remaining, and the minister admitted to priest's orders in the Church of England.

BURNLEY. ST. PETEH. Eight bells.

1. EIGHT BELLS AND AN ORGAN WERE PROVIDED BY SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE CHURCH OF BURNLEY 1802. THE NAMES OF THE SUBSCRIBERS APPEAR IN A TABLE IN THE SAID CHURCH. PSALM 98 VERSE 5 TH SHEW YOUR­ SELVES JOYFUL UNTO THE LORD ALL YE LANDS SING REJOICE AND GIVE THANKS. THOs MEARS OF LONDON FECIT. (zqin. diarn.) 2. The same. (join. diarn.) 3. The same. (3zin. diarn.) 4. The same, but THOMAS for THo~ (34in. diam.) CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

5. The same as No. 4- (36in. diam.) 6. The same no, ~ o. 4- (38in. diarn.) 7. The same as NO.4. (4Iin. diam.) 8. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1857. (46in. diarn.)

Hung in wooden frame in west tower. The bells have old-fashioned cannons and the inscription goes round each bell in three lines, the division of which varies according to the size of the bell. The two lower lines are immediately below the usual inscription space and are undivided by bands. The tenor of the 1802 ring being cracked was recast in 1857. Mr. T. T. 'Wilkinson, in his His/ory of the Parochial Church of Burnley (1856), states that the new ring of eight bells was placed in the tower during the summer and autumn of 18°3, the tower being heightened for their reception. The cost was defrayed by a private subscrip­ tion commenced June 7th, 1802, to which one hundred and ninety-seven persons contributed £2,884. ISS. This amount included also the cost, or part of the cost, of an organ, as indicated by the inscription on the bells. The principal subscribers were Ambrose Hitchon, agent for the trustees of .Mr. Parker, £100; Charles Towneley, Esq., the antiquary, £100; J. Hargreaves, £100; Henry and John Greenwood, £60; John Holgate and Sons, £60; the Hon. Geo. Aug. William Curzon, £5°; Robert Shuttleworth, Esq., £50; Joshua Hitchon and Sons, £50; Sagar Veevers, £5°; Peter Ormerod, £5°; Peel, Yates, & Co., £50; Betty Halsted, £5° ; Mary Brown and Son, £4°; Mr. Gowthwaite, [31. lOS.; Henry Aspinall, £30 ; Hugh Taylor, £3°; Mrs. Ormerod and J. Hargreaves, £30; and many other of the principal inhabitants sums of £20 and under. 16 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

"From memoranda still preserved," says Mr. Wilkin­ son, "it appears th at the bells were' cast by Mr. Thomas Mears, Whitechapel, London, April rfith, 1803,'* and 'were weighed in the presence of Mr. James Wood, Chandos Street, July zoth, 1803,' their respective weights being as follows :-

Cwts, qrs, lbs, CWI S. qrs. lb s. I 5 2 16 5 8 1 17 2 5 3 12 6 9 2 20 3 6 2 26 7 12 o 14 4 7 8 16 I 14

Total 72 0 8

The church was reopened on 20t It, 21St, arid 22nd of October, 1803."

1552: Three high solemn and fine bells, a sanctus bell, one hand bell, three other little bells .t

In an action taken out in 1553 by Richard Towneley and the churchwardens against Sir Ri chard T owneley, knight, a nd two others, for the restitution of the church goods the bell s are thus described : "Four bells with clappers and Irron whereby the same did hang in the steeple one hand bell, iij little sacring bells." Sir Richard and the others were said to have" wrong­ fully spoyled the said parish church of Burnley and taken :n vay the said bells." The three bell s and the sanctus bell, weighing altogether 27 cwt., were sold at ISS. per cwt. for £20. 5s., which sum was put to the acco unt of Edward Parker, who In November, 1552, had been appointed Kin g's receiver. ------• The date on the bells, however, is 1802. t Augm . Oft. Misc. 134, quoted in V. C. H . Lancs., vi. 451. CH rJRCH BELLS OF '.A NCA SH JRF. .

The existing rin g of eight took th e place of four bells which, according to Mr. Wilkinson (op. cit., p. 61), quoting a church book, were cast at York in 1702 "by NIr. Samuel Smith after on e shilling and twopence a pound, new metal, and threepence per pound for running the old bell, which weighed about 19 cwts., or within 30 Ibs. , after the ca nnons were cut off and lost." This reference to "the old bell " would seem to imply that there was only on e bell In the tower in the seventeenth century. The weights of the 1702 bells are given as follows :- Cwts. qr s. Ihs. 6 3 4 2 7 3 4 3 10 r 10 4 12 3 9

Total 37 2 27

"\Vhen the pre sent peal was placed in the tower," says Mr. Wilkinson, "the old peal was disposed of to various parties. Their destination , however, has been pr eserved in th e a nnexed memor and a. co pied from a later record:- "October zfith, 1802. Cash received from th e Rev, Robert Baniste r, of Li verpool, " for th e second bell,

£ 51. 7s. rod.. November t rSth, 1802, from the ch urch­ wardens of Bolton , for the fourth bell, £97. 5S. ad.

• The Rev. Robert Banister was the proprietor of a building he called All Saints' Church, in Grosvenor Street, Scotland Ro ad, Liver pool. It was or igin ally a tennis court, but was converted in to a churc h by Mr. Ban ister in 1798. It was never consecrated, an d no t licensed till aft er Mr . Banister's death in 1829. In 1847 it was bought by th e Roman Ca tholics and called 51. Joseph 's . It was rebuilt in 1878. The bell at the new 51. Jo seph's is modern, and the one at the schoo ls is dat ed 1830. For thi s information I am inde bted to th e Rev. Walte r Griffiths . c CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

November rqth, 1803, from Thomas Mears for the third bell, sent him at our risk, [58. 14s. 4d. January znd, 1804, from Mr. Maden, for the first bell, for Backup (see Bxcur), as follows :-

Bell, 755 Ibs. at 14d. 44 0 10 Clapper, 20 lbs. at 6d. 0 10 0 Apparatus - 0 10 6 \Vheel apparatus - 0 10 6

[45 II 10 ,.

H.INGING.-The following references to ringing, includ­ ing extracts from the churchwardens' accounts, are taken from Mr. Wilkinson's book. The Ringers' Rules, which were painted on a large board, are gone. 1730. At a vestry meeting held June 6th it was agreed :-

Thai there is to be nothing charged to the Parish for any ringing of Bells, except Sundays; and for them eleven shillings apiece in a year including Christmas Day. That the ringers ring every Sunday a full quarter of an hour, the last peal: and every ringer that comes not in time shall for every neglect forfeit sixpence out of his wages. That every person that orders the sexton to toll a passing peal shall pay sixpence, and that peal to be an hour long; and if no orders be given for tolling there shall be nothing paid.

FROM THE CHURCHWAR'bENS' ACCOUNTS:- 1728-9. Dec. 16. Paid Barnes upon ye news of the Prince of Wales coming to England 0 0 6 Jan. 19. F or ringing the Prince of Wales birth. • day 0 0 6 Mar. 2 . Paid Barnes for ringing on the Queen's birthday 0 0 6 1729-30. Paid John Parker for rin ging Accession to the Crown 0 0 6 Spent when the Bells were raised 0 1 6 1730-1. For ringing the King's accession to the Crown 0 0 6 1733-4. Paid John Parker for ringing 8 o'clock 0 5 0 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 19

1734-5· Paid for ringing on King George's Coronation Day 0 0 6 Paid Barnes for ringing on King George's birth- day 0 0 6 1739· Paid for ringing upon new s of taking P or to Bello 0 4 0 1745. Paid Sexton ringing 8 o'clock 0 5 0 1748. Paid th e ringers and Grace In gham for dr ink for the ringers when Peace was proclaimed- 0 3 G 1750. Paid George Howorth for carrying the Bell to York as per receipt I 19 G Fetching and unloading the 'bell ­ 4 10 4 Hanging the Bell 4 4 0 Three other ringers when the bell was hun g­ 0 3 0 Paid Sexton for tolling a t several Vestries - 0 0 6 1758. Expenses at taking of Cape Breton 0 4 0 1760. Expenses by the ringers at the Proclamatlon] 0 19 4 To Ringers on rejoicing- days 0 5 4 1781. To Great Belt ringing I 0 0 To two other Bells 1 13 0

When the church was reopened In October, 1803, the sum of £27 was distributed in prizes for " superior skill in ringing th e hells." On Thursday, Oct ober zoth, the Bradford ringers commenced th e opening. During the next day the Ashton-under-Lyn e rin g-ers rung Holt's peal of five thousand and forty changes or gramlsire triples in two hours and fifty-two minutes ; the Oldham ringers rung three thousand five hundred changes in one hour and fifty­ eight minutes; the Sowerby ringers run g one thousand five hundred changes in fifty-nine minutes; and the Bradford ringers rung one thousand and eight changes in forty-five minutes; the witnesses being Edward Simons, bell-hanger, from London, James Burgess, John Fitton, and John Berry. Of the prize money Ashton-under-Lyne received [10. 105., Oldham £6. 65., Bradford £6, and Sowerby £4. 4s.

- Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession, 1741-48. t Of King George III. 20 CHURCH BELLS OF LA NCASHIRF..

RINGERS ' RULES, 1804. I.-That the ringers begin twenty minutes before Ten and be ready for chiming fifteen minutes after Ten , and five minutes or forfeit Gd. II .--In the afternoon to begin twenty minutes after T wo and chime five minutes before Three or forfeit 6d. N .B.- Th e above forfeits shall be paid to the Church­ wardens. IlL-Any person attempting to ring with spurs on, to forfeit 6d· IV .-For not attending to practice on Monday and Thursday evenings at ten minutes past eight, to forfeit jd. V.-For swearing or telling a lie in the steeple, to forfeit 3d. VI. -For a rin ger coming into the steeple intoxicated, to ~~t ~ . VII.-For divulging anything out of the steeple which may tend to produce mischief, to forfeit 3d. Also to the informer 3d. VIIL-For overthrowing a bell, to forfeit ad . IX .-For ringing with the hat on, to forfeit zd. june 9/h , 1804.

CHA'TBURN. CHRIST CHURCH. One bell. 1. THOMAS MEARS WHITECHAPEL FOUNDRYI838. Hangs in west tower. (rqin, diam.) A chapel, dedicated to St. Martin, appears to have been built at Chatburn about 1520. The building stood until the time of the Commonwealth, when it was destroyed. There was then no place of worship until 1838, when the present church was built.-V. C. H. Lancs., vi. 373.

CHI PPING. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. Six bells.

1. THOS. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1793 (26tin. diam.) 2. The same. (28in. diam.) 3· The same. (30in. diam.) 4· The same. (32in. diarn.) 5· The sa me. (34in. diarn.) 6. The same. (38in. diam.) CHURCH BELLS OF LA NCASHIli E . 2 1

Hung- in wooden frame in west tower. T he bells have old-fashioned cannons and wooden headstocks ; they are rung from the floor of the church. The inscription is between double bands, and the space is made out in each case with a "Whitechapel pattern" border or chain of loops and lozeng es. On the tenor there is also a con­ tinuous border of the same immediately above the inscription. A clock, erected in 1815, strikes the hours on the tenor, but there are no quarter chimes. The weights, as given on a written card in the vestry, are as follows :-

Cwts. (Irs. Ibs. -+ I 19 2 -+ 2 21 3 5 I 25 -+ 6 I 17 5 7 2 6 9 0 8

Total 37 2 7

The bells were hung by Mr. Ed. Simmons, and " opened" on Mond ay, October 28th, 1793, by the ringers from Waddington, in Yorkshire. The curfew was rung as late as the year 188I : ~

1614. In the will of Arthur Parker, the elder, of Lickhurst , date d April I in this year , occur s the follo wing : .. I give and bequ eath for and towards the repairenge of the bells in the said steeple, annexed unto the west end of the parish church of Chippin, sixe shillings eight pence ;" and to the ringers " whi ch shall for tune to ringe upo n my bu riall c1ai e at Chippin the sum of fower shillings." (T . C. Smith, H istory 0/ Chipping, P·76.) 1740. Browne Willis abou t this time notes three bell s at Chipping . ------"T. C. Smi th , Hist . of Chipping, 1894, p. 77· 22 CHURCH B El.LS OF LANCASHIRE.

The churchwardens' accounts have been preserved only from the year 1809. Some extra cts are printed by Mr. Smith, and from these the following relating to the bells and ringers are taken :-

1809. Ringers' wages 660 R ingers for ringing on Nov . 5 09 0 1815. Paid for ringers' candles o 3 0 1817. Dec. 22. Paid for 6 new bell ropes 2 80 1821. July 10. Given the ringers on the Coronation Day I I 0 1830. Jul y 28. Paid to John Parkinson for tolling the bell at the funeral of his late Majesty George IV. 0 2 6 1837. Paid John Walmsley for muffling the bells at the funeral of William IV. - o 10 0 1838. June 28. Allowed to the ringers on the day of Her Majesty's Coronation o 5 4

In the book of accounts of Brabin's School and Alms­ house, as quoted by Mr. Smith, is this entry:-

1712. Dec. 31. Paid for a coffin for Mary Ingham. one of the poore of the alm shouse - 0 0 0 4 00 Paid to ye ringers at her funeral - 00 15 00

If the latter amount is correctly given, it is one of the most extraordina ry paym ents for rin gin g th at I have eve r come across.

CHURCH. ST. JAMES. Six bells.

1. W. BLEWS AND SONS FOUNDERS BIR­ MINGHAM 1876. (j oin, diam.) 2 . The same. (33in. diarn.) 3. The same. (3Sin. diarn. ) 4. The same. (38in . diam.) 5. The same. (4oin. diarn.) 6. The same. (44in. diam.) CHURCH Bli.LLS OF LANCASHIRE. 23

In addition the treble, fifth, and tenor are inscribed on the waist as follows ;-

1. PRESENTED BY THE TEACHERS AND SCHOLARS .OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.

5. PRESENTED BY THE LADIES OF THE DISTRICT.

6. JOSEPH BIRCHALL M .A. RECTOR WILLIAM METCALF JAMES H. BRADLEY CHURCHWARDENS RICHARD HOLT I ROBERT E. GREEN

Hung in wooden frame In west tower. The Rev. Joseph Birchall, M.A., was rector from 1840 to 1879. 1552: One bell, weighing 2~ cwt., was sold by the Commissioners for 37s. 6d. Before 1876 there were two bells in the tower, both of which were removed when the present ring of six was hung.

1. + MARIA BEN IC VAN PEETER VANDEN GHEIN GHEGOTEN INT IAER MCCCCCXXXVIl (2gin. diam.) 2. + GLORIA IN EXCELSVS OED 1633 NR RC L T IY WARDENS (32in , diam.)

The first is now at Whalley (q.v.) and the second at Haslingden Grane (q.v.). How long these bells had been at Church I have been unable to discover, but the statement sometimes made that both came originally from Whalley Church is not, I venture to think, upheld by any evidence. The Rev. R. N. Whitaker, vicar of Whalley, seems, however, to have been strongly of the opinion that the smaller had found its way to Church from 'Whalley, and it was mainly due to him that the bell was "restored" there in 1876, or shortly after. The larger bell, I incline to think, belonged to Church in the first instance. It bears CH URCH B ELLS OF LANCASHIRE. the initials of four wardens, which is th e number at Church. There were eight at Whalley. Onl y a recovery of th e names of th e wardens at Church for th e year 1633, however, would make this certa in. But, unfortunately, no names occur pri or to th e year 1709, and there are no accounts before 1720. N R may sta nd for Nich olas Ru shton (or Rishton), of Antl ey, who died April 30th, 1654.

.. About 1806 Mr . Robert Peel ca lled a meeting in th e church to enquire if they were wishful for an organ or a pea l of bells. It was considered best by Mr. Peel to ha ve an orga n, for people would have to come to church to he ar it , whereas if th ey bought bells any lazy fellow could lie in the fields an d hear them."-Rev.F . T. Collins, H istory of Church, 1881.

CLiTHEROE. S T. M AK¥ M AGDALENE. Eight bells.

1. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1844 (2gin. diam.)

2 . C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: THE GIFT OF THE REVD JOSEPH HEYWOOD ANDERTON M.A. INCUMBENT OF THIS CHURCH 1844 (join. diarn.)

3.C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: THE GIFT OF JAMES GARSTANG SURGEON CLiTHEROE 1844 (32in diam.)

4. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1844 On waist : THE GIFT OF M~ & M~s STEWART CLITHEROE (34in. diarn.) CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

5. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1844 01t waist: THE GIFT OF MESS~s GARNETT & HORSFALLS LOWMOOR (36in. diam.)

6. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1844 (38in. diam.)

7. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: WALTER COCKSHOTT IROMONGER 1844 (4Iin. diam.)

8. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1844

011 waist: Crest. THE GIFT OF MISS ASPINALL & MISS JANE ASPINALL STANDEN. (4Sin. diam.)

Hung in wooden frames in west tower. The Aspinall crest, a demi-griffin, is above the inscrip­ tion on the waist of the tenor. . The weights ar e given on a card in the ringing chamber as follows :-

Cw t:s, qrs. lbs. Cwts. qrs , lbs. 5 I 23 5 8 I 13 2 5 2 8 6 8 3 17 3 6 2 7 7 II 2 16 4 7 I 22 8 15 o 22 Total 69 o 16

1554 : "ij belle s " remained in the" cha pe ll of Clyderhowe." 1740: Browne Willis about this lime notes five bells at Clitheroe.

The Rev. J. H. Anderton, M.A., was vicar from 1835 to 1878. He became patron of the benefice. 26 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

COLNE. ST. BAlaHOLOM EW. Ei ght bells.

1. MEARS & STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON.

On waist: THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED BY THOMAS HYDE, OF COLNE. MANUFACTURER. MARCH A.D. 1900. (28in. diam.)

2. The same. (2gin. diam.)

3. T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1814 (3Iin. diam.) 4. The same. (33in. diam.) 5. The same. (36in. diam.) 6. The same. (37in. diam.) 7. THOMAS MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1814 (4oin. diam.)

8. RECAST 1814. REV!? JOHN DUNDERDAlE CURATE. HENRY WILKINSON. W~ GARTH. JAMES RIDHALGH ESQI! Wtof} HOLT. MOSES BLACKBURN. JAMES HEAP. JOHN BARRETT. CHURCH WAR­ DENS. THO~ HEATON SIDESMAN. T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT (45in. diam.)

Hung in wooden frame in west tower. A ring of six by Thomas Mears, to which two trebles were added in 1900. The trebles are hung above the old ring, which were restored and rehung in new fittings at the same time. Clock strikes hours on tenor. The inscription space in Nos. 3, 5, 6, and 7 is made out with a " White­ chapel pattern" border, or chain of loops and lozenges. On NO.4 the space is blank after th e inscription. The CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 27 second line of the inscription on the tenor is imme­ diately below the lower band, but not itself enclosed by a band. At the time of the casting of the bells the Rev. T. T. Whitaker, M.A., eldest son of Dr. Whitaker, the historian of Whalley, was vicar (I8n-I7), but non-resident. The weights are given on a card in the ringing chamber, as follows :- CWlS. qr s. lbs. I 5 I 14 2 5 2 25 3 6 3 8 4- 7 o 14 5 8 I 25 6 9 I 26 7 II o 24 8 i6 0 2

Total 70 o 23

1552 : "iij belle s and one sanctus bell." These bells, which weighed 21 cwt. and were valued at £IS. ISS., still remained in the chapel in 1554.

The following particulars concerning the former and existing bells are taken from A nuals and Stories of Colne, by James Carr (revised ed., 1878) :- 1722. From th e wardens' accounts it would appear that a new bell was hung in this year. Shortly after the Skipton ringers came over to Caine. 1723.. The great bell cracked. A bellfounder* came over from York to examine and report on its condition to a meeting. His report must have been unfavourable, for

• Samuel Smith and Edward Seller were both casting at York at this time . 28 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. the bell was shortly afterwards taken down, sent to York, and a new one substituted. 1740. Another bell was taken down and either recast or a new one bought. 1764. The churchwardens decided on having six new bells and additional metal to the great bell. These bells also came from York* and cost [roI. 1780. Another bell appears to have been added (or, more probably, one of the six recast). 1814. The cost of the new bells having to be defrayed in fixed proportion by the various divisions of the chapelry of Colne, "an animated controversy arose whether they should be six or eight in number. Colne naturally desired eight, whilst the outlying townships of Barrowford, Trawden, Marsden, &c., looking only at the expense, considered six .,pught to suffice. Neither party being inclined to give way, a vestry meeting was held amidst great excitement, when the representatives of the outlying townships attended in such force that they carried their point, and much rejoicing followed. Shortly afterwards, however, the Colne people discovered, much to their delight, that nothing had been said as to th e weight of the bells, so, not to be outwitted, they con­ trived that the metal of eight ordinary bells should be placed in the six ordered thus, in effect, winning the day" (Carr, up. cit., p. 107). The bells cost a little over [250, exclusive of the hanging, and were sent by sea from London to Hull, thence conveyed to Leeds, and afterwards brought in boats on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Foulridge.

• Edward Seller II. died in this year, out he does not appear to have cast after 1760. George Dalton was casting in York from 1750 to 1791. I have not been able yet to inspect the Colne wardens' accounts, where the name of the founder may be given, the above particulars being taken from Mr. Carr's book. CHURCH BELLS OF LA NCASHIRE. 29

RI NGING. A few extracts from th e churchwardens' accounts, which are pre served from 1703 to 1819, are grven by Mr. Carr:-

17 06 . It. Ringx upon Duke Marlbro ugh good successe in Spaine 00 02 06 Feb. 6. The bell s rung in honour of the Queen 's birthday. 17 10 . Paid for rin ging on ye ma rtyrdome of King Charles 00 Ot 00 17 13. May. The bell s ru ng on sign ing of Peace of Utrecbt. 17 16. May 14. "It is Agre ed th at Law, Stephe nson, Sax tone, hath all owed for every year for carfulley lookeing to ye Chime & Clock & decent Ringing" 02 0 5 0 0 After all it is Agreed yt for ye usualle custome of Ringing of Chestmas daye ye R ingers are to bear ye charges ymselves out of ye above saide £2 - 5 - o. Mr. Barlow, incumbent of Colne, " no Jacobite," orders the bell s to be rung in honour of th e anniversary of King George 's Coronation Day . Ringing on ye Duke's Birthda y - 03 0 Paid to the Ringer s when th e King was crowned" 0 5 0

1815. "The ringing for W at erlo o was attended by what might easily have proved a fat al accident. On e of the ringers, who had come over from H alifax, inadvertently raised his bell too high, in consequence of which it swung over with a sudden jerk, and th e poor man, having hold of the rope, was dr awn off his feet an d hurled agai nst th e ceiling with tr emend ous force. Instantaneous death must have been th e result had he come in contact with either of th e beams within a few inches of him . And a

• Reference is also mad e by Mr . Carr to ringing at the captu re of Cartagen a (1 741) , and in honour of victory over th e Scotch rebels ( 1746) . The bells were run g on Chris tmas Eve. New Yea r's Day, May 28th a nd zqth , and Nov . 5th, as well as on the various Saints' days. .. Indeed th e ringe rs, refre sbed by th e' beer ' which figures so lar gely in the warde ns ' accoun ts, seem to have spen t much of thei r time in the belfry. " 30 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. wonderful escape it proved to be, for his cranium made an impression two inches deep in the plaster ceiling, which was shown to visitors to the day that ceiling was removed. The man lay stunned for some time., but was ultimately no worse for his adventure." 1846, July zoth, Monday. Great rejoicings at Colne in celebration of the repeal of the Corn Laws. The incum­ bent, the Rev. J. Henderson, declined an invitation to the public dinner as being out of sympathy with the rejoicing, but stated" the committee have my unreserved and cordial permission to have the church bells rung on Monday, and to hoist the British flag on the old tower." The bells, therefore, were rung from twelve to one o'clock. Writing in, or shortly before, 1878, Mr. Carr says :-

The ringing of the Curfew Bell is one of the good old customs still observed. The bell not only tolls here at 8 p.m., but also at 6 a.m . in the summer and 7 a.m. in winter. .. Old use and custom, six and eight," used to be the quaint salutation of the ringer as he visited the towns­ people for a subscription. ... An arrangement was, however, made a few years ago by the churchwardens which will obviate the necessity of a collection for this purpose. The tolling of the by the apprentice boys of Colne at II o'clock on Shrove Tuesday is another custom still observed here, and is understood as a signal to their fellow -apprentices to cease from work and have a holiday for the remainder of the day. They take this holiday independent of their masters, believing they have a legal right to it; and accordingly, at the first sound of the bell off they rush, an example quickly followed by the scholars at the National School (op. cit., pp. 206-7) ·

DARWEN. ST. JAMES. One bell.

1. Blank. (zoin. diarn.) Hangs in west cupola, and only accessible by ladder from outside. The existing church was built in 1722 and the cupola is of that date. The bell may be also, but it has rather the appearance of a local casting of perhaps a CHUHCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. century later. Three of its original six metal cannons have been broken off, but have been replaced by new ones bolted on. There are no bands round the shoulder. Rung by lever and pulley. The church is very similar in design to that at Billinge, built four years later.

DARWEN. LOWER CHAPEL. One bell.

I. On waist: R (bell) B W 1835 (2Iiin. diam.)

Hangs in west turret and only accessible by ladder from outside. Metal cannons; no bands at shoulder; rung by lever and pulley. Lower Chapel (Congregational) was built in 1719 and the turret is of that date. The bell is evidently a recast­ ing in 1835 of an RW~' bell (see under SAMLESBURY). The. "R (bell) B" is on a separate stamp, and was no doubt cut from the old bell and used again at the recasting. The w is cast on the bell with the date, but almost certainly reproduces a former feature. A local resident informs me that this is the third bell at the chapel. If that is so, then I think we must assume that the R. B. bell was the first and that its founder's mark has been perpetuated. No date has been found for these bells, but from the evidence of the lettering on that at Samlesbury I had ascribed- that bell to the end of the seventeenth century before seeing the Darwen bell. Though Lower Chapel was built in 1719 it does not, however, necessarily follow that the original bell was not older. Still, it may have been as late as 1719. The letters are much smaller (r in.) than those on the Samlesbury bell (I!ins.), though the 32 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE,

latter bell is only rSin. diameter. The original Lower Chapel bel! was, therefore, probably much smaller than the present one.

DOWNHAM. ST. LEONARD. Four hells.

I. +: l!'oI !\ngn!ttnt Sonet ~n Bure IDei (shield) (30in. diarn.)

2. + Sancta ~argaretta \SIra lDro 1Robis (shield)+ (33in. diarn.)

3· SANCTA . KATERINA . MDCCCLXXXI (36in. diam.)

4· E. D. RANVLF'H :ASSHETON XIII SEF'T MDCCCLXXXI On waist: J. TAYLOR FECIT QVAS EGO Fl NITAS NVMERO, BEN ESI REGIS. liORAS FRETEREA ACClFlET TE SINE FINE DOMVS

Hung in wooden frame in west tower. The two older bells are by a fifteenth century London founder, and the third is a recasting by Taylor of another of the same date and type, which bore originally the inscription, "Sta. Katharina ora pro nobis."* It was recast at the charges of Ralph Assheton, Esq., of Down­ ham Hall, who at the same time added a tenor. Both the mediseval bells bear a floriated initial cross and a shield with the initials I.W., thew being "under a rather singular cross"t with the I by the side of it. The

• Whitaker's Whatley (4th ed., 1876), ii. 144. t Raven, Bells oj England (1906), p. 142.

CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 33 second bell ha s, in addition, a second floriated "cross " after the shield, of the type called by Mr. A. D. Tyssen, in his Churc]: Bells of Sussex, the" Brede stamp," from its occurrence on a bell at Brede in that county. The initial cro ss he calls the "Litlington cross" for a like reason, and for convenience these designations are used here, th ough, of course, the cross stamps, so called, occur in other parts of the kingdom. The I.W. shield has been generally ascribed to John Walgrave, of London, who was casting about 1420-40, but Mr. Tyssen is inclined to assign to it a later date, placing it in the period 1486­ 1500. His reasons are set out at som e length* and they need not be repeated here. It may, however, be said that the ar guments advance d, whil e of great interest and worthy of all consid eration, can only be hypotheses, and that th e "traditional" view can command an equal probability. The ascription of these bells to Walgrave is based on the assumption that the letters I.W. on the shield denote the name of the founder, and there is no known founder with these initials except John Walgrave, who succeeded William Dawe ahout 1420. The w, how­ ever, may be nothing more than

C w rs. ill' S. Ih s. ;'\JO( P . 3 8 3 20 A 4 ... 12 3 0 \,

1552 : Two bells are mentioned as having been taken away by the Commissioners, but in 1554 two were still rem aining. There seems to have been, therefor e, four bells, but in one account of what was taken away no bells are mentioned, so there may be a mistake somewhere (see V. C. H . L{I/Ics., vi. 556, no te 72).

The old bells are said indifferently to have come from , , and Whalley Parish CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 35

Church. I do not know of any real evidence which would lead to the conclusion that anyone of these places was their original location, but of the three Whalley Abbey is, perhaps, the most likely. There are a fair number of moulded and sculptured stones in this part of the county, which locally are said to have come from either Sawley or Whalley Abbeys. Some at Mearley and are clearly from Sawley, which is only about one and a half miles north of Downham. Whalley, on the other hand, is six miles to the south-west. But the connection of the Assheton family with both Whalley and Downham is in favour of the" tradition" that the bells came from Whalley Abbey Church. Richard Assheton, the purchaser of the abbey demesne, also purchased the manor of Downham, and, although the two estates were divided in 1587 between two brothers, Sir Ralph Assheton (the first baronet), of Whalley, suc­ ceeded to Downham in 1657. It was he who pulled down the remains of Whalley Abbey Church, including the tower, in 1661-2. The bells must have gone, however, long before that, and if they were really transferred to Downham it was probably done by Richard Assheton, who died in 1572. The Rev. R. N. Whitaker" (vicar of Whalley, 1840­ 81), however, was of the opinion that the threet old bells at Downham belonged to a ring of five which are supposed to have hung at Whalley Parish Church (see WHALLEY). But the invocations of the Downham bells do not. agree with the dedications of those then at Whalley. Nobody seems to have considered it possible

• Younger son of Dr. T. D. Whitaker, historiau of Whalley. t Mr . Whitaker expressed this opinion in a lecture in 1869, i.e., twelve years before the third bell was recast.·-Hist-. of Wha lley, 4th ed ., i. 96, note . CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. that these London bells may have been cast for Downham and always been there, but I do not thirik such an explanation of their origin should be ruled out. It must be, however, from the belief that the bells belonged to Whalley Abbey that the story of the" Monks' Bells" has arisen. How far back it goes I have no idea, but it has a suspiciously modern ring. It is thus told by Mr. James Me.Kay in Pendle Hut in History and Literature (1888) :-

.. As shepherds pass over Pendle Hill, on calm nights, in Ashdean Clough or at Ravensholme, th ey fancy they hear the soft, low chime of distant bells-' the Monks' Bells.' They know that the of Clitheroe, Mitton, Whalley, and Ribchester are silent at that hour, and they believe the legend that the chimes come from the old bells in Downham steeple, still calling the monks to prayer, as formerly, at midnight hours. , Oft on Pendle's side one hears A passing sound of distant bells; No legend old. nor human wit , Can tell us whence this music swells. 'Tis thought that they, by Assheton brought From Whalley 's convent towers, St ill call at times the drowsy monks To prayers at midnight hours."' "

Whether Mr. Me.Kay must be held responsible for the verses I do not know, but apparently they are subsequent to Mr. Whitaker's expressed opinion as to the Whalley bells having been given to Downham by one of the Asshetons. But there is a sad confusion between Whalley Abbey Church and Whalley Parish Church. It was to the latter that Mr. Whitaker thought they belonged, though Mr. Me.Kay says, "in the tower of the conventual church of Whalley were five bells

" .. Midnight hours " must not be taken too literally. Compline was at 8 p.m. and Mattins at 2 a .m. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 37 four of these exist to this day, three of them at Downham and one at Churchkirk." The Flemish bell at Churchkirk (now at Whalley Church) was, however, cast the year after the suppression of the abbey (1537), and the other (now at Hasling­ den Grane) in 1633.

GOODSHAW. ST. MARY AND ALL SAINTS. One bell.

The bell hangs in an open turret at the north-west angle of th e rectangular structure as rebuilt in 1828, and is approached through th e roof by a trap-door from the gallery. On the day of my visit I was unable to gain access, and consequently I have not seen the bell. For the following particulars I am indebted to Mr. John R. Ramsbottom, of , whose grandfather was incumbent when the church was rebuilt. The present bell was formerly at Bold Venture Mill, Crawshawbooth, but was given to Goodshaw Church about 1876-7 by the owner of the mill in exchange for the old bell, which was less in size and not of so good a tone. The Bold Venture (now Alexandra) Mill was destroyed by fire in Novem ber, 1879, and the old bell perished. Goodshaw Chapel, in Rossendale, dates from 1542, but has b,een since twice rebuilt. The present building is in the "Earl y English" style of the early revival, with a small t.urret at each angle, like the four legs of an up­ turned table.

18 04. Salaries for the Sexton's Ringing eight o'clock at Newchurch , Bacop, and Goodshaw Chapel, for one year, IDS. each -- £1 10 o'

•Newbigging 's Rossendalo,qu oting Accounts of the Greave of the Fore st of Rossendale. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

GREAT HARWOOD. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. One bell.

1. RECAST BY MEARS & STAINBANK 1866 (4oin. diarn.) Hangs in wooden frame on south side of west tow er. The bell has old-fashioned cannons. The fram e. is ancient and provides space for and shows marks of the hanging of three bells, th e number in th e steeple in the sixteenth century.

1546-7: T wo of the bell s, weighi ng 5~ cwt., value 8 2S . 6d ., given up to the Kin g's collector. 1552: " Three bells in the stepull."

HASLlNGDEN, ST. JAMES. Ei ght bells.

1-7. T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT 1830

8. T. MEARS OF LONDON FECIT In addition, immediately below iuscripiioti band, at top oj waist, are these inscriptions :-

I. THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH OF HASLINGDEN BY JAMES HOLT ESQR OF DEARDEN GATE A.D. 1830 (join, diam .)

2 . THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH

OF HASLINGDEN BY HENRY SLATER ESQR OF LANE SIDE A.D. 1830 (3o!in. di arn .)

3. THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH OF HASLINGDEN BY THE REV D WILLIAM GRAY INCUMBENT OF THE PLACE A.D. 1830 (3zin. diarn. ) CHUHCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 39

4- THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH OF HASLINGDEN BY JOHN TOWNSEND ESQ~ OF HOLME A.D. 1830 (33in . d ia rn .)

5. THIS BELL WAS PURCHASED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION (36in. diam.)

6. The sa me. (38in. diarn.)

7. THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH OF HASLINGDEN BY WILLIAM TURNER ESQR OF HELM SHORE A.D. 1830 (-J. l in. dia rn.)

8. THIS BELL WAS PRESENTED TO THE CHURCH OF HASLINGDEN BY JOHN GREENWOOD ESQ OF PALACE HOUSE AND HOLDEN HALL IN THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER A.D. 1830 [Coat-of-Arms.] 46in. d ia m .)

Hung in woode n fram e in wes t tower. A clock strikes the hours on the ten or a nd chimes the quarters. The a rms and crest on th e te nor are th ose of the donor. The approx im ate weights and not es are given on a card in th e ringing chamber, sign ed by Mears & Stainbank, as follows :- I 5 cwt . approximate. Note F. 2 E. 5l "" " 3 6 D. c. -J. 7 " 8~ B Hat. 5 " " 6 9t A. 7 1 2 ~ G. 8 16 F. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

The Rev. William Gray was incumbent from r8rs to r847. 1552: Two bells. '554 : One bell was taken away by Francis Gartside and John Nuttall and th e othe r doth yet rem ain .

HASLINGDEN GRANE. ST. S TEPHEN. One bell. + GLORIA IN EXCELSVS DEO 1633 NR RC L T IY WARDENS (32in. diam.) Hangs in wooden frame in north-west spire steeple, old-fashioned cannons. The bell is from th e foundry at Wellington, Shropshire, held from r605 to r642 by 'William Clibury, who from r62r to r637 was joined by his brother Th omas. This bell is, therefore, one founded during the time of the joint proprietorship. The inscription follows a type in­ troduced by the Cliburys about r6 28, "in which the words, in small thick type, are placed on paterse, or logotypes, with borders above and below; on the same pat era with the first word is a small initial cross with small diam ond- shaped arms" (H. B. Walters, Church B ells of Shropshire, 19r5, p. 424. A full account of the Wellington foundry is given). Haslingden Gran e Church was built in r867, but not consecrated till 1883. The bell was formerly at Church, or Churchki rk, near Accrington , but when th e new bells were hung th ere in 1876, or shortly after, it was presented to th e new church at Baxenden. It was, however, never hung at Baxenden, as a ring of bells was decided upon, and it, th erefore, found its way to Grane, being purchased by the Rev. G. L omas, who had been appointed to the living in 1873. Such is the information I have been able to gather from oral sources in the locality, but I have

CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. been unable as yet to confirm it by document. It has also been stated that the bell was sent to Church from Whalley, along with the Louvain bell (see WHALLEY), but there is no evidence of this, and nothing, as far as I can see, to support belief in such a statement. U nfor­ tunately, the churchwardens' accounts at Whalley do not begin till r636, three years after this bell was cast. There were, however, eight wardens at Whalley, whereas here there are the initials of four only, the number of wardens at Church. In the absence of other evidence I incline to the belief that this bell was cast for Church. The first pair of initials may stand for Nicholas Rishton (or Rushton), who died in r654; but the names of the wardens at Church are not known before r709. There is an other bell from the Wellington foundry, dated r633, at Tockholes (q.v.) and Clibury also cast bells for Prescot in r637, but these have disappeared.

HOLME-IN-CLIVIGE R. ST. J OHN. I + II bells I. THO: WITTAKER OF HOLME NIGH BURNLEY LANCASHIRE e [bell] Second line: 1747 (rfiin, diarn.)

Eleven hemispherical bells by Mears & Stainbank, 1894, the tenor of which weighs 4 cwt. The old bell is hy Edward Seller, of York, and bears his name in a circle immediately after the in-

scription followed by the stamp of a bell. The inscription is between triple bands, and each letter is on a separate stamp and each word within a border. The date 1747 is CHURCH B ELLS OF LANCASHIRE. below the word "Lancashire" at the top of th e waist. The bell has metal cannons. Thomas Whitaker, the donor of the bell, was grandfather of the Rev . T. D. Whitaker, D.D., the historian of Whalley and lord of the manor of Holme. He died in January, 1751-2. The bell hangs in a cupola over the west end of the church, and the hemispherical bells are fixed below. The present church dates only from 1788 (consecrated 1794), but th e bell was brought from the old chapel, which stood on a lower site.

LANGHO. ST. LEONARD. On e bell.

r , T. Elleray . Curate 1756 (20kin. diam.)

By Luke Ashton, of Wi gan, with his characteristic heart-shaped stops before and after the name" Elleray." The bell has six old-fashioned cannons and hangs in a bell-cote on the west gable. It has a wooden headstock and wheel. The inscription is between double bands, but th ere is no maker's name or marie The Rev. Thomas Elleray was incumbent from 1756 till about 1773· The new church (1880) of St. Leonard, at Langho, has a slated spire turret at the west end containing one bell.

LONGRIDGE. ST. LAWI{ENCE. Tw o bells. 1.;- IESU: NASARENUS CRUCIFEXW: (16! in. diam. ) CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 43

2. Shoulder without inscription. On waist : BENJ~ HICK & SON BOLTON 1840 (zqin. diam.)

Hung from beam s in west tower, the smaller above the other. Both have metal cannons. A clock strikes the hours on the modern bell. The tower is dated 1841, and is an addition to the church, which is a rebuilding of 1822. Longridge was a chapel of the parish of Ribchester. The date of the foundation of the chapel is unknown, but if the smaller bell belonged to the original building, and there seems to be no reas on for supposing otherwise, it must go back at least to th e fourteenth century. The style of the lettering will be seen from the facsimile and points to that century. The last word is evidently meant for CRVCIFIXVS, and each letter, as well as the jnitial cross and the st ops, is on a separate patera. The inscription is between quadruple bands, the crown being above the band imm ediately over the cross. The crown is somewhat of th e same ch aracter as one on a bell at Long Marton, Westmorland, though the latter is rather larger and has tw o upstanding points instead of the single point as here. Moreover, the lettering on the \i\Testmorland bell is entirely different. Mr. H. B. Walters, who has seen a rubbing of th e inscription, writes: "The Longridge lettering seems un­ familiar, though rather of the north country type. I should certainly think it might be fourteenth century. The crown is quite unfamiliar to me."

1552: .. One lytell bell belong ing l u the chapel! of Lon grerydche.' , Th e bell still remained at the chapel in 1554. and is one of those which Edward Parker, the King's Receiver, said "never came to his hands." It is presumably the old bell now in the tower. 44 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

MARSDEN, LITTLE. ST. PAUL. One bell.

1. Shoulder blank. On waist:

'IfJ. ROBERTS & Co

PHCENIX FOUNDRY

NELSON

On sound bow: 1873. (28kin. diam.)

Hangs in small south-west tower over porch. The church is of ancient foundation, but the present structure dates only from 1809. The bell has metal cannons and a single band round the shoulder. The panel containing the founders' name is 6t inches by 3! inches. The date is in very high relief. Little Marsden is now within the borough of Nelson. Whitaker described the old chapel as a "mean structure, apparently of the age of Henry VIII., with the ciphers !·H,S. on the little belfry" (Whalley, 3rd ed., 400).

NEWCHURCH-IN-PENDLE. ST. MARY. One bell.

1. T. M EARS OF LONDON FECIT 1830. (join. diam.) Hangs in west tower The bell has old-fashioned cannons and wooden headstock. On the headstock is cut the date" 1830." The church dates from the sixteenth century, but was rebuilt in 1740. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 45 NEWCH U RCH·I N·ROSSENDALE. ST. NICHOLA S. Eight bells.

1. MEARS & STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON. 1874. (27! in. diarn.) 2. The sam e. (2 8~ in. diam.) 3. The same. ( 2 9 ~i n . diam. ) 4. The same. (32in. dia rn.) 5. The sam e. (34i in. diam.) 6. The same. (37in. diam.) 7. The same. (aoin. diam.) 8. MEARS& STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON. 1874. On waist : REV'? J. B. PHILLIPS M.A. RECTOR LAWRENCE WHITTAKER ) GEORGE PILLING EDWARD ROSTRON J" WARDENS JOHN KENYON 45in. diam. Hung in wooden fram e in west tower. The tower and nave date from 1825. The bells have metal cannons and wooden head stocks. A clock strikes th e hours on the tenor and chimes th e quarters. The weights and notes are given on a card in th e ringing cha mber as follows i-e- Cwts, qrs. Ibs. Note. I 4 2 14 F. 2 4 3 2 E. 3 5 I 24 D. 4 6 o 25 c. 5 7 0 14 B flat. 6 8 I 16 A. 7 10 0 II G. ~ 14 2 18 F. ----

Total '" 61 I 12 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

The Rev. J ohn Bartholomew Phillips, M.A., was rector from 1850 to 1891. The following extrac ts from th e Book of Accoun ts of the Greave of th e Forest of Rossendale are , quoted III Newbigging' s H istory of the F orest of R ossendale i-e-

'745. Dec . 30. Paid the Ringer s at ye taking Carlisle. by or der of ye Hi gh Constable 0 I 0 1746. J an . P aid the Ringers at ye taking of Stirling, by order of ye H igh Constable 0 I G , 804' Sa laries for the Sextons Ringing eigh t o'clock at New church,Bacop, and Goodshaw Cha pel, for one year, lOS. each - , 10 a

PADIHAM. S T.L E ONARD. Eight bells.

1. THOMAS MEARS FOUNDER LONDON 011 waist : RECAST 1901 Other side of waist : FROM AN OLD BELL IN THE TOWER 1842 (2gin. diam .) 2. The same. (30in. diarn.)

3. THOMAS MEARS FOUNDER LONDON On waist: BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION 1842. REV. SANDFORD JOHN CYRIL ADAMSON, INCUMBENT THOMAS ROBINSON. , PADIHAM \ RICHARD RILEY . ,... HAPTON l CHAPEL JOHN JACKSON. ..,.. SYMONSTONE J' WARDEN CHRISTOPHER LAWSON . . HIGHAM Other side of waist : RECAST 1901 (32in. diam .)

4, THOMAS MEARS FOUNDER LONDON CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 47

On waist: DONO JANET SHUTTLEWORTH 1842 Other side of waist : RECAST 1901. (34ill. diam.)

5. THOMAS MEARS FOUNDER LONDON

On waist: DONO LE GENDRE NICHOLAS STARKIE ESQ~E HUNTROYDE 1842

Other side of waist: RECAST 1901 (36in. diam.)

6. THOMAS MEARS FOUNDER LONDON

On waist : DONO JOHN DUGDALE AND BROTHER

Other side of waist : RECAST 1901

7. MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: TO THE PRAISE AND GLORY OF GOD AND IN PIOUS MEMORY OF COLONEL LE GENDRE NICHOLAS STARKIE OF HUNTROYDE PATRON OF THIS LlVIN.G. BORN 1828. DIED 1899. THIS BELL AND THE TENOR BELL WERE ADDED TO THE OLD PEAL OF SIX BELLS THE COST OF WHICH WAS DEFRAYED OUT OF THE FUND OF A BAZAAR HELD DECEMBER 1900 EASTER A.D. 1901. (4Iin. diam.)

8. MEARS & STAINBANK FOUNDERS LONDON CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

On waist: HENRY HAWORTH, M.A., VICAR JOSEPH WILKINSON, 1 WILLIAM SHUTT, ELIJAH WADDINGTON'fCHURCHWARDENS JONATHAN LEE RILEY HENRY DYSON WILLIAM BERTWISTLE ISAAC ALDRED SIDESMEN JOHN DUXBURY WILLIAM JAMES HOLGATE ! EASTER A.D. 1901.

Hung in iron frame in south-west tower. A clock strikes the hours on the tenor and chimes the quarters, The history of the present ring is to a gr eat 'extent given in the inscriptions. A ring of six was cast by Thomas Mears in 1842, and these were recast and a seventh and tenor added in 1901 by Mears & Stainbank. The Rev. S. J. C. Adam son was incumbent from 1823 to 1863, and th e Rev. Henry Haworth, M.A. , vicar from 1896 to 1905. Le Gendre Nicholas St arkie, Esq., of Huntroyde, the donor of the fifth bell in 1842, died in 1865, and was father of Colonel Le Gendre Nicholas Starkie, whose name is on th e seventh bell. The weights ar e given on a card in the ringing chamber as follows :- CWIS. qrs , Ib s . cw«. qrs. lbs. 5 I II 5 Ii I 2 2 5 2 2 4 6 9 ° 9 3 6 ° 19 7 II 2 10 4 6 3 4 8 15 3 ---° Total 68 2 2 1552: Two bells were sold by the Commissioners. 1554: One bell was yet remaining at the chapel of Padyham. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 49

RIBCHESTER. ST. WILFRED. Six bells.

1. T. MEARS OF LONDON . FECIT 1821 (join. diam.) 2. The same. (3zin. diam.) 3· The same. (33 ~in. diam.) 4· The same. (35in. diam.) 5· The same. (38in. diam.)

6. REV'? JAMES QUARTLEY A.M. VICAR 1821 T. M EARS OF LONDON FECIT 1821

oJl iraist : ROB:- HESMOI'lDHALGH \ JOHN CARTER JOHN SEED CHURCH WARDENS EDMUND SAGAR JOSEPH POM FRET 1 (42in. diam.)

Hung in wooden frame in west tower. The bells have metal cannons and wooden headstocks. A clock strikes the hours on th e tenor. The inscription spaces on Nos. r to 5 are made out with a "\Vhitechapel pattern" border or chain of loops and lozenges. On the tenor there are two short lengths between the names of the vicar and founder: the date occurs twice. The Rev. James Quartley, M.A., was vicar from r800 to r829' Messrs. Hesmondhalgh, Carter, and Pomfret represented the townships of Ribchester, Dutton, and Hothersall, and Messrs. Seed and Sagar those of Dil­ worth and Alston. E 50 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

The approximate weights and notes are given on a card (signed by Mears & Stainbank, 1899) in the ringing chamber as follows:-

1 ).-It cwt. approximate. Note D' sharp. 2 6 c sharp. " " B. 3 7 " R A sharp. 4 """ TO G sharp. S "" " 6 F sharp. 13 "" "

The cost of the bells, provided by a church rate, was [245, irrespective of the hanging. Mr. T. C. Smith in his History of Ribcliesier (1890) quotes the following charges for hanging :- I: s. d. Three oak trees from Mr. Richd. Parkinson 19 3 7~ Carriage of do., I5S. gd.; breaking up do. at Preston £2. 5S. rd. 3 o 10 Paid Mr. James Foreman for hanging the Bells ­ 17 7 0 Paid Rev . James Quartley for Timber 3 5 9 Paid John Roberts for altering soundholes, repairing walls, etc. 1 4 0 Paid carr. of Bells from Liverpool to Blackburn ­ 2 0 4 Paid carr. of do . from Blackburn to Ribchester - a 13 6

The clock is older than the bells, having taken the place of an older clock in 1813.

1552: No return for Ribchester. 1650: "It is ordered that the churchwardens shall find oil for the clock and bells, and to look to, and take care that they be kept in good form and order." 1740: Browne Willis about this time notes 3 bells.

From a number of extracts from the churchwardens' accounts in the seventeenth century, printed in Mr. T. C. Smith's Hist01Y of Ribchesier and given below, it appears that there were then three bells, the same number as CHURCH BF:LLS OF LANCASHIRE . not ed by Browne \Vill is nearly a centurv later. The wardens' accounts begin in 1666.

1666. AUF(. 26. Laid out for three bell stri ngs 0 15 0 Sp ent the same day 0 0 6 1667. for me ndin g of the bell wheeles a 0 for a swine skin to mend ye bells w th all 0 0 G 1668 . Payd to Rich. Cowell for woode towards makin g of the bell wheeles ° 7 6 payd to Willm. and Ri ch . Dill wort h for goeing to Preston to view ye bell wheeles ° 2 ° payd to Tho. Yeates for three pie ces of wood e to bee spoakes for the bell wheeles, and for a gau ge of old spoakes to bee gins for th e sla te ° 4 4 pa yd to Wilim. Dilworth for the worke of Sixty [days] in ma king 3 wh ole Bell wh eeles an d making a . .. frame for lifti ng th e lendes , an d other ne cessaryes ab out ye ch urch 3 4 0 pay d to T ho . Cutler for candles for to work by for th e Carpe ntere , a nd for nayles for the Bell wheeles ° 3 I [ 1669. pay d to Henry H ay hurst for 4 trees bought of him by Willm. Dilworth, and J am es Lu nd e for and towards ye bellwheeles, an d for lats, and for loading ye said trees 28 0 for mending cotters, bits, and wedges 02 0 pa yd to Mr Talbot for ollde r wood for shie lds o G 0 167°-1 April 12. Payd to R ich . Pemberton for smi th ­ work about ye bell s o 4 0 1676. Sp ent when ye grea t bell clapper was pieced and for ye workmanshi p 0 5 0 Spent on Mr Mar sh and others when he ca me to san e ye woode for ye Bell frames o I I a Spen t at ye first ringin g of ye Bells 03 ° 1083. for men din g ye chappe l bells ° 3 (, 1702. pa id Leo Boys [or a hogg' , ski n 02 0 1719-20. .\ ssista nce for la kin g up the Middle bell twice ° 3 a 1793. To R obe rt Railton for han gin g great Bell - 260 . To [or stay for great Bell - 0 4 2 To Robert Railron hang ing great Bell a second tim e 2 0 T o William Harri son for hanging grea t Rell first time 44 0 T o Harrison [or ha ngi ng two bell s as per bar gain 10 0 0 Deducted off Bell founde rs' Bill ,,15 2 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

RINGI~ G . 1650. April 16th . Agreed. _ . that Willm. Carter, Arthur Dewhurst and Thomas Cuttler shall have for ringing upon the Sabbath day and for Church service and al,l other times when ye p'ishoners shall have occasion, for pay: Six payer of gloves about ye price of sixpence a payer yearly to be bought by the Churchwardens at ye charge of ye-p'ish. 1650. April 16th . Ordered . .. that the p'sons yt do ringe on November the fift shall have allowed vis viij« 1650. April rfith , Ordered ... yt Corfewe shall be runge duly [and] orderly. viz : att eighte of the clocke atl night and fower of the clock in the morning, and to begin att All Hallows Day bein g the first of Novern . and to continue till the 25th of March next following, and a man bee hyred by ye Clerke and ye Churchwarden of Ribchester for . .. sar _ .. thereof, and to ha ve for the sa me - xxs. . want of p 'formance of his duty . eight or foure every [day] and orderly as above said during the time shall abate for such Due order, or neglect out of hi s wages for every tim e four-pence and the clerke and the churchwarden of Ribche ster are too see this order duly observed and kept. . 1667. Payd for ringing for the joy of the Victory which the King had at the sea against the Dutch ° I 0 1668. May 29. Payd for rin gin g and in drink the sam e day o 6 8 Payd for ringing ye 5th November 068 Payd to Ringers for ringing two Kin g's dayes ° 10 0 1669. Payd for ringing upon ye Coronation Day 07 0 1684' Payd for ringing ye 30th January 05 0 1689. Spent on the Ringers when they run g for the Earle of Darby 00 01 00 Feby. 7. At the proclaiming King W illiam and Queen Mary 00 02 06 Pd. to th e Ringers on St. George's Day being the Coronation Day - 00 06 00 Paid to the Ringers the last day of thanksgiving 00 06 00 1690. I. Paid to the Ringers on the last Generall Day of th anksgiving 00 os 00 1692. Paid to the Ringer s on gunpowder & treason day 00 06 00 Spent on the Ringer s when the newes came of ye Victory at Sea' being a day of rejoicing - 00 os 00 1702. NOV .12 . Pelye R inger s up on ye thanksgiving da y for ye great Victory obtain ed by her Majestes armies bo th by sea and land espall at Vigo - 00 03 00 1705-6. pd to ye Ringers upon ye 8 of March] 00 02 06 1706. To the Ringers for ye Victory at Ramillies and Barcelona 00 03 00 To the Ri ngers on the Qu een 's nativity 0 0 02 06

'La H ogne. t Accessi on Day . CHUNCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRe. 53

Pa yd for Ri nging at the Victory at Turine" 00 02 06 1707. Pai d to th e Rin ger s upo n the Union 00 03 00 1708. Aug. 19. p<.! to ye Ri ngers for sounding ye Victory obtai ned Audo nard ] 00 02 06 pd to ye Ringers when nuse came of ye takein g of Lyle: 00 02 06 pd to ye Ringers for soun ding y~ trium ph over ye fre nsh at B rusells • 00 02 06 1713. Apr. 11. When nu se came of ye pea ce§ to ye rin ger s 00 01 04 1714. May 29. to yc Ringers 00 02 06 1728. June 11. At yc inau gurati on of King Geo rge ye 2nd to ye gent and Ringers - 00 °5 00 Oct . 30. pd to ye Ringer s on King Geo: Birth­ day 00 02 06 1743. June 11. Hi s Majesty' s Accession to the Throne Spt 25. 6d. and R inge rs 2S. 6d. 00 05 00 1745. Jul y 25. Spen t a t the newse of the E mperor's]] Corona tion 2S. 6d. an d to the Ringers the said day 2S. 6d . 00 05 00 To the Ri nger s wn ne wse cam e of the Duke entering P res ton' 00 01 00 T o the R ingers wn newse ca me of the Rebels being subd ued at Ca rl isle 00 01 00 1780. Ringing for Burgoyne an d H ought on" 0 ° do. for ne ws 0 a To Ringers rejoicing of Rodneytt a 3 a do. Bu rgoyne taking his seat a 2 0 1793. To Ringers spe nt in ale for good ne ws o 12 6 1801. Ale for Ringe rs at th e Ratification of Pe ace 0 6 1805. T hos. Alston's Bill for Ale for Ringers, etc .; ale for musicians & Powder & Paper on Rejoicing Days 0 16 7 ~ 1818. Minu te To ll for the Queen, 10 hours a 2 6 1820. Minute Toll for the King, 12 hours 0 3 0 1821. Paid Ringer s at the Corona tion 0 .j 6 1823. Di nner s and ale for the Ri nge rs o 12 6 1831. Ri ngers at the Coronat ion 0 0 1838. Ringer s at th e Corona tion 0 a • Prince E ugene drove the F rench ant of Italy. 1 Oudenarde, fought July 11th . ! Lille taken Oct ober az nd . § Peace of Utrecht. II Francis 1., husban d of Maria Theresa. ~ The Duke of Cu mberla nd reac hed Preston Dec. 14th . •• Elec tion of Col. Burgoyne and Sir H en ry Hoghton as members [or Preston. tt Bat tie o[ Ca pe 51. Vincent, J an . 16th. 54 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

Such items as ringing 011 May zoth and November 5th are of almost yearly occurrence and need not be unduly repeated, and a large number of other sums expended on the receipt of news of victories or thanksgivings, no doubt, include money paid for bell ringing, though the fact is not mentioned. In 1740 (April 8th) it was ordered and agreed:- "That from henceforth. June .15 being the day in which his Majesty was proclaimed there shall be no public expence for the future by the ch: wardens or ringers. likewise October r rrb and October 30th we order that no expense be brought upon the Parish anyone of those days' fOf the futu re ." In 1855 (April roth) it was resolved :-- " That the late Ringers be not elected, having of late greatly neglected their duty as Ringers : and that the churchwardens be authorised to provide as best may be done for the Ringers for Divine Service."

SAMLESBURY. ST. LEONARD. Six bells.

1. JOHN TAYLOR & CO. LOUGHBOROUGH LEICESTER· SHIRE 1899 (z8in. diam .) z. The same. (z8iin. diam.) 3. The same. (3olin. diam.) 4. The same. (3zlin. diam.) 5. The same. (35l in. diam.) 6. The sam e. (37lin. diam.) 7. The same. (4I-iin. diarn.) 8. JOHN TAYLOR & CO. LOUGHBOROUGH LEICESTER- SHIRE. On waist : PRESENTED TO THIS CHURCH OF ST. LEONARD THE LESS SAMLESBURY BY M~ THOMAS MILLER CROOK STANLEY GRANGE

• October IIth, Coronation of George II.; October jorh, Birthday of George 11, CHURCH B E L L S OF LANCASHIRE. 55

Other side of waist: W. SCHOLES. VICAR, JOHN REDMAYNE } WARDENS R. G. MAKINSON 1899. (47in. diam.) Hung in iron frame in north-west tower. A clock strikes the hours on the tenor and chimes the quarters. The tower was an addition to the church in 1899. Below the shoulders on each of the bells is a vine leaf border inset (except in tenor) with coins. The Rev. \V. Scholes was vicar from 1881 till his death in 1913. The weights and notes are given on a printed card In the ringing chamber as follows:- Cwrs, qrs. lbs, Note. I 5 o 2 5 E. 2 5 I Lt· D sharp. 3 6 0 14 c sharp. 4 7 0 18 B. 5 8 9 A. 6 10 0 0 G sharp. 7 13 I 10 F sharp. S 19 I 10 F. ---- Total 74 3 6 Prior to the erection of the tower in 1899 there was a bell-cote over the west gable of the church containing two bells. The bell-cote has been removed. The old bell s were given by the vicar to the donors of the new tower and bells, Me. and Mrs. T. Miller Crook, of Stanley Grange, where they now are."

• Stanley Grange is a modern house about two miles (0 the south-east of Samlesbury Church, near the southern boundary of the parish, about balf a mile north of Hoghtoll rai1wo/ station. 56 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

1552 : .. Two little bells." One of these bells, weighing 80 lbs .. was sold by the Commissioners for lOS The other still remained in the chapel in 1554. Through the kindness of Mrs. Baxter (formerly Mrs. T. Miller Crook, donor of the new bells at Sarnlesbury Church) I was enabled to see the two old bells now in her possession at Stanley Grange. The older of these is, however, hung from the face of the wall high up on the north gable of the house, in a position very difficult of access. It can only be reached by ladders reared from the roofs of lower buildings, one of which is of glass. Owing to the war, the male staff at Stanley Grange was so much depleted at the time of my visit that there was no one who could undertake the respon­ sibility of rearing a ladder under such conditions as obtained, and prudence dictated that the responsibility should not be incurred by myself. I have, therefore, for the present reluctantly had to forego the inspection of this bell, but Mrs. Baxter has kindly promised to advise me when, by reason of repairs or the necessity of exterior painting, access to the bell will be possible. I regret my inability to give an account of this bell, as it appears to be of exceptional interest, being, in fact, one of the few mediseval bells in the county. It is said to be inscribed round the shoulder" in Longobardic characters,"

CAMPANA IHESU CRISTI and may possibly be of fourteenth century date. It is sometimes stated to have formerly been at Whalley Abbey, but on what authority I do not know. Till I have seen it at close quarters, however, I must reserve any opinion as to its date or origin. The second bell was at the time of my visit (September, 1916) 0!1 the floor of one of the outbuildings, but has been carefully preserved, and it is proposed to make use of CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 57 it at some future date. It is a long-waisted bell, rSin, diameter and I4kin. high, exclusive of the cannons (one of which is missing). There is no inscription band round th e shoulder, but on the wai st ar e the initials- R (bell) B W

In letters Itin. high (see facsimile). The st yle of the letters suggests the end of the seventeenth century, but a certain degree of latitude mu st be allowed in arriving at any conclusion respecting the date.* The same type of bell occurs in other parts of England, but so far nothing has been discovered respecting th e ide nt ity of the founder (R. B.) or the place of casting (W.). Two such bells are found in Lincolnshire, at Binbrook (r j in.) and Croxby (oin.), but Mr. North could find out nothing about them. H e calls them "comparatively modern," but can offer no suggestion for an interpretation of the initials.r He does not give a facsimile of the lettering, however, without which it is impossible to say whether th ese two bells are of exact ly the same type as the one from Sarnlesbury. The recast bell at Lower Chapel, Darwen (q.v .) , has the same initials, but smaller and of slightly different ch aracter, and in this case it does not seem likely the original was older than 1719. The fourth bell at Eccles­ ton , in Leyland hundred, dated 1802, may be a recasting of one of these bells, as it bears the same initials.] Mr. A. Hewitson, in 1872, wrote :- W ithin "a large, dark-looking, grated box, at th e wester n end of th e church , there are two hells. The box . . is q uite an eyesore. It is an awkward, unseemly, grim-looking box, and spoils th e appear­ anc e of th e church. One of the bells it contains is, by many of the ..---....._------• Mr . H . B. Walters, to whom I sent a rubbing, puts the lettering as early as abou t 1 600. tCIl/mh Belts of Lincolnshire (1832), p. '4J. : See Trunsactions, xxxii. 147 (plate opposite 148). 58 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCA SHIRE. country people, called "the Catholic bell," and the probability is that it was the bell which, in the olden times. summoned many a Catholic to matin and vesper prayer.-Our Country Churches and Chapels. by Atticus, p. 123.

STIDD. ST. SAVIOUR. No bell. This little twelfth century building was the chapel of the Hospital of St. Saviour, which, together with the manor, was acquired by the Knights Hospitallers about 1265, and became attached to their preceptory at New­ land, near Wakefield. In the fourteenth century it ceased to be a hospital, though the chapel remained in use. The chapelry was extra-parochial, but after the Reformation the chaplaincy became a perquisite of the Vicar of Ribchester. The extra-parochial district is now united to the parish of Ribchester. The little rectangular chapel has no bell-cote or turret, nor is there any trace of one, and I have come across no reference to a bell in connection with it.

TOCKHOLES. ST. STEPHEN. One bell.

I. + GOD SAVE HIS CHVRCH 1633 (aoin, diarn.) Hangs in open south-west turret. The bell has metal cannons, and is accessible from the roof only, by a trap­ door in the ceiling above the west gallery. The present church dates from 1833, but is pr obably the third on the site. It is said to have been rebuilt or restored in 1620. The bell is from the foundry at Wellington, Shropshire, held from 1605 to 1642 by William Clibury, who from 1621 to 1637 was joined by his brother Thomas. The inscription, like that on the bell at Haslingden Grane (q.v.), follows a type introduced by the Cliburys about 1628, "in which: the words, in small thick type, are placed on CHURCH B E L L S OF LANCASHIRE. 59 pat erse, or logotypes, with borders above and below; on the same pat era with th e first word is an initial cross with small diamond-shaped arms " (Walters, Church B ells of Shr opshire, 424). The date of th e bell is the same as that of th e Clibury bell at H aslingden Grane, th e numerals being exactly similar, but the Grane bell is much larger (32in.). The inscription space is enclosed by doubl e bands, whil e th ose at Grane are t ripl e.

WALTON-LE-DALE. S T. L EONARD. Six bells.

I. LESTER & PACK OF LONDON FECIT 1761. (3I lin. dia m.) 2. The sa llie. (32l in. diam .) 3. T he sa me. (35in. diam .) -t . ~.:; LESTER & PACK OF LON DON FECIT 1760 (37in. diam.) 5. LESTER .& PACK FECIT ~.:; M ~ NICHOLAS WALMSLEY & M~ JOHN COOPER CH. WARDENS 1761 ~<. (4oin. diam.) 6. PACK & CHAPMAN OF LOND.ON FECERUNT 1780. Engraved: REVQ 1. ATKINSON MI NISTER E. H AYDOC K & W. SE RJEANT CH. W ARD ENS. (H i-in. diam.) Hung in oak fram e in west tower, T he frame is placed diagonally nort h-west and south-east, and cut on the upper part at th e south-east end is th e inscription- NioB Walmsley, In. Cooper Ch-Wardens [ ~~ ~ ~~J s 1banison;: of Middle Raifon in LINCOLNSHIRE Bellhanger

• j ames (all but the last let ter of the name has been cut away) Harrison, of Middle Rasen, is no doubt the sa me James Harris on who set up as a bellfou nder at Barrow on-H umber in 1763. Appare ntly he hun g th e Walton bell" ill 1761. ~ 60 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

The bells have old-fashioned cannons and wooden head­ stocks. The inscription space on the third and fourth is made out with a "Whitechapel pattern" border, or chain of loop s and lozenges, and the fourth and fifth. have five­ leaved flower stops where shown. A clock strikes the hours on the tenor. Lester & Pack held the Whitechapel foundry from 1752 to 1769, when the name of the firm became Lester, Pack & Chapman, and in 1770 Pack & Chapman. The name of 1:fears makes its appearance with that of Ch apman in 1782. The approximate weights and the not es are given on a written card in the rin ging chamber, sign ed by Mears & Stainbank, 1899, as follows:-

I 5~ cwt. approximate. Note D. 2 61 c. " " " il flat. 3 7:! " A. .j. 9 " " IO~ G. 5 """ 6 F. IS " " " This was th e first peal cas t for Lancashire at the White- chapel foundry.

1552 : " F owe r bell s on of th em being br oken. " Three of these bell s remained at the chapel in 1554. Their weight was I8cw t. and their value £13. lOS. NIr. Ch arles Hardwick, in the Manchester Guardian, Jlily 24th, 1876, wrote :- "I have before me the original articles of agreement, dated 7th October, 1760, between Messrs. Lester & Pack, bellfounders, of St. Mary, Whitechapel, in the county of Middlesex, and the churchwardens of Walton-le-Dale, near Prest on, for the casting of a new peal of six bells, and th e purchase of the metal contained in four older CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 6I ones. I have likewise the invoice and letter of advice forwarded by the contractors on the shipment of the new bells. In the latter document Messrs. Lester & Pack, whose orthographical attainments were evidently not on a par with their skill in matters campanalian, say: 'We hope you will receive them safe-as for th eir goodness shall leve them to speeke for themselves, you will be pleas'd to deducte from the bill wort we are to be towards fraighte and insheverance, as you are the best Judge wort the deffrance is between Bristol & Liverpoole & London & Liverpoole.' The necessary liquor for th e christening of the bells was not forgotten, for they add, in a po stscript, ' P lease to give 12 shillings to the ringers to drink & please it to our account.' '' The new rin g cost £322. 195. ad. "after the metal of the old bells had been thrown into th e bargain." The tenor, apparently, had a life of les s than twenty years, having been recast in 1780.

Sixty years ago [i.e., c. 18I2] whenever a Protestant died , the funeral took place in the afternoo n, and the passing bell was slowly tolled prior to the burial : but whenever a Catholic died the interment took plnc e towards evening. and a full peal was rung upon th e bells immed iately before the ceremony.-A. He witson , Our CO Ull/ I)' Churches and Chapels (t872) , p. 25·

WHALLEY. ST. MA RY. 6 + I bells.

I. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: REV!? R. N. WHITAKER VICARIUS . DE WHALLEY 1855 (32in. dia m.)

2 . C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: RICHARD FORT DE READ HALL 1855 (34in. diam.) 62 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

3. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: SING WE MERRILY UNTO GOD OUR STRENGTH SAMUEL BROOKS & WILLIAM HIS SON 1855 (36in. diarn .)

4. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON On waist: REV.~ T. M . WHALLEY DE CLERK HILL 1855 (38in. diarn.] 5. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1855 On waist: JOHN TAYLOR DE MORETON (4Iin. diarn. )

6. C & G. MEARS FOUNDERS LONDON 1855 On waist : GLORIA IN ALTISSIMUS DEO (Coat -of-arms.) (H in. diam.) PRIEST'S BELL. x MARIA· BEN· rc .VAN· PEETER· VAN­ DEN· GHEIN. GHEGOTEN· INT· IAER· M·e·e·e·e·e·XXXVII (.\1aria am l by Peter van den Ghein cast in the year 7537.) (zqin. diarn.) Hung in wooden frame in west tower. The six bells are a recasting of a form er ring of six which were injured in a fire which broke out in th e tower ea rly on Sunday morning, Fe bruary 25th, 1855.* They have metal cannons • The fire was " cau sed by th ree or four beam s of wood ha ving been built int o the flue forty years ago [i.e., I8IsJ. and now, in consequence of the alterat ion of th e heatin g apparatus and inc reased heat. the wood ign ited an d communica ted with the timber of the bell-chamber " (Preston Guardian, March 3rd , 1855). The fire was disc overed at 5 a.rn., but was confined to the tower . The newspap er account concludes with the state­ ment, .. We have to regret th e destruc tion of the sweet peal of bells. " CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. and wooden headstocks, and were hung in new fittings and framework, the former having been destroyed in the fire. The weights and notes of the bells are given on a card in the ringing chamber, as follows:-

Cwts. qrs . Ibs . Note. I 6 2 27 D. 2 6 3 20 C. 3 8 0 9 n flat. 4 9 0 6 A. 5 10 3 25 G. 6 IS o 23 F. - - -- Total 56 3 26 The tenor bears the arms, crest, and motto of Le Gendre Nicholas Starkie, of Huntroyde (d. 1865) : Quar­ terly, I and 4 argent. a bend sable, between six storks proper (Starkie); 2 and 3 a chevron between three (Preedy), impaling Chamberlain of Rylstone, gules, an escutcheon, or within an orb of mullets argent." Crest: a st ork proper. Motto: Patrize amicisque fidel is. The spelling" altissimus" reproduces that on the bell. The old rin g of six, recast in 1855, were themselves a recasting in 1741, by E. Seller, of York, of four earlier bells with new metal added. There is no satisfactory evidence concerning these earlier bells. From the extracts from the wardens' accounts printed below it will be seen that the four old bells recast in 1741 weighed 4o cwt. o qrs. 14lbs., but whether they were of pre-Reformation date, as sometimes assumed, is very doubtful. There are a good many contradictory stories afloat and in print ab out th e ancient bells at Whalley,

• Mr . Starkie married Anne, daughter of Abr , Chamberlain, of Ryl stone, co. York, esquire. His mother was Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. D. Preedy, D.D., rect or of Brington, Northants. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. which as yet I have been unable to reconcile. The history of the earl y bells is further complicated by th e fact that often there is confusion between the parish church and the abbey church. In the History of Whalley Dr. Whitaker writes: "In the tower of the church th ere appears to have been five bells, of which I met with the following imperfect memorial among the papers of my predecessor, Mr. Johnson:* 'Thomas Talbot of Dinkley, A.D. ISIS, gave to the steeple of Whalley one bell, called th e morning bell ; th e second was consecrated to St. John the Evangelist ; th e third to St. J ohn Baptist; th e fourth in honour of th e Assumption of th e Blessed Virgin; the fifth to the Holy Trinity and All Saints and All Souls going out of this world. This bell was given by Wrn, Redcliff of Wimbersley, who gave his body to lie at Whalley, if his wife died after him, but if she died first she might choose where she would lie, but All Souls' bell tolling for her departure, which was A.D. 1505. Roger Fitton of Martholme gave the third bell.' " If this truly "imperfect memorial" is to be accepted then we have th e date of one bell and the approximate date of another, both early in the sixteenth century. The other three appear to have been earlier. But when Dr. Whitaker's son , the Rev. R. N. Whitaker (vicar 1840-81), goes on to sayt that " four of these bells remain to this day (1872), three at Downham (q.v.) and one at Churchkirk," we begin to feel a little confused. The Churchkirk bell referred to by Mr. Whitaker is, no doubt, the Fl emish bell now at Whalley (see infra), which 1S dated 1537. If thi s is one of th e old Whalley bells it

"The Rev. Wm. Johnson, M.A., vicar of W halley 1738-7(;. Where he obtained hi s information from, I do not know. tHis/Dry of Whall ey, 4th ed , (1872), i. 9(; (note) . CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. must have been Mr. Johnson's "fourth," which was dedicated in honour of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The inscriptions on the Downham bells, however, do not in any way agree with the old Whalley dedications as given by Mr. Johnson. At Whalley we have St. John the Evangelist, St. ] ohn Baptist, and the Holy Trinity, All Saints and All Souls; at Downham St. Augustine, St. Margaret, and St. Katharine (see DOWNHAM). The 1633 bell now at Haslingden Grane (q.v.) is also sometimes said to have come from Whalley Church, but so far I have found no evidence of this. It bears four sets of wardens' initials, butthere were eight wardens at Whalley, one for each of eight townships. Their accounts, unfortunately, do not begin till 1636. A careful search through the first volume of these accounts, which comprises the years 1636-1709, might bring to light something concerning the history of the four old bells that were melted down in 1741. In a rather hurried glance through the book, which was all that time permitted, I was able to see that there were many payments throughout the seventeenth century of small sums of money for repairs, &c., to the bells, but as each warden seems to have presented his own separate account and paid his share of costs incurred at the parish church, the amounts apparently represent one-eighth of the whole cost in each case. Moreover, as Padiham was one of the eig-ht townships, some of the items no doubt refer to the chapel there. To go through the whole volume carefully in order to extract all the items referring to the bells would involve much time and trouble I have, however, owing to the kindness of the vicar (the Rev. R. Newman, ~I.A.), been able to copy from the later volumes such entries as are concerned with the casting of the ring of six in 1741 by Edward Seller, F 66 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. and the further recasting of the fourth hell In 1823 at Whitechapel. The proposal to take down and recast the four old bells was first made in 1735. In December of that year the following items of expenditure occur :-

Spent at the first meeting about the Bells o 3 6 Pd for a letter from Gloucester 006 The Ringers' wages I 10 0 Spent at takin g the third bell down o 15 0 The letter from Gloucester was, no doubt, from Mr. Rudhall, the founder, who was consulted about the expense of recasting. The proposal, however, came to nothing at the time, but was taken up five years later. In his Whalley Church and Abbey (1905) the Rev. S. T. Taylor-Taswell quotes a petition (date not given) from the vicar and churchwardens of Whalley to Sir Nathaniel Curzon, bart., lord of the manor, Sir Darcy Lever, bart., and the rest of the gentry and landowners within the parish of Whalley and neighbourhood, praying them to take into their serious consideration the matter of the recasting of the bells "for the credit of the Parish and the ornament of the Church." It was stated in this petition that the four bells, "from having been given and hung, as it was supposed, at so many different times, were always untuneable; that they were much too large and unwieldy for the use of the parish, and were in so ruinous a condition that one of them was burst and quite useless, that two of the other three could not be rung as there was manifest danger of them breaking down, and that there was only one bell for all occasions, which was not only inconvenient but a scandal to so large and wealthy a parish, and a Mother Church of such antiquity and renown. It was also stated that about five years ago there was a design to take them down and cast them CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. into six; and that Mr. Ruddle, the bell-founder, was consulted about the expense, who said it might be done for £go, or thereabouts; that the gentlemen did not offer such contributions in aid of the tenants and poorer set of parishioners as the latter thought sufficient, and that the design was opposed and dropt.?" The petition was successful, and the" gentlemen" and others this time subscribing the sum of £81. IS., to which was added an assessment of £8. lOS. on each of the eight townships of the parish, and on June 3rd, 1741, an agree­ ment was made with " E dward Seller, of the city of York, bellfounder," that on or before September zqth "he would melt down the four bells and recast th e metal thereof and use it toward th e making of six good and tuneable bells, to the satisfaction of John Nock and John Preston, both of Preston, and Mr. Mackreth of La ncas ter."t The accounts, both for money raised and money spent, in connection with the recasting are set out at length in the wardens' book. 1741. An account of what money was rai sed by subscription towards recasting the four old bells into

SIX. £ s. d. Raised by Subscription; 8 1 I 0 Rai sed by Assessment upon the Eight T owns to supply the deficien cy of the Subscription, each eight Pounds ten Shillings (is 0 0 Ree d of H enry Isherwood for 20Slb. of Old Iron o 17 1 For Bark of Trees bougbt of Miss H olt 's o 12 0

[ ISO 10 , .. _ ---.-- • The quotation is from Mr . Taylor-Taswell 's book . p. 89. See also Whitaker's Wh aIlf)' , 4th ed., vol, ii., p. 5 (note ), where the date of the petition is given as '737. t Ibid, p. go. The Rev. Mr. Kettle, of Manchester, and Miles Bury. of Blackburn, were added as judges for the parish. tThe Subscribers names ar e set ou t at length as follows : Sr' N. Curaon, [20; Sr D. Lever, [3. 3s. ; Tho. Lister, [3. 35. ; Rlchd Shuttle­ worth, [5.55.; Wm Townley, £1. IS. ; Dodding Braddyll, £10; Tho. 68 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

174I. An account of the money paid for recasting, hanging, additional metal, &c., the six bells as will appear by bills:- £ s. d . To Sellers the bell Founder 88 16 0 Wrigley the Hanger 10 05 0 Parker & Taylor, Carr. from York 9 II 0 Clough, &: Carr. to York 600 Gregson for Steps & Carriage I T9 4~ Edwd Holt for Wood 27 0 Wm Bulcock for Nails o 8 9~ Richd Walker for turning brass Bushes, etc. 03 0 Jno. Dugdale for snagging, &c. o 5 II Oliver Ormerod {or leading Wood o 12 0 Richd Coulthurst for chipping ye Steeple Jno. Roberts ditto o G Henry Isherwood for Iron and work 7 5 Richd Knowls for Ash W ood for the Wheels OTO M~ Greenwood for Wood I 14 2 A Tree of D . Braddyll Esq. 3 TO a Two Trees of Miss Holt's 5 15 0 Given by much in treaty at the first Ringing of the Bells to Blackburn Ringers o 2 6 John Greenwood leading wood , Gratis.

. ~ ---- - Pd in the whole £148 2 6 Paid since for six Loads of lime 04 6 Two stone of Hair a I 8 To Robt Hodgson as p. bill o III 6 Pd Chris. Duckworth o 5 7~ Matthew Kendall a I 6 Tho: Foster . 012 Total pd £149 15 5~

Whalley, £10; Pearse Starkie, £3. 35.; Tho. Whittaker, £2. 2S.; R. Ashton, £T. IS. ; Wrn Atherton, £1 . TS. ; Alexander Nowell, £5; John Parker. £2. 25.: Richd Walmsley, £3. 3s.; Robt Hayhurst. £2. 2S.; Mrs Braddyll, £T. IS. : M~ ~ Hayhurst, £T. IS.: Randle Holker, 5S; Wrn Ellill, 105. 6d.; Matthew Elli 11 , IS. ; Enoch Walmsley, 25. 6d.; Will Dean, IS.; Jas. Patefield , 2S. 6d . ; Geo . Astley, 55. ; jas. Austin, 5s. ; Hen. Highton, 25. 6d .; Tho. Grundy, IS.; Edrnd Dickinson, 105. 6d . ; Luke Gregson, 55. ; Robt Clark, 6d ; \Vm Horrabin, 105. ; Riche Walker, 25. 6d .; Roger Bramerley, 2S. 6d .; Edmd Holt, 25. 6d . ; M ~ Greenwood, 105. 6d,; [as, Horrabin, TOs. 6d .;.Martha Horrabin, 55. ; Jno. Roberts, 5s. ; Wrn Bulccck­ 55.; Isabel Metcalf, 25. 6d . ; Bernard Hartley, 55.; Debh Clark, 105.; Jas. Wilson, 25. 6d. ; Jno. Tomlinson, lOS. ; Jno. Jennings, 25.; Rich. Wilkin­ son, 25.; Jno. Leach, IS.; Wrn. Leach, IS. ; Geo . Hayhurst, IS.; Jno. Smythis, IS.; given by Several Persons. 105. Gd. Rais'd by Subscription. £81. IS. ad . CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 69

Reed £150 10 I Pd 149 IS 5~ ---- Rem g 14 7~ The weight of the six bells;- CWl. qrs. lbs. First bell 5 I 07 Second 5 3 13 Third 6 3 08 Fourth 7 I 25 Fifth 9 3 10 Sixth 12 2 26 ----- 48 a 05"- The four old bells a 14 -----4° -- Additional metal 7 3 19 [ s. d . 1741. May 26. Giv en in Earnest to Robert Clough, Thurstan Tomlinson & Henry Isherwood when I agreed with them for the Carriage of ye Old Bells to York I S, & given them when they loaded same 0 2 0 pd Tho: Lawson for serving Richd Coulthurst in the Steeple, half a day 0 0 5 Pd Edrnd Dugdale for going to Hen. Cu nliffe to bring him over in order to agree with him to carry the Bells from York - 0 0 4 Nov . 19. Given in Earnest to M ~ Parker & Jno Taylor when I agreed with them for ye car­ riage of the Bells from York I2d, spent on em at the same time 6d 0 I 6 ------~ - - --_ . _------_. _--- • The weights. as kindly supplied to me by Messrs. Mears & St ainbank, of the Whitechapel Foundry, where these bells were recast in 1855. differ slightly :- I . 5 cwt. 0 qrs . IS lbs. 2 . 5 3 10 3· 6 2 IS 4· G 3 G 5· 9 3 7 G. 1 2 2 ~2 The fourth had, of course, been replaced in 1823. hence the difference in the weight. 70 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE .

£ s. d . Spent when they hun g the Bells 0 I a Dec. 23. I'd [ no, Dugdale for a day work in y" Steeple 0 1 4 Jan. 15· I'd Jo hn Butterworth for mak ing th e Bell Hou se floor as p. bill - I 10 3 p d John Pullen for new Bell roap s & Clock Cords according to Bill , I61.h Oct. I 12 6 I'd John Pullen as p. bill 15 Apr. for new Bell roaps . II a

The insc riptions on th e old bells, as th ey existed previous to the fire of 1855, ar e thus given in a note In the 4th edition of Whitaker's Whalley (vol. ii., P: 5):-

I. Inci pe 111usa prior. 2 . Paulo maj ora can amus. 3. Venite exultemus Domino. 4. Thos, Mears of London fecit 1823. 5. Gl or ia in altiss irnis Deo. 6. D isce cum san a mori , cum pulpita vivere.

The inscription on Sellers' old fourth is lost ." The cast of th e new fourth bell is thus set out ill th e church wardens' accounts:- 1823. An account of money pa id by Jno. Bury, Churchwarden for th e Parish Church of Whalley, for a New Bell. {. s. d . Sept. J yt h . To a new fourth Bell, 6 cwt. 2 qrs. 2 2 Ibs. ;!!; I3d per lb . 46 17 6 New Clapper fitted 1 5 0 Wharf & ca rtage of the Old Bell 5 0 48 7 6 By Old Bell 7cwt. J qr . 161bs. (!:!i l ad. per lb . 34 10 a

1824. Feb. 4. I'd Mrs Broo ks & Co . Banker s for Mr Mear s, Bell F oun der, London 13 17 6 I'd do. for advising th eir Bankers in London to pay tlte above to Mr Mears I a ._... _- - ...------• It was probably .. Ca ntate Domino ca nticum novurn," one of the sto ck inscrip tions of the York founders. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 71

[; s, d. Feb. 21. pd Postage for a letter from London . I 0 1823. July 21. Pd at M~~ Wiglesworth when agreeing for the Bell . 2 8 Oct. 6. Pd Carriage for the New Bell from London as pro Bill 2 0 2 Oct. 21. Pd jas, Inman for hanging the New Bell as pr do . I 8 0 Oct. 21. Pd for Ale when lowering the Old Bell down & hoisting the new one up' 2 4 Oct. 22. pd jas, Hindle for assisting to hang the Bell, as pro bill 8 0 Oct. 22. Pd Paul Dewhurst for Carriage of the old Bell to Blackburn 2 6 Oct. 22. Pd Carriage of do from Blackburn to London as pr Bill I 8 0 Dec. 20 . Pd Postage for a letter from London I 0

£19 12 2 Received by subscription . 18 13 0

Taken to the Parish Accounts 19 2

RINGING. The wardens' accounts contain a large number of entries for payments to the ringers on royal birthdays, November 5th, and other anniversaries, and on days of rejoicing for victories. In 17II, the sum of 6s. was given the ringers on the 5th of November-" their usual allowance in ale and money"-but for ringing on the sovereign's birthday the usual sum paid about this period was 2S. In the year 1732 is this entry;-

June 22. It was agreed yl yc sum of thirty shillings should be allowed this year to five Ringers, viz. to Stephen Cottam Joel Winsloe Wrn Pearop Richd Read John Yates they are to ring on Sundays and all State Hollydayes as usual & whoever neglects his Duty shall be abridged in his proportion of ye Salary.

• This and other entries go to show that the new bell contained no metal from the old one. This seems to have hung in the tower till the new bell arrived, and was then sent to Mr. Mears and allowed for by him. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

Whether from this we are to infer that in 1732 there were five bells is not clear. Only four are mentioned in the petition a few years later, only one of which could then be rung. Browne Willis notes six bells, so. he must have visited Whalley in 1741 or after. In 1824 the clerk was paid £3. 13S. for" Ringing 6 & 8 o'clock;" and in 1854-5 the yearly salary of the ringers was £5. ss.

THE PRIEST'S BELL. The late Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, who read a note on this bell at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London on February 28th, 1895, said that so far as his inquiries could reach no one seemed to know how it came to be in the steeple at Whalley." My own experience has been the same. I can find no real evidence of when the bell was first hung at Whalley. It is usually said to have been in the steeple prior to the fire of 1855 and to have been sent to Church (q.v.) in 1856, where it remained for twenty years, being reo turned to Whalley when a ring of bells was obtained at Church in 1876. The late Rev. T. A. Turner, of Burnley, who made a rubbing of the inscription in 1883, noted that the bell "was restored to Whalley from Churchkirk in 1876, mainly through the instrumentality of the Vicar of Whalley, the Rev. Robert Nowell Whitaker." Mr. Whitaker had then been dead two years, and Mr. Turner probably obtained this information orally. Mr. Taylor­ Taswell in his book merely says that" there is also in the belfry, though not included in the peal, an old Flemish bell, which was brought from Church Kirk, in 1866, with beautiful ornamentation and the inscription [given]." The date, I presume, is a printer's error for 1876, which

• Pro. Soc. Antiq. (Lond.), znd ser., xv. 335. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 73 is the year the new bells were cast for Church. But it will be noted that Mr. Taswell says nothing of this bell having been at Whalley previously. If it hung in the tower in 1855, it must have been quit e uninjured by the fire. But the evidence all seems to be that it had been at Church for a very long time. Mr. Whitaker, mainly through whose instrumentality the bell was" restored" to Whalley in 1876, had then been vicar there for thirty-six years. In his lecture already referred to, given on February and, 1869, he spoke of the bell at Churchkirk as being one of the five bells which had hung in the tower of Whalley Church in the sixteenth century, "no doubt given by the Asshetons of Whalley Abbey, who were the patrons of those livings" [i.e., Churchkirk and others]." Hew as, therefore, apparently of the opinion that the bell had been given to Churchkirk at a comparatively early date, and seems to have known nothing of the bell having been at Whalley in his own time. Whether he had any justi­ fication for his belief that the bell was originally at Whalley Church is very doubtful. I am afraid its past history is still shrouded in mystery.t Mr. Micklethwaite, who examined the bell in 1891, describes it as "a very fine one, with a rich cresting over the inscription and some ornaments below it, one of which is the figure of our Lady." As the inscription sets forth, the bell was cast by Peter van den Ghein, of Louvain, in the year 1537. His name occurs on "the little Hall bell" at Peterhouse, Cambridge.] dated 1548.

• Whitaker's Whatley, 4th ed., vol. i., p. 96 (note) . t Mr . H . B. Walters writes: .. I think the probabilities ar e in favour of a bell of th is kind having been at Whalley rather than at Churchkirk; but, on the other hand, the re seems to be no reason why it should have ever gone to the latter place, unless the story is true that it went after the fire of 1855." t See Raven's Bells of Cambridgeshire (188z), p. 51. 74 CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE.

The family of Van den Ghein, or de Gheyn, was settled at Mechlin, and produced some artists of repute, one being well. known as an engraver." Of the Louvain bell foundry Dr. Raven gives a few particulars. The Peter van den Ghein, who cast the Peterhouse and Whalley bells, appears to have been followed by ] an van den Ghein, and he by another Peter, the" Petrus Gheinevs," whose name is on the of the Corporation of Rye, 1562. From him descended Matthias van den Ghein, "the greatest organist and carilloneur Belgium ever produced," who died 1785, leaving a numerous family.t Several bell-metal mortars made by the van den Gheins are in private possession in England. The inscription is between double bands or fillets with elaborate cresting, and the letters are Itin. high. The character of the initial cross wiII be seen from the illustration, and the words are separated by fleur-de-lys stops. The shape and style of the letters is of a high order, a kind of Renaissance version of the so-called Lombardic capitals, which came into general use about the thirteenth century.] Below the inscription on the upper part of the waist are three circular medallions, 3iin. diam., and between them triangular pieces of orna­ mentation. The first of these medallions, which is below the word" Maria," bears thefigures of the Virgin and Child; the second is below the word "vanden," and the third below "jaer." The subjects on both these medallions are difficult to make out, but that on the second appears

• Archaolog, J our.. xlviii. 207 . t See North's Bells of L incolnshire, p. 99. and Haweis' Music and Morals (1874). pp. 464. 475. Andre Louis van Aerschodt, of Louvain, who supplied the thirty-six bells to Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1867, was a great grandson of Matthias van den Ghein . : Cf. inscription in the church at Gothern, Belgium, illu strated in E . F . Strange' s Alpho bcts (1896). p. 36. CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. 75 to be either the Adoration of the Kings, or of the Shep­ herds. There are three fillets just above the rim and five above the sound bow. Dr. Raven, referring to this bell in "his Church. Bells of Cambridgeshire (1882), says that it hung" till lately" at Churchkirk, near Accrington, but laments that it "has perished." Evidently his informant knew nothing about the bells having been removed to Whalley. Far from having" perished," it is in an excellent state of preser- vation, and a very beautiful piece of work. "'\

WHALLEY. ABBEY CHURCH.

The conventual church is all gone, except the lower part of about half the south wall of the nave (north wall of cloister), and the south and west walls of the south transept. The plan, however, has been recovered, and shows a central tower, but none at the west end, as at Furness. Sir Ralph Assheton pulled down the "old steeple and the walls adjoining" in 1661-2, but, presumably, the bells had been removed long before this, probably by Richard Assheton, who purchased the abbey buildings in 1553, and died in 1572. It is possible that the rnediseval bells at Downham (now two, but formerly three) were moved there from Whalley Abbey, as Assheton pur­ chased the manor of Downham in 1558. But, as far as I know, there is no evidence of this; locally, however, the belief crops up as a "tradition." (See DOWNI;AM.) I have found no contemporary reference to the bells of the conventual church, and, in the absence of any allusion, it is wisest to admit ignorance. In the inventory of goods belonging to the monastery made March 24th, 1537, there is no mention of the church bells, but in the "little CHURCH BELLS OF LANCASHIRE. revestry next unto the Library" was "a bell of silver without a clapper." In addition to the" tradition" mentioned above, there is the further one concerning the media-val bell at Samlesbury (q.v.) already referred to. A recent writer has even gone so far as to state that the Flemish bell, now in the Parish Church, "was used as the Abbot's call bell,"* quite irrespective of the fact that it was cast after the suppression of the monastery, in the very year that th e last abbot was executed!

•P reston C"ardiall, March rSth, 1910. This document is provided for you by The Whiting Society of Ringers visit www.whitingsociety.org.uk for the full range of publications and articles about bells and change ringing

For more digitised old ringing books, from the home page, scroll down and navigate via the link to “Old Ringing Books”