IRISH CHURCH BELLS
by richard langrishe
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IRISH CH t; lt CH ]) ELLS.
DY RlCIIARD L.'\NGRlSHE, T. I'. NoT taking account of the early Irish ecclesiastical be1ls, which were almost all composed of iron plates, riveted together, and rendered sonorous by being covered with a coating of molten bronze, there are but few church bells remaining in Ireland of an earlier date than the last quarter of. the seventeenth century. The art of casting bells, or bell-founding, at and after this period, was but little cultivat€d. The smallness of the windows of the bell stage of most of the medireval church towers re maining shows that the bells could not have been of a large size. Perhaps, owing to the frequent plunderings which the churches suffered, it was not considered advis able~ have much valuable property in them, which could not be carried away at short notice. The Parliamentary forces appear to have generally destroyed the bells of those churches which foll into their hands, so that there must havo been a gi·cat scarcity of bell material in Ire land at the time of the Restoration. The introduction of whofo wheels, which made it possible to ring bells mouth upwards, and the consequent possibility of the art of change-ringing being practised, gave a great impulse at a later period to the manufacturo of church bells, which na turally extended to frelaud, though tl1e Juve of that art, which is a purely English one, doos not appear to have followed it. To this cause may in a great measure be at tributed the destruction of these seventconth contury bells, which were most probably destroyod by the system of "clappering," that is, pulling the clapper against the sido of the bell, a practice which almost invariably results in the destruction of it, through the vibration being checked. One man could, by adopting this most unscientific and lazy method, produce in foeble tones changes or tunes on the bells, whereas the grand full tone can only bo produced by the clapper stn1dng the bell while it is in motion. The researches carried out by Sir Edmund Beckett into the art of bell-founding and the best shape for bells, proved that the rules foUowcd by the English 45G ON mum CJI UlWll. Bl~LLS. founders of the seventeenth and eighteenth centm·ies can not be departed from without detriment. It cannot, ther~ fore, fail to be interesting to bring to light, the history of the fow ancient specimens ot church hells which now O'.'.jst in Ireland. In the city of Kilkenny there are now but two seventeenth cent.nry 'belh1 rema1ning. 1.'ho:-;e appear by the inscription to have been cast in 1682, for the Duke of Ormonue by T. C. Who he was we is hall a f te1·war 0~\) \ \61>21~,..Ji) o~~ ~ "\ 11'4 '~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '11 ~ ~ ' i ~ % ~ ~ "~TA~rns, DuKE o.F ORMOND, 1682. T. C.'' Tho diameter is 2~i inchc~, and the height to t.he shoulder i~ 17 ii1ehes; the height to the crown, I Ht inches, a.nd the note i~ about Q natlll'aL The other, a dup1icate, is the clock bcB now in the campanile of the stublcH, facing the gate of Kilkonny Castle. The follow:ing facts with roforcncc to a bdl nnw in the old steeple, adjoining St. Ma.l-y's Chm·cl1, Athlone, havo been contributed by the Hcv. John S. Joly, }f.A., Rector of Athlone:-'' '1.'hc ha clition am01)gst the oJd parishioners 0£ this parish is, that this bell, which bcims the date of 1683, was east in the churchyard; that the day was observed as a great holiday; that no vehicle was allowed to o~ JRISJI CHURCH 1rnr,r.8. pass through the street, and that the towns-people cast gold and silver, in coins and tl'inkets, into the melting. rrhcrc is also a tradition that tho bc11 orjginally belong('d to Clonma.cnoi~. This tradition derives much proba bility from the foet that the cathedral was plundered by tlm Engli~l1 garrison of Atl1fone in the reign of Edward VI., as recorded in the "Jinnals of the Four Masters":- 'A. D. lf>;J2.-Clonmacuois WM plunclered and miles, the hell which tho cathedral was sure to possess, and which the plunderers wore unlikely to lcavo behind, could ea~ily ha,·e been removed to Athlono by watm·. During the siege of Athlone by 'Vil1iam's army, under Genel'a1 Gincko11, this bell was ruug on the 30th June, 1601, at six o'clock, p.m., as tbe signal for tho storming })arty to cross the i·ivcr fo1· the assault on the custlo (see Macau}ay's 'lli8tory of England,' vol. vi., p. 89, edition, 1860).>' The bell was slightly cracked in the lip in the yeat· 1 1860. '1 hc cracked pa.rt IHlS been cut out. 'l'hc tone is injm·ed, but it is sufficiuntly good to admit of the be11 being rung for Divine Sc1·vice:,, ·11he diameter o! thiR bell ·bn &En.1 voL, "· 2 M 458 ON IRISH CHURCH BELLS. across tho mouth iH 2 feet 5-} inches; the thickness of th() sound-bow, 2-l inches; the height to the shoulder about 1 foot 11 inches ; round the shoulder between bands is the legend-' THIS FOR ST. MARY'S CHURCH IN ATHLONE, 1682. T. C.' It is cast without canons, and has a fiat crown of about 12 inches diameter, and l·ai.sed about 1 inch above tho shoulde1·, and is hung Ly bolts passing through the crown. The fracture, which i·uns up to the middlo of tho sound-bow, shows the metal to be t:om pact and good there, though .the waist of the bell is somewhat honeycombed, owing probably to a deficiency of spare metal w lien casting it. It is well moulded, except the lip, which is contracted, so as to be of somewhat less die.meter than the sound-bow, and is also too thin, consequently it has been much chipped round the edge, showing that it hns been often laid on its mouth and careles.~ly handled. It will be seen by the copieR of the legend~ that the ornamenfa of fleurs·de l ys and bells used to fill up the 8paces between the legends au Seymour1 .M.A., l'recento1·, will show:-" E xtracts fr<»n r'ltapler Ac/s. - Tuesday, 4th .June, 1686-0rdered, that the grca.t bc1l of this church be new cast; and thereupon on reading of Covey's lette1· to the Registrar agreod that l\Ir. Covey be sent for, and that the Dean and Chapter will contribute to his charge in running up, &c. Tues day, 7th June, 1687-Agreed between the Dean and Chapter and Tobias Covey that he, the said Covey, shall ta.ke down the great tenor bell 0£ Xt. Church and cast it new, ho finding all materials for the said work, which clone, to bring it back, to raise it into the steeple, to tune and hang it up nga.inc, and all this to be done at his owne pay, cost, and charges, mettall oncly excepted, which Dean and Chapter are to provide. In considera tion whereof the said Dean and Chapter are to pay unto t.he said Covey ffo.rty-five pounds sterg., and to allow six pounds fo1· weight of mcttull with every hundred pounds OX HUSH CHURCH BJ::U.S. 459 in weight that the new bell shall weigh. And in case tlie said Lell doe miscarry in 1ifting, the said Covey is to cast it again at Lis ownc cost and charges, the weight of mcttall excepted, and to be at the charge of the said Dean and Chapter." This bell, if 1t was cast according to ap;reement, is not now in existence. The name of '1.'obias Covey' appears in full on the thil·d bell, and his initials on the second bell, of the ring of six, in St. Xicholas Church, Galway, in exactly similar characters, and with the same ornaments, with t.ho date J 726, and bis marks on tlw £rst and sixth bells of 1084, of which fuller particulars will be given in a future number. 11lmro can be no doubt, therefore, that 'robias Covey was the founder of the two b~lls for the Duke of Ormonde, and the bell for St.. l\lary's Church, Athlone. Very probably he was ono of the '' socii" of William Covey aml Hoger Purdue, who cast the bel18 for St. Canice'i::;Cathedral, for Bishop BonjaminPn..rry, in 1674-5, a~ a i·efcrcnce to the recorded iuscriptiom; \'11ill show; fol· the names of Gu1iclmus CO\-cy and Hogcrus Purdue ap1)ear ~'cum i:;ocii8/~ ~o that there rnust.lrns(~ been others in the back i:.,'Tound. 'Vc know that. there ww; a Wiltiam Purdue, for his tombstone existed at Limerick Cathedral; 80 there may ulso hnvc bt:'cn a rJ'ohias Cow•y, who ap~ pears as an expert s<.wcn years aftorwm·ds. 'l'ho Purducs were cstahli.she CLOISTER ARCADE AND PULPIT SLIGO ABBEY Mr. Langrishc also rend the following Paper on Irish Church Bells:- In the former notice on this subject (printed in Vol. V. of the Jounal, p, 46li} jt wa..q conjectured that Tobias Covey, to a. few of whose bells it MA devoted, wa.s one of the " Saaii " of the PUiduee, PROCEEDINGS. 4:75 who had cBBb & large number o[ bellii in the course or the previous twel\'e yearll; and in order to -verify thi11 conje(~ture, the bea.utiiully illustrated works of the Rev. H. '1'. Ellacombe, on the Church BellR of Somerset and Devon, and the Rev. W. C. Lukis. on the Church Jkill.g of Wiltshire, have been examined, without, how ever, much being found therein to throw light on the subjeGt. The:re are no bells to be found in these foits with il1e names of William a.nd Tu::iger Purdue I lOHANE'SCLIF TON M E'FE SIT 1'38 16 3' zr tt I I I f 1Ji I f I It must have boen rung for a great many years, two crown staples tor hanging the cla.ppcr hRving been worn out of it, o.nd pits worn in the sound-bow from. the blows of the elappors. It is 28t inches in dia meter, and is probe.bli' ~ reca..'li of a? earlier bell, which wa~ the first or tr~ble of the peal of five bells, wh1cl1 the church wa.s provided with by t.hc Lynch family in the sixte1mih century, a.'! the Dam~ of its fou.nder does not appear on any other bell now in the church. It ie a well-moulded bell, but is not in tune with those which were hung for 476 PROCEEDINGS. ringing, though it is mnch more nearly so than tbe treble or first of tho six bells now in the ring, which is ha.If a. tone flat of its proper note. This bell ia 80 inches in diameter, and bears the following inscription :- Tho lettering and ornamenb are identical with those on the bel]f1 already described as ea.at by Tobias Covey. The second bell is 3lt inches in dia.meter, and is fa.irly in tW'le wjth those below it. The inscripoon is as follows :- This bell and the next are probably recasts of two of those ea.at in l 684, cracked meanwhile. The lettering Bnd marks are simila.r to those on t.he first bell, with the adllition of an impression of a. coin, the legend on wl1ich is iw1istinct. Tue third bell, which resembles the last dose?y, is SS im:hes iu uiameter, and ha.s the following inscription, after three impressions of coins, which a.re not decipher able:- Tobie.a Covey must have been an old man a.i that d11.oo, for we have &ra..ced him for forty-five years : a.s far as has been ascertained, his name does not appear on any bdl of a later date, though it doea appear on several of tho eighteenth century. Next, fo order of ringing, comes 11 beautifully-moulded, rather tall bell, 87 inches in diameter. It is ornamented with a beautifully wronght ba.nd, imd four well-cxocut<1d medallions, one of the Virgin imd Child. the _others probably of patron saints 0£ the church to which PROCEEDINGS. 477 it originally belonged, or of the Abbey of which, as will be seen, that church was & dependent. The ineeription, in well-formed, nieed Roman letters, runs :- DOMP CAVDEFFRO'i DEl I.A 1Ml EM.\ LA OF..(Cll DE Dl&V ABBE DEi "S'J' SAVLVll 1M' sR t DO/l!e DE QAVRON' VVALOIS MA NO.MME POVR SERVIR ALECL1SE TN l)ICT CAVRON which, rendered into English. is :-" Godirey de la Ilue, by the gt"&Ce of God, abbot of St. Saulve and Lord of Ca.vron, has n&IJled me, W~oi11. to serve aitthe church of the said Canon: 1681." Whilst below, over the sound-bow, is out:- L OVTS + LONCiRE:E: ~novs .. AT .. rAICT ··I(.::;! After some fruitla89 attempts to looaJ:ize Ca.\"l'on, ana St. Sa.ul'\"'0, by application to parties in France, the "Dictionna.ire Geographiq1ie de France," British Musoum Library, was consulted, which states that St. Saulve was a.n abbey near Vo.loncienncs, and that Cavron St. Martin WM !I. oommune in the Canton of Headin, Depa.rtmant Pas ae Calais. It might have been that tht: Abbot of St. Sl\ulve was Lord of Cavron; but the name WaJ.oia was a grea~e:i: puzzle. Did it. mean that Cavron waa in the ancient d11chy of ValoiR, n, part of the fate da France? The Rev. J llDlee Graves suggested tba.t M. Henri Gaidoz, editor to the RetnU Oeltique, should be applied to, as he is a member of our Aaaooia.ilon ; and in carrying out this suggestion, a.ltcr stating the i..cscription on the bell, the following question was added :-Is it pos sible that Walo.is could be the name of the bell? for we find many bells n&med in Engl&nd, and some in heland also, aH will be f\Mn hereafter. M. Gaidoz moot kinaly a.t once communicated the inf'Cription to the Society of AntiqU&ries of Paris, and M. de Montaiglon suggested to him that Walois was a.nother name of St. Guinga.lois, voneratcd at Montreuil·tro.r-Mer, Pas de Calai9. This was kindly inserted in tbe " Bulletin Monument.al " of Paris, Bml further w1rn communicated by th& ediror, M. Pa.lustre, to M. Je Comte de Marsy, who was woll acquainted with that part of Fra.nc(l in which the ancient duchy of Valois W88 situated. Thie noblemn.n, on Bccing the whole notice in the "BulleLin Monumental," wrote to M. Ge..idoz roquosting him to communicate th& substa.i1co of his lcttor to the o.uthor. nnd to ~he 478 PROCEEDINGS. Society oi Antiquaries, which is as follows :-" That, on reading the inscription. there was no doubt that it referred to Cavron, in the canton of Hesdin, the loroship of which had been given by the Count Helga.nd to the Abbey of St. Sauve, at Montreuil-sur-Mer, in the vicinity of which it la.y. 1 Wal.loia, or Wal.loy, is the name of a saint whose relics ba,d. been brought to the abbey by some Breton monKs, and where they were pe.rticularly veneratecl.z Therefore, the Abbey of St. Sauve, giving a bell to the church of Ca.vron, and being god father to it, ta.kee in this circumstance the title of seigneur of tho place, and na.mea the bell after one of ita patron saints. Now, bow to explain the transport of the bell to Ireland. Two suppositions present tbemselvea. Its being ta.ken during t.he we.rs at the end of the seven teenth century, when, the village having been pillaged, an officer will ha.ve taken it awa.y aa a trophy, the inha.bita.nts not being able to affeet its release ;3 o.r perhaps a sale. Besides, Ca.vron being but. s short distance from the sea, the sending 0£ the bell into England for some such reason e~plaing itself much more easily than if it was situated hi the department of the Aisne, that is the duchy of Valois.'' The bell may have been carried to Bristol, or to some port in the south of England, where Tobias Covey probably bought it; and finding that it would suit tolerably well for splic.ing into the peal tor Galway, took it there, instead of taking metal to make a. new bell. The lip ha.9 been aorocwhat cut away to raise its not-0 to suit tho other bells; it is, however, still senBibly flat in i·elation to them, as very littlo co.n bt: done to sba.rpen the note of a, bell, without spoiling its tone. Tho next bell is ~he oldest in the chU?ch, and bctu'S tha following inscription iu plhtticularly bold ch.Brtwtora :- ~ ~ JHlW©IHI~mrir~©IrNllOD~® fS~@<>ifo\~ ~S~l~~ ~~~@~Mllli ~ ·ll" ll~ 9@~iF~W l. Bm de Colonna," Montreuil·sur·Mer," iv. pp. 688-690. See also the rooant pp. 25, 26. Al! t_hatie required to rectify work of M. Ram~ on the "Cant d& the error oi placing St. Sau'Te near V"'" Lauilnenner.'1 lencicnnee, would boa lapsns of the "l." a It is known the.t tha offiaers of the : I loavQ on one t.ide the identifi.cation of artillery, about th& ea.me period, m&de St. W alloiisand St. Guinguole. Cf. Cot d~mand.8 for the 1t1eb>mtion of the btilla blet, 1' H~ographie du diocl!ae d' AlnienB, '' taken frotn this country (France). PROCJ.:WlNGS. 479 Its diameter is 89 inehea, and it is well shaped and proix>rtioned. There a.re no marks or ornament.A on it, by which T. W. migM be identified. His name was probably on some of the other belle reca.st by Tobias Co'Yey, for there is no doubt that a. peal of five bells was provided or completed. in 1590, when this bell was recast. James Linch Fitzatobrose ws.s mayor in lf)90, and procured new bells by direction of the Corporation. His son, thirty years aiterwsrda, rooovere ~ THJS!AT;Tire;coR.PERA.CION:cHARGE! TR: MAYOR~T Tobi.as Covey's uaual ma.rk appears Bit the end of the inscription. Thoma.a Sim.cocks was afterwards mayor, ha.ving been a man gres.tly respected by his !ellow-citizens. All that is to be found in the C-orpo re.tion records about these bells jg most probably recorded in Hardi. man's" History of Galway," and has been repeated in this notice. The ail. bells a.re hllllg in the usual roughly ma.de frarue of that period, and bad large wheels, ana evidently ha.cl been rung for n. \'ery long time on the "dead-rope" system, as the bells are much pittod by the very heavy clappers which were necessary to .ma.kc them "speak,'' when hung so low, as they a.re. The bell-chamber is now in the i-;piro, as bofol'e mmtionod. ·llho earlier belie a.ppcar to have been p~ed 2owc-r down, ill the chamber with four windows, which wero no~ originall)- glaz(;d, ns thcro llirc no grooves for lead lights iu tho mullions or jo.mbs. 'fho church bei..11g sunounded with houaos, llJld much more closely so in tho seventeenth century than it is now, llo doubt it wa.11 consi It sign.Wes that George Roche was ma.yor, Raymond Fitzmaurice e.nd .Isaac Moth were sheriffs, and tha.L Tobias Covey and E. Covey, pro bably his son, were founders, 170S. It.e die.meter is 29t in<'hes, and height fcom lip to crown 28! inches. The second bell has 111 nearly identical inscription, as follows :- Tobias Covey gives Lja name in full a.a the founder on this bell, but omits t.ha.t of his partner in the opere.tion. The diameter of this bell is Bl inches, and the height to the crown 29t inches. The Hev. Canon Fra.nei.s Metedyth, in his hisoorieail sketch of St. Mary's Cathedreil, sta.tes that "Raymond. Fitzmaurice and IsiMW Moth were ~heriffs in that year. VI C. stand for Vice-Comites. The third bell, the first of Sir William Yorke'e peal of six, is very interesting, as it introduces us to the connexion between the Purdues and tbe Coveys. The lettering is exactly aimila.r to that used by Tob.ias Covey, and the inscription reads:- ~VlVAT'.REX:ET:rLOREAT:GREX;ANNt>'. POMINI;1673WPARPAWCAAA~ 92St lt rns.y be rendered, "May the King live long, and tha ~ople fionrish, in the yeBl' of out' Lord, ~678." ~he Purdues ~ ~ great mimy ea.sea put roott-Oes of thie kind on the1.r bell_e.. The m1- tisl.s are those of William Purdue, Roger Purdue, and William Covey. The diameter is 82 inches, e.nd the height from tip to erown 28 inohea. The next ionr bells have been recast: the fourth by J. Murphy of PROCEEDINGS. 481 Dublin, in 1859, its diameter being the same as the last. It muei be a. poor thin bell to 11ound a note lower. The fiftl1 and sixth bells, set inches and 88~ inches in diameter respecti\'~Jy, are by T. Meara of London, 1829. Tlia seventh, 401 inches in diameter, was recast by J. Murphy of Dublin in 1878; and, a.swell aSJ the two la.tier, is too thin, and too email in dia.metel', to be eqnaJ. in tone to the tenor bell. This boll, as the grR.ndost of tho peal, had consequently the chief· 011t inscription, though it is probable that e.ll had long inaoriptions, con- taining mottoca or verses, upon ~ them. Tho diameter of this fine t"') bell is 49 inohes, a.nd it is 86 ~ inches in height to the ahonlder. ~ Ca.non Mercdyth imya that its i-ji note is F, probably rather flat; rg and as the tenor bell, csst by M 2 LLe same founders, except Wil- ~ ~ lia.m Purdue. for 8&. Canica'a ~ U Ca.thedral at Kilkenny, iii 1674, ~ C:: was the same ilia.meter, and W8..\I P J.4 aaid co have been moulded by ~ ~ ~ the sa.me " sweep, .. itB weight :is ~ ~ >: probably much the same - s. ~ ~O ;.l little over 21 cwt. The aec The repetitions which will be found in several lines of tho inscrip tions a.re given to ahe>w how these Hues are connected round the bells. 1.rhey do not occur on ihe bells themselves. (To /Jr. conti1iued.) ( 28 ) IRISH CHURCH BELLS. (No. III.) (Co11ti1wedfrnmp. ~SZ, VoI.. VI.) B'°" RICil.ARD LA.XGRISIIE, ncB-J'RESIDl!ST, ::i~. Jl. A. A. 1., THE ancient Church of St. Audoen, in Corn Market, Dublin, contains six bells, amongst which are three of tl1e oldest now hanging in au y steeple in Ireland, if not the oldest 0£ all our ca~t bell8, and therefore of surpass ingix, great interest to the campanologist. l'hc Ucv. Alexander Leeper, D.D., who ha~ been £or many years Rector and Prebendary of St. Audoen's, when applied to iol· permission to examine these bells for the purposes of this Paper, cordially responded, and supplied me with his Jlandboolc to the Church and its }fonumcnts. This book contains copies of the inscrip tions on ftve 0£ the present six bells, also of that on the former second bell-which was i·ecast some years ago froro rubbings taken by John Ribton Garstin, LL. n., F .s.A., which vorify those made by myself. The Hev. Christopher T. ~l'Oready, .M.A., of St. Patrick's Cathedral -who has been Curate of St. Audoen'.s :for several years---hM also most kindly placed the old Vestry-book (lately rccovo1-ed by him) at my disposal, together with a considerable amount of infor mation collected by him, during a number of ycnrs past, from the more recent Vestry-books, and other sources. A good deal of this information has lately been publUihed in a series of very interesting articles in The Irish Builde,·, and attention ha8 thus been drawn to points which otherwise might have been overlooked. I propose to take the bells in their ringing or Tho earliest 1·cfcrenoo to tho bolls, in the Vestt'y book, is in 1638, and others occur fron' time to time:- " Tlis Cwjtw Bell.-Jn a. mentinge of the Prebcnti nnd parisnionl'r~ of St. Audocn's, it i~ ugre~cl that th~ botly of the church in both 111'!' shalbee pave1l nppon the ch:u·ge~ of tho!'le monnies remain1ngc uppon the collr.ctor'R hanrlll of the monnit> tha.t Wll.'! hnratofore cesi;~d for the stccplr- A n The ringing of t.h~ r.urfew hell was discontinued at the commencement of tho prcimnt century. " 1658, Augnr-t 3 lr,.t. 'fhfa 1lay the r.hurchwardcns, with some of tho l1unshi.oncri;1 mctt in the church, nnd itt wa.;; conchtrlc ")foy 3, 1660. At 11 nioctin .~" thi~ Derrick W cstonra had been eh u rchwarden in 1659. In tl1e churchwarden's account, from 25t.h Mardi, 1667, to the 25th March, 1668, ru·o the following enfrie:3 l1aving reference to the belli; :- £ 8. d. 11 :For nnil.s and monding y• bell whoclcs,. . , 0 1 0 To Mr. Snu1em y• Smith fo:r Iron workc for y• bells, Olld Hookes an '' l6~g, Mnrdt 'i. .Agreed t.hnt Tu. Philip Custlcton uml St. Duttou, uml lb-. John Da:ds, -for the Upper Ward, and Mr. Wnl.kr, 1fr. David Fawknrr. ond Copt. Wolter Mottley in tho Lower Wnrd, ore chosen o.nd requested by the rrebendlllj and the pnrishionets to collect and gather up the chnrito.blc bcncvok11cics and contributions of All well-disposed pcr:>one, toward the repair ,,f the steeple and :spiro of St. Auc1oeu's, together with the repairs of the :Bells, and to add 11 new fono1-, and to nt up the clock with ~himcs. "Cn.rnu:s \\'nsrr, Pre'hend." '' G:r.o. <1n,RERT' l Cliurclw:ardms. '' "JOH?I. D£SllHJJo:!\.t-~-::. I " 16!)3, April 17th. Att a V cstry then hold by the Prcbcnd, Cbun:h wurd<:ns, and PaTishionel'S, it was unanimously agreed and accepted of, hy the ~aid ptui;ih aforesaid, of Mr. Tho. Somerville, and Mr. Clcmcut lfillwurd, ns their Sideamen and Churchwa.r Mr. Dominick Ryan be chosen as Sideeman and Mr. James Mitchell iu Room of the abo>c Mr. Thommi Somer\·ille and lir. Clement Millward, as witnc11:;i our humls. "J:so. FINGLAssE, " '\VrLLl.U1 :SAKER, WILL. Tl'll:\ ic~. Ol1.ttrcl~war " 1691, April y• 23rd. Att a Yei;try thon he1tl in the pR.rif'jh Church of I.iccn~ecl Churcll\vardcn~, St. Audocn's, Dublin, by the C11rat1· 1 o.nd parishioner~, it was agreed that the five ond twenty hundml W(>ight of :Brass lifottu.1 givon by thG R1ght Honourable 11.vnry, Lord Viscount Sydney, ln.tll Lord Lieutenant of this Kin~dom ( 1690-95) to tlle use of tho Ra.id Church for the founding a new Bull lw forthwith put into thC' hands of Maj or Henry l'arii;, to be by him cast into two ::SelL'l, thnt is to say, one tenor and on~ treble; and that nll the <'o!!ts and chal'gcs for ca9t ing the i;a.m!l be " 16!)0, April y· 1 Oth. .A..tt n. Y cstry lc~ully ca.l11:cl, nnd this do.y MsembleJ, it was unll.Dimously ugrct.>d by the Licensotl Curatt, Church warderui, and Pari:shioucrs of the parish 0£ St. Aurlocn's, Dublin, t.hnt Mr. Pa.trick Forbuti be exempted from fien·iug Side11waa. un '''£no. Pol."l!l"l'XF.Y, Ouratt. 11 " .T " N Qu .\I r.t:, l Clu1rchwara~ns.'> " ·w 11. l'.u1.ur, f £ 8. d. " 1786, May 31. The Churchwardens to pay the ringer:< as they merit, () 0 0 Thi;! riugeri> whon tho Cllurchwar1len~ a.rn eler:te "1790, Feb. 16. It W:l.S unanimously agr~ed tbat Mr. Richard Wil~on ue employed to 1'-llSt a. ne\V treble flell, he charging the Parish t11c sn m of one shilling and five pence per -pound for ~ai1i bell. At the snme time it '\\as agree Pnrieh ten pence per lb. for old Bell in exchange fol' new Bell; he also engages the same bell to be tuneable.'' £ 8. a. 1 ( 1790, April 15. Pa.id for weighing the old Dell, . 0 l 4 ,, ,, 29. Richard Wilson for new bell and Sundries, . . 25 15 6 " Having now gone through all the entries referring to the bells in general, we come to the.t concerning the first, or treble. It is 29t inches in diameter, weighs about 6 cwt., and bears tho following inscription, roughly engr~wed over the sound-bow in letters lt inch high, the founder having evidently forgotten to stamp it on the mould before ca.-,ting the bell:- ·•REY. TTIOMAS CRADDOCK, 1 PREllE~DA.RY: LEWIS IIODGSO.K, "'fHO. HACKETT, CHCRCHWARDEN'S. 1790." This bell appears to bo tho successor of at least two earlier trebles, for the extracts already given from tho Vestry-book show that there were two small bell~ existing in l638i and that in 1658 steps had been taken to have two bel1s newly cast, which were then to be put into the founder's hands. It seems, 1wwovcr, from the order made in 1660, as if there had been some delay or uncertainty a~ to the bells having bcon properly cast. The next order (of date 1663) would seem to imply that the bells had been cast at the proper time, but that some metal had remained over in tho churchwardens' hands. In 1669-70, the bolfa stiH seemed to be in need of repairs, and a tenor bell was wanting. This shaH be rcfcrrccl to ag~in later on. Tho next mention of the treble bell is in 1694, when a new one, u.nd a tenor were ordered from Henry Paris: the fonner must have been that re-cast by Richard Wilson, and now hanging in tho stceplo. \Vo now come to the .second bell, 32 inche.s in diameter, and which is a re-cast made some yco.rs ago by John :Murphy of Thornas-:st.reet, Dublin, out of tlw metal of tho old second, which nppcar3 to have dated ---- ·------·--- 1 Thomas Crudock was ioslalied in St. erected to his memory in the EOutl1 ai-l>~t· l'atriclc.'g Calhcdl"al, ma Pl"obcndary of St. of the choir. - Monoll:-llhBOn'e l/iafl),.., .Au1loe11'11, on the 2nd Novem~r, 1776, ()j St. Fat1'ie1'' 1 Cat Mihal. . and ilie.1in1827, aged 86. A lllblel Wt!.ll IRISH CHURCH BELLS. 33 from 1658. There is nothing particular t<> be said about the present bell, lmt it i~ well to record the inscription on its predecessor, as, strange to say, it has not been reproduced on the new bell. Mr. M'Crea.dy fortunately copied it, and states that it wM- SOI.! Dl'.:O J>Kl'CH. GLORIA. 1628. DA~IEL WELDE, YERGER .AND SEXTON OF C.IlnIST ClIUHCIL It seems more probable that the date was " 1658,'' for the figure '' n '' was somctimeg made in such a way that an unpntctii.;ed observer might ea8ily mistake it for a "2.:' Ur. Leeper has suggested that tho be1l had been obtained from Christ Churcht as the Verge1·'s name appeared on it, hut tho more probable surmise is that he wns tho founder of it, and having been Verger from 1628 to 1062, might 11ave made it at either date named. Had tho bcH been cast for Christ Ohm·ch, that Catheclral would most probah1y han~ been referred to as "nv1vs : ECCL : ' 1 n.nd not by nu.mo, as will bo 3een in the cal'le of St. Pat.rick'8 CatliedraL W c hu vo seen " the othor throe bc11s 11 referred to in tho or "The llP-11 of Saint Au1!0 ·n." 4TH BHR. 1 \'OL. yt;t. D 34: mcsH CHURCH BELLS. There are spnccR of Revcral inches between tho words, to spread them round the circumference, which measures four feet nine inches ; there is a border of four filleta on each side of the in~cription, the whole forming a hand three in<:he8 iu width. TI10 fourt11, which i:; also oue of the ancinnt bells, is 37~ :inches ar.1·o~R thu mouth, nnd bcal':' t.hc following legend (plnccd between borders of four fillets) in letters made with the so.me stamp as those on the third bell. q>tl.]IS:: lJIROIDlS t "Tho Bell al B1$8800 Mary the Vir-gin.'' The fi.fth bell, which is 42 iuches in + "Tho Bell of tho Il<>ly Ttintty a11d all Sai11tt." Theso thrne bells> being similnr in their moulds, and having thou· legends recorded in characters formed with the same i:itru.upa, or types, were certainly all c!Ult by the same hands, tmu at the tiame time, in the year 1423, an. 2 Hen. VI. They are of fine tone, uml mmit be of very fine metal, to have remained perk'Ct for four IRIRH P-HURCH BF.U..S. 35 hundred and sixty-four years. No bells of their size and age romain in corutant uso in any other church in Ireland, nor probably even in Great Britain, and it is pa-8Sing atru.ngc how little interest appears to bo taken in them, though they are of priceless value in the eyeg of the campanologist. Judging from the legends, they would appeal' to form a complete set, the i:;ma1lost being dedicated to St. Audoen, the next to the Ble8sed Virgin Mary, and the largest to the Holy Trinity and all Saints; there woUld seem, therefore, to have been no one else loft worthy of having 11 hell dedicated to him. The only difficulty in ai·riving at this conclusion i~. thu.t taking them in musical or rever~e ol·de1· they form the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th notes in tho diatonic scale, wanting the keynote, or tenor bell, which wa."I st1pplied by the one cast by Henry Paris in 1604, and it fa quite possible that when these three l)ells had bcon made in 1423 there were not funds to provide a tenor for them, and that this want remained unsupp1ied until 1694. It seems that the order of 1658 for casting two new bells, and rehang ing the other three, did not contemplate providing a tenor; the ordr~r 0£ 1663 Hl10w~ that one was still deficient, that the vestry were dosirous to acquiro a suffi<~ient supply of bell-metal, and when they had pro cured it they set about getting a peal of six comploted. Henry Pn.ri~'s tenor hdl having 1)ecome cracked, it was re-cu.8t in 1732, ~ recorded on its succosso1·: a copy ·of t.he inscription which wa.-; on it l1ad fortunately been kept by the Rev. C. 'r. M'Cready. It ran thus;- '£HIS lJELL WAS RE.CAST BY ROGElt FORD, A.O. 173:.! . ROBERT GRATTAN, PREDE...'\D.A.RY; TllOMAS DOYLE AND WILLIAM COATES, CHURCHWARDEN'S This bell weighed over 14 cwt., and was doubtless .about 45 inches in diameter : tho present one, cast by the late J. Murphy of Dublin, is considerably shorter, and half an inch less in diameter, than the bell of 1423 .above it, and quite possibly does not weigh 12 cwt., having been mado as much thinner in proportion, as it D2 36 IRISH CHURCH BELLS. is too small in diameter, in order to get the proper note .from. it, and this thinness of course spoils the quality of the tone. The old tenor bell, which used to be rung as the six o>clock bell, morning and evening, while it lasted, was, according to the sexton, known by the name 0£ the "Old Cow." St. Patrick>s Cathedral Church, Dublin, seems to· have been long furnished with large bells. In Monck Ma::1on'8 fine history of that Cathedral, references are to· be found to them in the instructions given w(th the Pateut of Edward Vl., A.D. 1544, ''to give foUI· of the smaller bells'' for t.he use of the parish church which was to be 13et up wit.l1in the Cathedral, ah;o in the ' 1 Xd solutis uni carpent.ris q ui cmend11 \·it ' le froru H' sl!Ctmui c:1mpan11 A.D . t.555. de IVs solutis Jobanni I,ove reparanti sucundam c:amp:rn !'t ·Cotton gives \Yilliam Archdekyn as holding that dignity in the 15th century, probably 1otwe.en 1405 and 1471. Monck-Mason does not mention anyone as 1\·easurer between John de Gate in 1:349, and Richard Eustace in 14:71. He states tha.t ''almost all the ancient bells were re-cast in 1670,'' hut the Act 0£ Chapter, of the 19th 0£ .June, 1GG9, implies that they were all re-cast, and it is very improbable that the Purdues, who were bnmght over from Sa1i:-;bury for the purpose, would have thought it worth while to splice in one or two of the old smo.llor bells, for they brought the '' ~weeps " or templates for moulding the bells with them, n.nd the8C had most probably heen already brougllt to the proper sections for forming a ring- of eight '' t.uneablc'' bolls; they would not therefore have been likely to alter them to suit older bells. By the kindness of the Very Rev. John West, D.D., Dean of St. Pati-ick's, l have been permitted to make COJ)ies of the Act::; of Chapter made with reference to the bells, und they shall ispeak for themselves. That above rcforreil to is in the following te1·ms :- " Whcrl'nB Edward (?Purdue) :BcU :Founder come to this Citic to now cnst tho lldls o.£ this Cathedral. & Christ Chmch; it is ordered by y• sd Dcun & Chapter t.hut the l.idis of this Cathcd.rul be tnkcn uown antl. left in the \'crgcr's ho.n.cJ.s ID order to ha.YC them new cast u.ccording to Ogl"CC IDCllt made with the said Bell Foundc-r llS appr11. by thiB urlide." I c.:un only account for Purduo being calle '' 20th day of N There is no further allusion in the Chapter-book to the carrying out 0£ this work, and tho accmmt-books of IRISH CHURCH m:LLS. the period do not seem to be forthcoming, which is to be rcgrctted, as tho name of the founder might be dis covered in them, for it does not appear on the beJI, which is very like the Limerick treble, cast by rrobia8- Covey in 1703, being 30:} inches in diameter> and 29' inches in height to the shou]der. It is also similar to the bell at Athlone, made by him in 1684, for it was cast without canons; those now hanging it are of wrought iron, rivcttod into the crown, which is fiat, in 01·der to fit clo:-;ely Lo the stock. These a.ro the only bells I have let seen cast with out canons, and I am strongly incline to think that they wct·c cast by the same man. The legend runs round the· 1:1houlder, and is placed between four fillets; the letters aro of the same form as those already described on the Ga1way and L]merick bells, a11d are about one iuch in height, not., however, made with the same stumps:- DV RE'l' ; IJ,LAESA : AD : PRECES : EXCI TANS ; VSQ.YE ; .A.D : SO!.'ilTYM : SVPRE?t!AE ; 'l'YDAE :t 1724" " Mny tbia lkll temaiu Bound, tolling (lhe laith(ul} to Prayer till lhe sound of tho Lat.t TIU!llpet.'' On comparing the rubbing of this inscription with that of the legend on the bell at Hollyrnount, described in a previous Number of this Journal, the stamp of vine leaves and grapes, which is used on both, is evidently the same, although the letters a.re not, an The Rev. Edward Synge, A.M., was Prebendary of St. Audoen'i;, 1719-27, Chance1lor, 1727-30, Bishop 0£ Clonfert, 1730-1, of Cloyne, 1731--5, and translated to Ferns 1735-. The Recond bell, whir.h is 31! inches in diameter, and 29} :inches in height to the crown, bears the names of two worthie~ of whom no particulars can be procured. These may hnvc been copied from an older bell, 01· their owners may haYe been ronnecte * * IVLY ; TEIE ; I ; A~O : DOMIXI ; 1670 ; GIOF.ON' ; DELAVNE : s.-rnVEL : HOLT ; * It is preceded by two sprays, and tho circle is completed to nieet them by eight stamps of fleur~de-lys }Jattern. It is plain that the lcg between four fillet.8 1 as on the other bells. ROBF.R'T'VS RRADY, VIRGER, 1670. Wt.. P ti. R ~Pt.. I ti. P. The words arc divided by jleur-de-lys scrolls instead of the usual poinra. The fourth boll js a4t inches in diameter. The in scription contains 011ly the date and the founders' initials, as on the last bell, with scrolls between every second letter of the date, the letters being placed together in pairs, and hell8 between each l>f the initialH, 11~ on the third bell- Mi NO DO MI XI 1670 t. W t.P t.Rbl' t.Iti Pt. }. 40 IRISil O.IIURCII BELLS. The filth bell is a. late re-cast of the ono which bore the legend given in Monck-Mason's history:- "Henry Pn.ri.s made mo with good sound, To be .Bit in eight when all ring rouud, At the charge of Dean Lindsey of St. l)atrick's, 1695." This was doubtless the same Henry Paris who cast the treble and tenor for St. Audoen)s Church in the previous year ; and if the sound of his bell was not better than that 0£ its successor it was not cracked a day too soon. Our late honoured Secretary, the Hev. James Graves, in writing to the author about him, said : " Henry Paris was a brass and metal founder, and a sort of ancestor of mine. The Rev. Paris Anderson, who wrote tho ac count of the 'Beresford (Ty1·one) Ghost,' was a grand son of his." The present, fifth bell, was re--cast, in 1864, for Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, and it bears the following in scription- "Spea mea in Deo-B. L. G. 1864, John :Y:urphy-Dublin." Thomas Lindcsay was made Fellow oi W adharo Col lege, Oxford, in 1678; Dean of St. Patrick's in 1693 ; and Bishop of Killaloe in 1695 ; translated to Raphoe in 1713, nnd to Armagh in 1714. He died in Dublin in 1724. The sixth bell was re-cast at the same period, a.nd is the succe~sor of the one made by the Pm·dues, on which was the following inscription :- .AN l DOM ; 1670 ; IOIIANNES ; DODSON ; IOII.!.....'ll\ES ; PREENE ; NON [ CLAMANS ; SED ; A?lfANS; IN ; AVRE ! DEI ; Here we meet with two names not to be :found amongst those of the members of the Chapter of this date, yd their owners may have been mino1· canons or vic~ra choral. Tho sovonth bell was also re-cast from the one made HHSH CHURCH HELLS. 41 by the Purdues in I G70, and the old inscription wa.~ re produced on it; it ran thus:- FE.A.RE : GO I> ; AND : JIONNOR ; THE ! KING ; FOR ; OBEDIENC ; IS : A. ; VERTVOVS ! THf~G : ANNO; DOMl:XI ; 1670 ; ,\ W 4.Pl:!>Rt.Pt..L:~Pti.. The first of these lines is to be found on a boll at Carhampton Church, Somerset, followed hy ROGER PU.R.DEY 1G84, a member of the samo family, i:f not the very same 1WGJ;1m, whose initials O.l"C here :found. On many of tho bells cast by t.hcso worthy men such like senti ments were inscribed ; and tho following was added on that t-0 which we now refer:- REC.AS'l' A. lJ. l809. HEYD. JAMES VEJiSCHUYI,E, LL. l>., I>EAN: 'l'IIE REV. 'l'BOMAS CllADOCK, LL. D., l'Rt:B. OF ST. AUDOE...'\', PROCTOR. CAST BY JAMES WELLS, ALDBOWlt::\, WILTSHIRE, A~D REB"'C'SG l'KDER TJIB DIRECllOK OF }'RAXCIS JOHNSTON, .ARCHIT.ECT, DUBLIN", IN TUE .50TJl YEAR OF TilE IlEIGN OF :KI~G GEORGE III. Wo now come to the tenor bell which has happily survived the rnh~fortuncs that befell the fifth, sixth, and seventh bells. It is identical in size with the Limerick tenor, both being 49 i.ncl1cs in diameter, aud similarly moulded. The irnwription comrucncei:; with the date, and not with the contraction of "Rcvercntlissimo," as given in l\1onck-)fa..son's hi:story and Dr. Leeper's Ilandbook, in both uf which the • • • • A : D : 1070 : RHllO : IN : XTO : PAT : MWH : D .illCII ; DVD : .ET : TOT : IIID ; D : c.rnc : NECNON : R : v TJJO : S.EELE : SS : TII : rROF : • • • ~ • nvrvs : ECCL DEGA....'iO : ET : It ; Y ; IO ; l'AlUl.Y ; EIVSD : l'.R..J:;CEN : ET PROCVRA~TE ; IlAS ; C.1UU 1AN.\S ; • • .. FYDIT : G PYIWV E : (JVM ; :SOClIS ; 3c 3€ (repeated t<> complete the line). 42 IRISH CHURCH BELL!?. The Most Reverend Michael Boyle had been trans lated to the Archbishopric oi Dublin in 1663, having been mo.de Bishop o:f Cork ili 1660; ho was the eldest son of Richa1·d, Archbishop of Tuam, who was first cousin to the great earl 0£ Cork. His only son, ~:lurrough, by his wife, who was a daughter of Murrough O'Brien, first Earl o:f Inchiquin, was created Viscount l3lessington. Archbishop Boyle was translated to Armagh in 1678 ; he died in December, 1702, aged 93, and was buried in the Earl of Cork's vault in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Archbi:shop's grnndson, Charles, Znd ViBcount Blcssing ton, who died in 1732, left no mnle heir, so the title and that. branch or the Boyle family became extinct. According to Monck-Mason, Thomas Seole, who ob tained the deanery hy letters patent, in }farch, 1666, was tho son of a sexton and verger of Uhrist Church Cathedral; l1~ ·was efoctcd a Junior Fe11ow of Trinity College, Dublin, in 16a3, and became a. Sonior Fellow in 1637. In 1647 his name occurB as Vice.Provost of the University, but he docs not appear to ho.vc acted during t.he Commonwealtl1. He was collated to the Prebend of Ra.thmichael in 1618. Ho was eminently distinguished as a preacher, and his freedom of expl'ession wai; by no means agreeable t.o the Government., ao thut on the 15th 0:£ December, 1B58, the Lord Deputy, Henry Cromwell, and t110 Council made a.n order "that Mr. Scele, who officiates in St. Nicholas> chm·ch, Dublin, do desist to preaeh or exercise £1ny ministerial function in the same, after the 19th of this month, not having past any tryal of his ability-, or other <1ualifications for tho duty; nor ha.th received any allowance, or approbation from this board.') At the Restoration ho was promoted to t.lu~ Provost ship of the College, although he was a married man; his Majesty promoted him, as he expresses it, on account of the ample testimony he had received of his learning and piety, as also of his ability and fitness to exercise this office of Provost. &c. Soon after tho Restoration, if not before the termina.~ tion of the Commonwealth, Seele was promoted to the Chancellor~hip of St. Po.trick'~, :for he appeared at Chapter in that capacity on the 22nd of October, 1660. lRlSH CHURCH BELUe 43 In 1608, Dean Seele and his c11apter commenced t() repair the cathedral, which had become much dila1Jidatcd during the time of the Commonwealth. The roof wat; in a dangerous state, threatening to fall in, so that it was ordered to be taken down and the organ to be removed. It was whilst the wo1·k 0£ newly roofing the cathedral was being carried out that the bolls were ro-cust, by the must famous fom1ders oi the day, at a cost of £280. Denn Scclc died on the 2nd of February, 1674:, and wa:s buried in tl1e c11apP.l of Trinity College. It would seem that he was a poor man, for on the 20th 0£ l\Iarch, 1687, the Chapter of Chri~t Church ma " llcrc a Bell-founder, honest and true, Till the Resurrect.ion lies Purdue." It is to be regretted that the stone on which this was. 44 lRlSH CHURCH ll~J,LS. ·CUt has disappeared from t11e floor or Limerick Cathedral. Similar epitaphs have been placed over other membe1·s of this family 0£'' cunning" founders of so many ''tuneableu peals of be&. May their works last till they rise again! Tho fo1mer bells of St. Canicc's Cat.hedralt Kilkenny, have been so often referred to, it may be well to record the inscriptions they hnd borno, and which have been reproduced on the present six, cast, in 1851, from the old metal, by Thomas Hodges of Dublin. The treble was 32! inches in diameter, and weighed 1 cwt. 1 qr. 10 lbs. The legend on it wa.s as follows:- D ! 0 i '!if : I~ ; YSVM ; J:CCL'ESI..£ ; S ; C..\.J.'HCI : KILKB~NLIE ; 10 ; P .ARRY ; S ; T ; P ; TVl\C ; EPISCOPO : OSSOR 3 f O.MXE : R.ESPIR.ANS; L.A..VDET; DOMINVM : 1'8.A.L ;CL: VERSY ! 'Vi ll R.ll. P AI'VDF.R.E ; G ; COVEY ; CVM : SOClIS : A ; D : :Mbfax.xrv : The second bell was 33 inches across the mouth ; it weighed 7 cwt. 3 qi·B., and bore the following:- "ROGER US PURDUE ET G't'LIELMt;S [COVEY] FGDERU~T'' "NOS Ol\!NES. 1674." The third bell was 37 inches in diameter, and weighed ·9 cwt. 26 lbs. ; it had on it merely initials and date as 'follows:- R.ll.l'.ti.W'ACll. .ANNO DOMIN! 1674. rrhe fourth beH was :l9 inches in diamete1·, and weighed 10 cwt. 2 qrs. The fifth bell measured 43+ inches across the mouth, and its weight was 13 cwt. These two bells h~ "THO. V.ESEY BARTO EPlSC. ROB. MOSSOll. S. T. r. DECA~O.'' "JOSUA XIPLING FUDIT. A.D. 172<1: 1 Joshua Kipling WaB a bell-founder in Portsmouth; his name is to be found on some bells in that neighboul'hood. Possibly it was he who ca~t the treble at St. Patrick's, Dublin. The tenor boll measured (according to tho late IRISH CHURCH BELLS. 45 Rev. James Graves) 49! inches in diameter, and 3 feet in height, so that it was practically identical in .size with its sister bells in Dublin and Limerick. The legend on it was as follows- D ; 0 : M ; IMPER.lNTE CAROJ.O SECU~DO. Ht:GO~E l>RYS DAU,E AilCHIDlACO OSSORIENSI. NOS FUDIT .ROGERUS PUR DUE ClJM soom; A.l>. 167-5. IO. PARRY 8 : T : I' : OSSOil., EPISCOPO. PROCURANTE. Benjamin Parry was at this time the Dean as well as being Dean of St. Patrick's; he also held tho rich 1·ec tories of Aghahoe in Queen's county, ancl Callan in the county Kilkenny, so thnt his brother John hnd provided well for him. In the Ossory Chapter-book of this period there arc several entries a.bout the bells, all of which havo been published in the "History of St. Cunico's Cathedral,'' and need not be here repeated. Dean Benjamin Parry docs not appear to have interested himscH a.bout them; but Bishop John Pm.·ry certainly defrayed the greator pat·t of t.hH coist. It is probable tliat Henry Paris cast a number of church hells, for some with the initial~ II. P. on them have been mentioned of late. 'I'he Hev. "\Villiam O'Neill Lindesay, of 'Varing~town, count.y A1:magh, has favoured me with a rubbing of the im;cription on a ~mia11 hell which was ]ately re-cast for Uonnghcloncy church. It had been eut in Roman capital~:- I BELONG TO DONOGIH:LONY PARlSil. : 8\'M: PA it.VA : AC: SO~ABI l.1!'i-: C.\.Ml'A~A: HP 84: Its diameter was about 19i- inches, ancl the weight about 1 cwt. 2 qr~. 1t ii; l'U.id. to have been sunk for a consider able time in tho RiYOr Lagan, but boiug .sound when taken ou(, it wa~ l'e-hung in \V;uingsto\vn church. Some time ttf{<> it bad to bo re-cn.st; the inscription has, how ever, been eugrrwed upon the new bell. Thi~ parish also possesses a Inrg-or bell, cni-;t, in 17 50, by Abel Rudhall of G lo uce8ter. 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