Bells of the Church Rev. H. T. Ellacombe

Bells of the Church BY Rev. H. T. Ellacombe File 06 – Chapter X Pages 527 to 555, Plates 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 APPENDIX. 62'1 CHAPTER X. APPENDIX.. " Fnn:e co:aotu.T OPtTa." My courteous readers will probably acknowledge the truth of my motto, if I here exhibit to them one of the most remarkable great bells that ever was made. As I have only very lately heard of it, an Appendix was unavoidable. I. In a very scarce little book (a copy of which has lately come into my poasession)-Pacichellius, de Tintinobuw Nola.no Lucubratio, published at Naples, 1693-which Dr. Parr (in Bibliotheca Parriana, 181 '7, p. 4'79) ca.11s "a great curiosity,"-there is an account of a large bell, formerly in the Church of S. Andrea at Mantua, of most remarkable construction, having eight openings or windows in its side. It is represented in this engraving (Fig. 1) reproduced from one in the work above mentioned. But, instead of giving the description as I find it in Pacichellius, I am indebted to the kind courtesy of the Very Rev. Carlo Savoya, the Dean or Rector of St. Andrew at MRntua, for a much fuller account of this great curiosity, with which the Dean has most kindly favoured me, in a letter of January last, extracted, he tells me, from the ancient rtcords of the Church in his possession. Guido Gonzaga, who was abbut of the Cathedral from 1431 to 1433, and afterwards became the Provost in 1444, cast this new bell with eight windows, availing himself of the metal of a form~r bell, which was given 628 APPENDIX. Fig. I to the Church by one Beatrice, anno 1000, and making it larger and more wonderful. The following inscription was on it.- + ~uldo de c;ouaaa, prepoeilua eccleeieo rnajorla mantu•, p1(opl!ll• rnanlbu tecit bane oampanam In honoqem p~ecloel $anaulnle <!lhl!latl lempoqe 11· lut1(la Plllnclple ]i)ominl .Iohannle ll'11anclaci de ~onxaaa prlml f'ta'!Ohlonla ~antue. .Jbno ltlomini ~ltl¢<!l<!l¢~t.r# . •fhis inscription is given in several local histor~es. According to the state lnent of V01·csemonde (a work quoted in the ecciet:Jiastical history of Mantua) this bell was cracked on being rung, and when removed from the tower it was placed on a pedestal of eight marble columns in the piazzetta of S. Andrea, but it was afterwards removed. and placed on the floor of the Church. in the right hand corner. as you enter the great door. There it was when Pacichellius wrote his little book. and there it ' . relnained till 1812. when it was raised once more to the bell tower. and rung on the night of the 14th of August. the eve of the first Napoleon's APPENDIX. 529 birthday ; but the sound, which it had been attempted to mend, not answering the general expectation, it wa.s taken down, and again placed in the Church, where it remained for some years, till it passed by purchase into the hands of a. private individual, who carried it to Milan, and there it was exhibited as a great curiosity, a.ncl afterwards destroyed, for the purpose of making use of the bronze, aud so making a profit of it. Count Carlo d' Arco, in his history of the Arts and .Artificers of Mantua, gives us the following description of it, as left by one Ra.mpold ; who, after noticing that amongst its various ornaments, the chief were four figures, each of which was marked with a name, viz., ATLAS, HERCULES, PALLAs, ADAM. With regard to its weight, Paciche1lius says it wns 540 common p(>unds of the district. I learn from the Dean's letter that a. drawing of the bell is preserved in the family of the Marquis Castiglioni of Mantua.; and that there is another bell, with eix windows or openings, in the style of that of 1444, which was founded in 169:l ; that the size is half a metre:; it is in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, called "Del Canossa." This engraving of the open bell with six windows is made from a. Fig. 2 XX 530 APPENDIX. drawing most kindly sent to me by the Dean of Mantua. It was made by order of Count Tullo Petrozzani, secretary to the Duke of Mantua, in 1593. It has the arms of the noble family, viz., the unicorn, with a fillet across ; there are also smnll medallions of the Crucifixion, of the Madonna, S. Lawrence with the gridiron, and two other saints. The legend is a play upon the words, not very clear, viz.- + V'f TA.NDE ORE NVC. DICAT ANIMV AERE, DATQ NON MIIRONIS AT PLEN'V OPVS AMORIS NON OS NEQ. AES OS TAME AES INESSE D.AT SONVM P MERITIS GRATIAS QVI SOIT IN AVRES SERVAVIT. The Rev. Mariani Matteini, in a letter of 12 January, 1871, has the following:-" When I made the little bell for the Pope (see page 486) I did not know of the existence of these open bells at Mantua, and I thought that I had been the first person to invent them; but it is indeed true, ' nil sub sole novum.' " There is also in Pacichellius an account of the first great bell supposed to have been invented or adopted by Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, circa 420, for Church purposes. (Fig. 3). The height is unusually out of all proportion with the width. The mouth is only slightly expanded, after the form of the sacred trumpets ; at the top two holes appear, one larger than the other. Tht:lre are six loops or handles at the top for suspension ; to the clapper is attached a leather strap, by which it was sounded ; and near the top of the bell the name of the art.ificer may be read, namely, Jacobus de Caserta ; there is also a legend round the upper part, but it lis too much corroded to be read. Fig. 3 APPENDIX. 631 II-HOW TO HANDLE A CHURCH BELL. It bas never been my intention to touch upon the science and art of Change ringing-that subject has been ably treated of by many writers, as may be seen in my sixth chaptflr, but by none better than by C. A. W. Troyte, Esq., in his very valuable book lately published ; still it may be u~~eful to reproduce in this chapter his instructions how a ringer ought to haudle a. Church bell, and therefore, with his kind permission, the following very useful extracts are taken from his book, as well as the illustrations - " The young ringer's first object must be to manage his bell, over which he mll8t have entire controul, before he attempts to join in a peal with others. For this purpose it will be well for him to go to the tower with the sexton, or some other person who understands the use of a bell, and there, with the clapper of one of the bells lashed, to work away at her' until with a steady pull he cau set her at 'hand' or ' back stroke ' at pleasure : the ' hand stroke' will be the one on which he pulls the 'sally,' or tuffi.ng on the rope ; the ' back stroke' that on which he pulls the end of the rope. "The diagrams (Plate xvii.) will help to make the directions clearer. The engraving on page 224 represents a bell in its ordinary position in the tower; No. 1 (Plate .x.vii.) a bell set at hand stroke; No. 2. a bell Ret at back stroke. The instrnctor should set the bell at back stroke. and then adjust the rope to exactly the right length for the learner, by pulling up or letting down the ' tuckings,' as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 on No. 2, so that he (the learner) may clasp it with both hands, lea.ving no rope below the lowest hand, as ~hown in Fig. 2 No. 1. He should then set the bell at hand stroke, and after having made the rope the right length, standing directly in front of him till he has got an idea of the motion of the rope ; he may then allow him to hold the rope for himself, but he should never leave his side until he can manage it fairly steadily, as the greatest care should be taken never to let him get frightened by the rope shaking about, or coming down on his head, as 1 u It ia usual among ringers to speak of a bell 88 ' she ' or ' her,' in the same manner 88 a eailor would speak of his ship." =:' 532 APPENDIX. it is very apt to do with a beginner ; he should then instruct him to take the end of the rope in one hand, and to stretch his arms above his head until at the extent of his reach (without straining) he can grasp the tufting ; then carefully pulling the rope downwards until the bell balance, he should hold her so for a moment to get the 'feel ' of her, and then with a force of not more than two or three pounds weight (if the bell is under 10 cwt., and goes fairly well) bring her over the balance. As soon as she is over, or 'off,' (as the expression is) he must at once put the hand which does not hold the END of the rope down to the other which does, and allow the bell to carry his hands up at back ijtroke, until she is just over the balance again, when he must check her there, holding her so as not to let her touch the block (or stop, against which the slide strikes), but yet so that she is {)Ver the balance, and would not fall either way ; the stay should t.ouch the slider, but ijhoultl not cause it to touch the block ; he should then pull her off in exactly the same manner, and with the same force as is described for pulling her off at hand stroke ; and, when the tuffing comes {)pposite his face, ho should grasp it as directed at first, and in exactly the same place, letting the weight (or impetus) of the bell carry his hands up as described for setting her at back stroke, till she is over the balance, and taking care that the tufting docs not slip through his hand ; and so on until he has had enough.

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