The Church Bells of Monmouthshire by Arthur Wright File 02 – The Church Bells of Monmouthshire Alphabetical listing – Pages 1 to 96 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 THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. BY ARTHUR WRIGHT, B.Sc. THE county, whilst presenting little of outstanding interest in the way of campanology, possesses several early examples of the art (Gwernesney, Kemeys Commander, etc.) without inscription, but undoubtedly by their shape of the thirteenth century, and also several early inscribed bells, of which, perhaps, the most interesting is that at St. Brides Netherwent. The proportion of pre-Reformation bells is, however, rather low. For the purposes of our survey the county may be roughly divided into two parts-the eastern and southern portion, mainly agricul­ tural, and occupying about three-fourths of the whole area-and the remaining western portion, much industrialised. In the first district the bells are comparable with those in the bordering English counties and have not suffered much from change in recent years, whilst in the latter region most of the town churches are modern, though on the hilltops are still to be found, as in industrial Glamorgan, the old parish churches, left high and dry when the tide of population flowed into the valleys. The writer, during the last 33 years, has been investigating the bells in this county and Glamorgan, and has personally visited practically every parish in Monmouthshire and in most cases has reached the bells. Where this has been impossible, as in some turrets very difficult of access, they have been carefully studied through glasses. Since many changes have taken place during the last thirty years due care has been taken to bring the earlier records up to date, and in every case the date of visit is appended. In the following article it is proposed to deal with the churches in their alphabetical order as far as possible, treating of chapels-of­ ease, and mission churches, under their respective mother-churches. A few secular bells have also been included, wherever these are of interest, and to make the county record complete. It is hoped to conclude the articles with a general survey and summary of the bells and foundries represented in the county. As might be expected a large number of the bells come from the famous Gloucester foundry of Rudhall, whilst the one local foundry, Evan and William Evans, of Chepstow, is worthily represented. The bells THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE 3 of the latter appear in all the counties of South Wales, and across the Bristol Channel, and have even reached as far as Lancashire (Cartmel). There are also several unsolved problems such as the illegible inscription at Tredunnoc, and the names of the founders of bells of 1598 (R.P. and G.P.) at Llanfihangel Pontymoile, and Llan­ geview. It is at first sight tempting to connect these bells with the well-known Purdues of Somerset, who, however, were not at Bristol but in Wiltshire until 1600, and the Monmouthshire examples are small and rough cast and quite unlike the latter's bells. In many of the English counties records of the bells exist in the official returns of Church Goods (Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth), and the earlier records of the Court of Augmentations at the Dissolu­ tion of the Monasteries. There appears to be little trace of these for the county of Monmouthshire, apart from a few isolated examples which have survived. It is known that most of the bells from the Welsh monasteries were sold to a London grocer, John Core, whose agents' accounts are extant in some cases ; also that the town of Abergavenny succeeded in retaining the four bells of the Priory as municipal property and not ecclesiastical. About the year 1670 a short return was made by a certain Sir Edward Thomas1 of the bells then existing in certain churches in the Llandaff diocese. [Referred to in the survey as E.T.] Between 1740 and 1752, Browne-Willis made a record of the bells at many churches, including our county, either through agents or by personal visitation.2 These will be referred to as B.W. It remains to acknowledge gratefully the willing help given by the incumbents and church officials everywhere throughout the county, without which this record would necessarily have been much more imperfect. The writer owes also a great debt to Mr. H. B. Walters, M.A., F.S.A., until recently Keeper of the Greek and Roman Department of the British Museum, the great authority on the church bells of England, who not only accompanied him on a tour of the bells around Usk in 1920, but has also kindly under­ taken to overlook the proof sheets of this work. He must not, however, be held responsible for errors, from which it is impossible to hope that these notes will be entirely free, and which will be the writer's own. • The Public Library journal III, 200 (June, 1902). 'Add MSS. (Cole), 5828, 37, fol. 48b, for Llandaff Diocese. 4 THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE their inscriptions and history ABERBARGOED St. Peter (1903) (One bell) Diam. (1) Blank. (16 in.) Thanks to Rev. E. B. Fry, M.A. ABERBEEG See Llanhilleth. ABERCARN St. Luke (1926) (One bell) (1) Blank. (19f in.) Church built of reinforced concrete, faced with local stone. ABERGA VENNY Christchurch (One bell) Modern mission church to St. Mary's. ABERGA VENNY Holy Trinity (One bell) (1) Bell, modern and blank. (c.22 in.) ABERGAVENNY St. John (now the Masonic Temple) (One bell). At the Dissolution St. John's was the Parish Church, and was then superseded by the Priory Church of St. Mary, St. John's becoming the Grammar School of Henry VIII (founded July 24, 1543). The church was used as the schoolroom, and services held in it on Sundays until 1683, when they were discontinued. In 1827-29 however services were held in it during alterations to St. Mary's. When the new Grammar School buildings were completed the church was sold to the Freemasons who use it as their lodge-room.1 In the lodge-room is still one of the bells, with the inscription2 W. JEFFERIES FECIT BRISTOL 1835 (26 in.) Some of the other bells appear to have been removed to St. Mary's, for Mr. H. P. Cadle of Abergavenny writes:- "I remember seeing the bell after it had been lowered from St. John's Tower before its removal to St. Mary's where I saw it later, about SO years ago. The Curfew bell, which you saw in the Free­ masons' Lodge, I believe, used to be rung on Sunday mornings at about 8 o'clock." The Town Clerk writes as follows:- "One bell was taken from St. John's and recast, and is now at St. Mary's, forming the tenor of the ring of eight bells." This ' Bradney I, p. 174. 2 Compare St. Mary, No. (4). THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE 5 identifies No. 8 at St. Mary's as the one from St. John's, recast in 1893. It i~ generally believed that the pre-Reformation bell (No. 6) now at St. Mary's was also from St. John's, especially as it is dedicated to St. John, but it may quite possibly be a survival from the Priory ring of four claimed by the parishioners at the Dissolution. ABERGAVENNY S. Mary. (8 + 1 bells) (1) CANON CAPEL VICAR LLEWELLINS & JAMES (29 in.) ILTYD GARDNER}CHURCH WARDENS BRISTOL LEWIS MORGAN 20TH JUNE 1887 (2) VICTORIA• JUBILEE (29! in.) 1887 LLEWELLINS & JAMES . BlUSTOL. (31 in.) (3) 1845 (4) W. JEFFERIES FECIT BRISTOL 1835 (33! in.) (5) WILLIAM HVMPHREYS GT. & MR . IOHN MEASE CHVRCH­ (36! in.) WARDENS 1706 ABI~ A. RVDHALL OF GLOVCES. BELL FOVNDER CAST MEE (ornament) (6) + + In Multis Annis RefonetC ampana lohannis (40! in.) (7) HI CHARD SCOTT + DAVI + PRICE + CHVRCHWARDENS (43f in .) + 1666 t\' R it P tf (ornament) (8) A BELL I AM FULL SURE & SOUND . ·. I CALL TO BURY (47 in.) THE DEAD IN GROUND 1603. RECAST 1893 JOHN PRICHARD }CHURCH- LLEWELLINS & JAMES EDWARD MAIUIN WARDENS BRISTOL (Ting tang.) Blank (1St in.) Nos. (1), (2), (4), and (8) and the ting tang have their canons intact, b.ut (3), (5), (6), (7) are without them and have the crown drilled for bolting to the stocks. On the stocks GROVES B'HAM. Browne-Willis mentions 6 bells in 1740. No. (1). The Rev. Bury Capel, M.A., Prebendary of Llandaff, was Vicar from 1863 till his resignation in 1895. No. (3) is probably by Jefferies & Price, of Bristol, the successors to W. Jefferies. No. (5). The ornament is Rudhall's scroll pattern.1 1 H. T. Tilley & H . B. Walters, Bells of Warwickshire, Fig. 15. 6 THE CHURCH BELLS OF MONMOUTHSHIRE No. (6) is by William Burford, a London founder, the only one who used both of the initial crosses (Fig. 1) [which are Kent No. (5) and Surrey No. (191), (Stahlschmidt)] and is of date 1400 to 1430. This bell is locally held to be from St. John's, which seems borne out by its dedication. It may have been one of the four Priory bells claimed at the Dissolution by the parishioners, but the date is some­ what too early to agree with the evidence given by witnesses in 1545 before the Commissioners. (See later.) No. (7) is by Roger Purdue II of Bristol (1649-1688), whilst No.