The Church Bells of Leicestershire BY Thomas North, F.S.A. File 02 : Pages 33 to 74 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 Purchased from ebay store retromedia CHURCH BELLS OF LEICESTERSHIRE. /HpHERE are in Leicestershire 998 Church Bells. Of JL these only 147 can be said, with any certainty, to have been cast before the year 1600. Exclusive of churches with only one bell, Caldwell (3 bells), Sproxton (3 bells), Wanlip (3 bells), Brentingby and (2 bells), Cranoe (2 bells), Walton Isley (2 bells), are the in the where Wyfordby (2 bells) , only places county complete rings of ancient bells still exist. The Dedications and Legends of these 146 ancient bells may be thus summarised : Two are dedicated to the Ever Blessed Trinity (Cottes- bach 2nd and Long Clawson 4th). One bears simply the Holy Name (Wistow 3 rd). " Ten have the superscription of His accusation:" Purchased from ebay store retromedia 34 Church Bells of Leicestershire. forms 6th Birstall in various (Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; 3rd ; ist and the bell at Caldwell ; Kegworth 3rd 4th ; single Harcourt 2nd Newton ; Ratby 4th ; Sproxton ; Thorpe Arnold and . 2nd ; Witherley 5th) Six carry the short invocation or prayer : 6th Croxton Kerrial 2nd ist (Church Langton ; ; Knipton ; Stoke Swinford ist and Golding 3rd ; ; (slightly altered) Thurcaston 3rd). Thirty-two are dedicated to, or bear inscriptions relating to, the B. V. Mary in these forms : 1. + 2. j@>arata i- Jstbjte jgaiute 6. + 3- + J^XJtt X^Iaria grata plena. ii- + J^Lfo X30,aria gratia plena 0minus tetm. 3- + Jin \ornu *J&mit X^Elarh. + Stella XlElaria Claris jgfaoim ^Hssima J^Ltqwe One bell is dedicated to the Archangel Gabriel, and three to the Michael three are dedicated to S. Archangel ; Anne, the mother of the B. V. one to S. four to Mary ; Botolph ; S. Catherine one to S. ; Cornelius (Pope A.D. 252 a rare ; one to S. Cuthbert one to S. Helen one to dedication) ; ; S. two to S. ; ; one to S. one to James John John .Baptist ; Purchased from ebay store retromedia Church Bells of Leicestershire. 35 S. Lawrence two to S. Leonard ; ; one to S. Mark to ; two S. one to ; S. Nicolas one to S. Mary Magdalene ; Paul ; to S. Peter one to S. Richard of eight ; (Bishop Chichester A.D. an unusual one to S. 1253, dedication) ; Stephen the and one to All Saints. Proto-martyr ; There are two bells from the same foundry (Cossington 3rd and Welham 2nd) inscribed : fe plateai tibi B.** 80tms iste. One bell bears a series of crosses (Little Peatling ist) ; and two (East Norton 3rd and Cossington ist) the letter S repeated. Ten have a number, more or less, of the letters of the ist ist ist alphabet (Bruntingthorpe ; Edmonthorpe ; Hoby ; Illston 2nd 2nd ; Peatling Magna 4th ; Shearsby ; Shepey Swinford Thurlaston and the bell 3rd ; 4th ; 3rd ; single at Welby). Four are inscribed : ~^Fax . imi . ijjw . *pi . box . tmltxtwrns. Eleven have imperfect or unintelligible inscriptions, viz. : Barkeston 2nd ist Croft 2nd ; Beeby ; 3rd ; Houghton ; 2nd All 2nd Hungarton 3rd ; Kegworth ; Leicester, Saints, ; Whatton ist Newtown Linford Long ; Narborough 4th ; 4th; Queniborough ist. are dated and the remainder of the Eighteen ; 147 ancient bells 2nd ist are, Aylestone ; Catthorpe ; Hoby 3rd ; Illston 3rd; Pickwell 2nd; Scraptoft ist; Sproxton ist; ist and Stoughton ; Thorpe Langton ist, Wanlip 3rd. Purchased from ebay store retromedia 36 Church Bells of Leicestershire. The earliest dated bell in Leicestershire is the 3rd of Old Dalby ring, dated 1584. On the 3rd bell at Thurcaston are figures of the Virgin Child the 2nd at Welham the and (fig. 73) ; upon appears patron saint of the church, S. Andrew, (fig. 75), and upon bell is the 2nd at Wanlip the figure of an angel (fig. 80) on either side of the initial cross. Purchased from ebay store retromedia THE LEICESTER BELLFOUNDERS. T OHANNES DE STAFFORD. There are good reasons J for believing that a Bell-foundry was established in Leicester at least as early as the middle of the fourteenth century. The tenor bell of the ring at All Saints, Leicester, is inscribed : That John of Stafford was the founder, and not the donor, of the bell is shown by there being a similar inscrip- tion in the same form of letter, &c., on the 3rd bell of S. Hibbald, Scawby, near Brigg, Lincolnshire : I. H. C. Ihohannes de Stafforde fecit me.* + Maria. * F.S.A'. For a copy of this I am indebted to the Rev. J. T. Fowler, Purchased from ebay store retromedia 38 The Leicester Bellfounders. We learn from the Fabric Roll of York Minster,* that a founder of this name was living in A.D. 1371 : under that date occurs the following entry, amongst many relating to the cost of the bells : " Et in una Magna Campana, per Johannem de Stafford ex convencione operanda 6 13 4." The initial cross and stop upon the Leicester bell are here given (fig. 45 and 48). Bells with the same cross and stop, and with in- scriptions in letters of the same form, are found in this county at Ayleston (ist), Beeby (3rd), Dalby Parva 45 (3rd), Glen Magna (5th), Loddington (ist), Ratby (4th), Shenton (2nd), and Thrus- their number that in all sington (ist) ; showing by probability they were the work of a local founder. At the first of these places Aylestone the name of the donor is given on the bell he as will be the bells ; lived, shown when Aylestone are described, early in the fifteenth century, at a time when John of Stafford, or his immediate successor, would be carrying on his business. From these facts we may safely infer that John of Stafford was a bellfounder, that he lived in the middle, or later half, of the fourteenth century, and that from the * Surtee's Society xxxv. (1858) quoted in Bells of the Church, p. 244. Purchased from ebay store retromedia The Leicester Bellfounders. 39 number of his bells still found in Leicestershire, his foundry was in Leicester. This last inference is strengthened, if it cannot be accepted as a fact, by finding from the ancient Rolls of the Mayors of Leicester, still extant, that "John of " Stafford was mayor of Leicester in 1366, and again 1370. He, and the founder of the same name then actively employed in the art of Bellfounding, were, it is thought, identical. If so, John of Stafford is the first Bellfounder, having his foundry in Leicester, and so not merely an itinerant, whose name we have to place on record. Figs. 84 and 85 here given show the form and size of the 84 85 letters used by John de Stafford in the inscriptions upon his bells in Leicestershire. In all these inscriptions the letter S is reversed. WILLIAM MILLERS. The next Leicester Bellfounder to be noticed is William Millers. He was admitted a member " of the Merchants' Guild, Leicester, in tempore Will. Wygston Junior quinto decimo Henry VII. ;"* that is, * Hall Book 1477 1553 p. 67. Purchased from ebay store retromedia 40 The Leicester Bellfounders. the during the mayoralty of Wm. Wigston younger, as "Bell 1499 1500. He is described Heytau."* He the died soon afterwards (in 1506), for his will, dated zgth of Nov. 1506, was proved on the i2th of the following January. The following is a translated copy : In the name of God, Amen. The 2gth day of the month of November in the year of our Lord 1506, I, William Millers, of the parish of All Saints' of Leicester bell founder, of sound mind and of good memory, make my will in this manner. First, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God, to the Blessed Mary and to all the saints, and my body to be buried in the church of All Saints aforesaid. Also I bequeath for my principal my best garment.t (Urn lego p meo principali meum optimum indumentu'). Also I bequeath one trentalj to be celebrated on the day of my death. Also I bequeath to the high altar of the church aforesaid 35. 4d. Also I bequeath for the repair of the church aforesaid 2os. Also I bequeath to William my son 10. Also I bequeath to John my son 10. Also I bequeath to Agnes my daughter 10. Also I bequeath to the Cathedral church of Lincoln 8d. Also I will that Margery my wife shall have my house in which I dwell with all its appurten- ances for the term of her life, and after the decease of the said Margery I will that William my son shall have the said house with all its appurtenances to him his heirs and assigns for ever. And if it shall happen that the said William die before his mother, then I will that John my son shall have the said house with all its appurtenances to him his heirs and assigns. And if it shall happen that the said John die before Margery his mother, then I will that Agnes my daughter shall have the house aforesaid with all its * "Heytaur" or Yeytaur, that is Bellyetter, Bellzetter, or Bell-founder, of f This by way mortuary; see the will J Trental (unum trigentah] an office for of Thomas Newcombe to be presently the dead that continued thirty days, or quoted. consisted of thirty masses. Purchased from ebay store retromedia The Leicester Bellfounders. 41 appurtenances for ever. And if it shall happen that the said Agnes die before Margery her mother, then I will that the aforesaid house be sold and [the money] be distributed to the priests, the poor, and the repairs of the ways, for the safety of our souls and of all those faithful deceased.