Chapter I: Front Matter

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~The
Arts of the Church~

EDITED BY THE

REV. PERCY DEARMER, M.A.

KING DAVID PLAYING ON HAND-BELLS.

From a manuscript Psalter in the British Museum. This subject was often selected for the heading to the forty-sixth Psalm, as here. (See page 6).]

The Arts of the Church

CHURCH BELLS

BY
H. B. WALTERS, M.A., F.S.A.
Author of _Greek Art_, &c.

_WITH THIRTY-NINE ILLUSTRATIONS_

A. R. MOWBRAY & CO. LTD.
LONDON: 34 Great Castle Street, Oxford Circus, W.
OXFORD: 9 High Street

First printed, 1908

EDITOR’S NOTE

The little volumes in the ARTS OF THE CHURCH series are intended to provide information in an interesting as well as an accurate form about the various arts which have clustered round the public worship of GOD in the Church of CHRIST. Though few have the opportunity of knowing much about them, there are many who would like to possess the main outlines about those arts whose productions are so familiar to the Christian, and so dear. The authors will write for the average intelligent man who has not had the time to study all these matters for himself; and they will therefore avoid technicalities, while endeavouring at the same time to present the facts with a fidelity which will not, it is hoped, be unacceptable to the specialist.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Acknowledgements must be expressed to the following persons who have assisted in supplying photographs or other materials for the illustrations to this book: to the Rev. W. H. Frere, Mr. A. Riley, and the Committee of the Alcuin Club for permission to reproduce in plate 4 a page of a MS. Pontifical; to Dr. Amherst D. Tyssen and the Rev. Dr. Jessopp for blocks; to W. Watson, Esq., of York, and Miss Wilson of Idbury for photographs; to Messrs. Wills and Hepworth of Loughborough, Messrs. Mears and Stainbank, and Messrs. Taylor and Co. of Loughborough for blocks, negatives and photographs.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. EARLY HISTORY AND METHODS OF CASTING 1

II. THE ENGLISH BELL-FOUNDERS 21

III. BIG BELLS; CARILLONS AND CHIMES; CAMPANILES 43

IV. CHANGE-RINGING 67

V. USES AND CUSTOMS OF BELLS 81

VI. THE DECORATION OF BELLS AND THEIR INSCRIPTIONS 105

VII. THE CARE OF BELLS 139

INDEX 157

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

KING DAVID PLAYING ON HAND-BELLS _Frontispiece_

SAXON TOWER, EARL’S BARTON 3

A PERFORMER ON HAND-BELLS 7

TOWER OR TURRET WITH BELLS 11

BLESSING TWO BELLS NEWLY HUNG 15

LATE NORMAN BELL-TURRET AT WYRE 19

INNER MOULDS FOR CASTING BELLS 23

OUTER MOULDS FOR CASTING BELLS 27

MOULDS READY FOR CASTING 31

FORMING THE MOULD 35

RUNNING THE MOLTEN METAL 39

THE MORTAR OF FRIAR TOWTHORPE 42

BELL BY AN EARLY FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FOUNDER 47

BLESSING THE DONOR OF THE BELL 51

STAMPS USED BY LONDON FOUNDERS 54

BELL BY ROBERT MOT OF LONDON 59

A RING OF EIGHT BELLS 63

THE 9TH BELL OF LOUGHBOROUGH CHURCH 66

TENOR BELL OF EXETER CATHEDRAL 73

“GREAT JOHN OF BEVERLEY” 77

THE GREAT BELL OF TONG 83

“GREAT PAUL” 87

THE OLD “GREAT TOM” OF WESTMINSTER 91

THE BELFRY OF BRUGES 94

THE CAMPANILE, CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL 99

THE OLD CAMPANILE OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 102

THE “BELL HOUSE” AT EAST BERGHOLT 107

DIAGRAM SHOWING METHOD OF HANGING A BELL 110

PEAL OF EIGHT BELLS, ABERAVON CHURCH 113

RINGERS AT S. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL 119

RINGING THE SACRING BELL 123

SACRING BELL HUNG ON ROOD-SCREEN 126

ANCIENT SANCTUS BELL 129

TOWER OF WALTHAM ABBEY CHURCH 133

SYMBOLS OF THE FOUR EVANGELISTS 137

BELL BY JOHN TONNE 141

GOTHIC INITIAL LETTERS, ETC. 145

„ „ „ 149

PART OF A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY BELL 153

~The Arts of the Church~

CHURCH BELLS

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