i << are < 4 ss and Ais ie +: » : ry , THER ten en Baers H ¥ pet * ? + pi ng i i 2 Hore: Masai eee SALEM TA GN aaa , tae) ras ie re , eit Petty hdee Mise sety' ioe ie Nita i 4 1% ies i “ ‘ft Ks toh Ne + ican Bitetrts ah » ue nts i , (44 et tty! THE WILTSHIRE Archeological md Aotwal Distory MAGAZINE, Publishey under the Wirection of the Sactety FORMED IN THAT COUNTY A.D, 1853. _ VOL. II. DEVIZES : Henry Burzt, Sart JonNn SrReEeEt. LONDON: G. Bex, 186, Freer Street; J. R, Smrrv, 36, Sono SQuaRE. 1855. DEVIZES: PRINTED BY HENRY BULL, SAINT JOHN STREET. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. Qo. IV. PAGE Account oF THE SEconD GENERAL MEETING aT SALISBURY, Viz.— Th BYDGE ESR ne) 2S eiaoe atep dinisonde caters totcashicibetrer se gee 7 Line Bonigellel Diticiad lie deve: acicoagies ocnighon anne MOM Epo aD ¢ 16 Articles exhibited at the temporary Museum .................--. 26 On Church Bells, with some Notices of Wiltshire Bells: By Rev. UW. TOM TS ee, Amen ae Senter eiihy Revert ieadrttepein torte ye Gide 40- 82 On the Hungerford Chapels in Salisbury Cathedral: By Rev BPE SA CSUN Nes et oralaic Sito a0 opel auc io okcpste «ofa ght oh tees ge eee 83- 99 Brief Notices of the Family of Giffard: By Rev. ARrHuR Fane .... 100-108 Pedigree of Giffard of Boyton, Ichull, Weston-sub-Edge, and Sherston Pinkney : By Sir THos. PHILLIPPS, LPG: EERO pee Chien cte 2 108 On the Architecture and Mosaics of Wilton Church: By James BE. MMSE AAI SCAT Th BSC) oa erat tafsreloe ofc ois si sjaiooed es ore si euiedcusmeteigatsy eee eaten oes 109-118 Some Notices of the Library at Stourhead: By J. B. Nicuots, SR OES. 50 beery crohns <«'s «MRS Pee eae 119-125 Intrenchments at Aldbourne: F. A. Carrineron, Esq........... 126-129 Curious Endowment of Enford 5 Re EAVACLUGLO! "5 ois creaetelareieetelet 129-130 WIttsHirE Nores AND QUERIES:— The Sheriff of Wilts Im +e sD BVIAOSe a. colton cir es cess 131-132 Famps'on) Beckhampton Down's: . oie 2. 6 fk oe cs bo aeleletes 132 Tisbury a Market Town............ 000s ee cence see e eee ees 132 gual ys NORE Aiea hc Ce Tes Ra ce =o 132 fo. DV. Abridgement of the History of the Manor and Ancient Barony of Castle Combe: (No. 1.) ay. G. Poutrert Scropr, Esq., M.P....... 133-158 On some Coal Operations at Malmesbury: By Professor J. Buckman.. 159-161 Ornitholo (No. 4.) The Beaks of irds: By Rey. A.C, Suarm.. 162-172 The Hert ord byt NGONOG ts CONCIUCED ) thon: a etecne, chavo a1 shore, ose 173-190 sagen = in Co, Wilts and Diocese of Sarum: By F, A. CarrrNG- Rabele se cl ORY odin ecaipaceleidnistale save erranstetadls to -'s, naletttec enue 191-204 Bells Be Co, Wilts, and their Inscriptions: By Rey. W. C. Luxis.... 205-211 RESTIBCGD 1000) WALI, DEQ. oo cess sce nevcey hoe cncey ome od 212 The Churches of ' Dovixes. (No. 7. By Mr. Epwarp KITE ........ 213-256 Wittsuree Nores anp Queries: By J. eT ae, Esq. :— REINS CAE: OP MAMI are ciai’s. cc traiciaais'« © rpie/ecs. o'o 4 iu.6 aleiatese voles « 257 BADE POTINE Baio cae oa fete OG 00 o lace vim ucsin Geer avare sores 258 rr MRGOL, Ar BEET Ne, avai saheaeiiaicce(din.e.c'e. salaale@he "acre. e sieiee as 259 Si r Tenure. Manor of Hakeneston ...........eeeeeeeeeee 260 Notico—The Botany of Wiltshire.........:seeseseeereseseeeerens 260 iv CONTENTS—VOL II. fo. Di. PAGE History of the Wiltshire Manors subordinate to the wae of Castle Combe: (No. 2.) By G. Pouterr Scrope, Esq., M. P............. 261-289 On the Ornithology ot Wilts. (No. 5.) On the Feet of Birds: By Rey. Ae OOSREU EE. 2. ius ese aici woo se alate aie ois BE See eee 290-301 On the Churches of Devizes. (No. 2. -) By Mr. Epwarp KirE........ 302-332 Documents relating to St. Mary’s, 302. Extracts from Church- wardens’ Accounts of ditto, 308. Thos. Hall’s Letter, 325. Rectors of Devizes, 326. Chantry sae ee 331. Pedigree of Garth, of Devizes and Haines Hill: By Rev. Jomn Warp 332 Bells of Co. Wilts, with their Inscriptions. (No. 2.) By Rev. W.C. RRR ict a <5 2 1ceso'n iole) «SS ciate © ave tagetere 6c zusieia ie mcr Storie eee 333-355 Deanery of Chalke, 333. Of Wilton and Wylie, 334. Of Avebury, 338. Of Marlborough, 343. Of Potterne, 349. The Heralds’ Visitations of Wiltshire, and Pedigrees of Wilts’ Families: Byal.- A. (CARRINGTON, BEG. sciinonkh pc cman’ alse teh tears 356-386 Wiltshire Seals: By Rey. J. i DAGESON «0.5630. = a op0ls i dietea's a, 0s Ala Oe 387-392 Contributions to i Museum ands Dabraty ai: one eee «soe 392 Ditto by Ricarp Munnines, Esqe 2.5... oes ote 6e omnes wade 394 WILTSHIRE NOTES AND QUERIES — Wiltshire Civil Wars: Notice of Proposed History: By J. WaAYLEn, Pla. Voisin GAB Ek «Me + ORE nce eae eee oe 119-125 Intrenchments at Aldbourne: By F. A. Carrrneton, Esq.......... 126-129 Curious Endowment of Enford Chantry: By ditto ................ 129-130 Wittsnire Nores AND QUERIES :— The Sheriff of Wilts Imprisoned at Devizes .................... 131-132 Lamps on- Beckhampton Down ..........2...¢s.00e0sceens dis, 132 Meni nUEae MAN CARTOW I. sitvais << vrstets asc te.os coke ohm, Saye cancers ss 132 OEE 7 br aR Oke ice CEI ee Sa, Jee . 132 ILLUSTRATIONS. * Cuurcn Burts: 1. Bell from ‘‘Mercennus,” p. 40. 2. Full-wheel, 56. 3. Ele- vation of Bell and Stock, 56. 4. Ogbourne St. Andrew’s Treble Bell, 58. 5. Ditto, Fourth Bell, 58. 6. Ditto, Tenor Bell, 58. 7. Old Half-wheel, 58. 8. Action of Clapper, 70. ALDBOURNE INTRENCHMENTS, p. 127, Old House at Upper Upham, 128. Arrow-head, 129, DEVIZES: Henry Buz, Sarr Jonn Srreer. LONDON : G. Bert, 186, leer Srrerr; J. R. Surrn, 36, Sono Sauare. DEVIZES : PRINTED BY HENRY BULL, SAINT JOHN STEET. THE WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE. “ WULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS.’’— Ovid. THE SECOND GENERAL MEETING Wiltshire Archeological and Patural Wistory Society, HELD AT SALISBURY, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, September 13th, 14th, and 15th, 1854. PRESIDENT OF THE MEETING, Tue Ricur HonourasLe Sipney Herpert, M.P. Arter the transaction of some formal business in committee, the Society met on Wednesday, the 13th, at half-past twelve o’clock, in the Council Chamber, the use of which had been kindly granted by the worshipful the Mayor, J. Lambert, Esq. The room had been fitted up asa temporary Museum, and con- tained a large number of relics and curiosities, illustrative of the history of the county; of which a detailed description will be given in another page. Before resigning his chair of office to the President of the Meeting, G. P. Scrope, Esq., M.P., the President of the Society, rose and said—Ladies and gentlemen: I think you must be all aware of the object of our assembling here to day—namely, for the purpose of holding the second annual meeting of an association that was instituted last year at Devizes, under the title of the Wilts Archzxological and Natural History Society. I dare say that there are many here who have not yet enrolled themselves as members, but still it can hardly be necessary for me to explain at any length the objects and purposes of the Society. In a very few words, VOL. I1.—NO. IV. B 2 Second General Meeting. however, I may say that it has been formed for the purpose of encouraging and promoting, to the utmost possible degree, the study of the civil and ecclesiastical history of the antiquities of our county, together with its numerous objects of natural history; and for disseminating as far as possible, through all ranks of society, a knowledge of every fact tending to illustrate these interesting subjects. It has likewise in view the formation of some central museum, in which objects of interest connected with these subjects should be deposited, as a place of security, instead of being lost and dispersed, as it not unfrequently happens, when they remain in the hands of private individuals. We hope, also, that something will be done towards preserving and maintaining—and in some cases restoring—the monuments of antiquity of which this county is so justly proud. These being the objects of the Society, it became necessary to institute some central place in which the museum should be established ; and Devizes being, geographically speaking, the centre of the county, that town was nominated as the place where it should be deposited; and it was proposed that the meetings of the working members, the committee for example, should from time to time, be held there. But at the same time it was remembered that unless we could secure the sanction and cordial co-operation of the inhabitants of South Wilts, and especially of the metropolitan city of Salisbury, it would be impossible for the Society to flourish, (hear hear); and we have, therefore, availed ourselves of the earliest possible opportunity of holding a meeting in this town. On the occasion of the inaugural meeting last year’ I had the undeserved honour of being elected President; and my only object in now rising is to vacate my post, and to ask you to confer it upon a gentleman much more deserving of the office, and far more competent to discharge its duties. After my saying this, I am sure you must be anticipating the name of the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert. (Cheers). That gentleman is so well known that it would be superfluous and absurd for me to speak of his merits. As an archeologist he has ample claims upon the association, pos- sessing as he does one of the finest galleries of antiquities in the country. (Hear, hear). I noticed in passing through Wilton OR a The Right Hon. Sidney Herbert's Address. 3 yesterday that he must be a most accomplished archeologist to have selected such an admirable style of architecture as that observable in the splendid new church which he has erected in that town. (Cheers). I will not attempt to notice his personal claims upon the Society, or to allude for one moment to the high position he occupies with respect to the south of the county, inasmuch as his character is so well known, and in such high repute amongst all the inhab- itants of the district. Apologising for trespassing upon you at this length, I will now conclude by asking you to approve of the proposal I have made,—namely that the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, be requested to occupy this chair as President of the meeting. (Loud cheers). The Rev. J. E. Jackson seconded the proposition, which was agreed to unanimously. The Right Hon. Smyey Herserr, M.P., having taken the chair, addressed the assembly to the following effect:—Ladies and gentlemen—In taking the chair of this meeting I have to thamk my friends Mr. Poulett Scrope and Mr. Jackson, for their kindness in introducing me to your notice; and I must also ask you to excuse my deficiences as an antiquary, in undertaking the task of presiding over an antiquarian meeting. But although I cannot myself claim any learned acquaintance with the subjects which we have met to discuss, yet I have naturally, in common with every one in this room, a great interest in those objects of antiquity with which we are surrounded, and in which the Southern part of the county of Wilts is especially rich. (Hear, hear). I am extremely glad that the Society has migrated upon this occasion from the north to the south, thereby giving us an opportunity of showing to our northern brethren how rich are the records of some of the darkest as well as some of the most enlightened and stirring periods of our history which we possess in this neighbourhood. (Applause). Now I have heard it stated that these Societies are of but very little use; and ridicule has often pointed at the somewhat trivial subjects upon which a minute and microscopic attention is occasionally fixed by archeologists; but I must recall to the minds of those who are disposed to cavil at our proceedings, that these things, however B 2 + Second General Meeting. trivial in themselves, subsequently become of the greatest importance as furnishing materials for future history. (Cheers). It was an observation of Dugdale’s when he was referring to the marginal notes of the ancient editions of those great authors, Suetonius, Livy, and Tacitus—that he was surprised to see into what musty parchments of old Rome these historians must have dived. And I think in our own time—when history is at last beginning to be written —when we have not merely the skeletons, the dry bones of past events —but when the spirit of history is evoked—that we have the most graphic pictures placed before us, of the manners and customs of the times gone by. I believe no one who has read any chapter of Macauley’s celebrated book can fail to observe that, from materials mean and meagre in themselves—from the ballads and trash and trifles of the day—the historian has contrived to group together such a picture as was never placed before us by any other writer, of the manners and customs of our forefathers, at a very interesting period of English history. (Applause). It is likewise true that the contemplation of anything tending to divert our minds from the present to something more distant is calculated, as Dr. Johnson remarks, “to advance us in dignity as thinking beings.” There is a sort of national pride to be taken in that which has gone before us—it is like the pride which nations take in their descent (for nations have descents and ancestors as well as individuals)— but whether they use that pride for a good or bad purpose must depend upon the spirit in which they feel its advantages. It was an observation, which I have always thought a very wise one, of Sir Thomas Overbury, who,—when speaking of persons who laid all their claims of merit upon their ancestors—said “they very much resembled the potato, because the best part was underground.” (Laughter). And so it is with regard to nations. If they merely oceupy themselves with thoughts of their past grandeur, of their past successes, and of the eminent men they have produced, as a means of puffing off their own vanity, and not as imposing fresh duties and fresh calls to exertion, to maintain the name which they have acquired from the efforts of those who preceded them, they come under the same denomination as that valuable esculent to The Right Hon. Sidney Herbert's Address. 5 which I have alluded—the better part of them is underground. (Hear andalaugh). However I must say that we in South Wiltshire should be perfectly callous to all good and wise impressions, if we were not to set some value upon the antiquities we possess. (Hear, hear). Without wishing to draw any invidious comparisons between this county and other parts of England, I may say that I know scarcely any district so rich as ours—it is a perfect epitome of history. (Applause). Here you have the monuments of the Druids (one of them the finest in the world); you have close by the camp of Vespasian: and down the river the great camp of Old Sarum; you have upon every headland which juts into the valley the marks of earth-works thrown up in the struggle between the various races, who one after another, took possession of, and main- tained these strongholds for a time, and then yielded their rough conquests to their successors. Then, again, at Clarendon you have a noble monument of the great struggle between the church and the secular power; and if you go three miles in a contrary direction you will find evidences of that struggle which was conducted against Beckett by Henry the IJ., and which was terminated with Henry the VIII. Of that monarch I will say nothing. I believe we are not disposed in these times to look upon him as a monarch, but rather to dwell upon certain domestic failings which he possessed; but I must recall to the minds of those who are disposed to visit with indiscriminate censure one of the most energetic sovereigns that ever ruled over this country, that up to a certain period of his life—whether for statesmanship, for grace, for learning, or for wit, he was one of the most admired monarchs this country ever possessed. (Hear, hear). He had the misfortune to live too long—he had the misfortune to display great vices; but setting aside that portion of his life, I take this opportunity of speaking on behalf of one who has no friends (laughter), and I must say that King Henry the VIII has received at the hands of posterity very hard measure indeed. (Hear, hear). Pardon me for this digression, and permit me now to state—as my friend Mr. Scrope has spoken of the advantage of this institution to the county generally—that there is one advantage which ought not to be overlooked. It is, 6 Second General Meeting. that an association of this kind teaches us to take a living and practical interest in those monuments which are, as it were, en- trusted to our custody. We have, indeed, some reason to complain of the manner in which they have been mutilated in their trans- mission to us from our forefathers, but at the present time there is a different spirit abroad. (Hear, hear). We may see it in the restoration of our churches, which are now restored with a feeling of veneration, and in a learned and truly architectural spirit. They are now restored—not mutilated. (Hear, hear). We in Salisbury — have seen the manner in which our Cathedral has been treated, and have, I hope, learnt a lesson to avoid a repetition of those errors in our own time. (Applause). I see in the restoration of the Poultry Cross here, another instance how carefully we are retracing the steps of those architects who preceded us; and I see throughout the whole length of the country, that the greatest care is being taken of monuments of this kind. I believe that some years ago, a portion of Stonehenge was consumed in the reparation of roads. T recollect the last time the Central Archeological Society met here, that we had a discussion upon the subject of the two large stones which fell from their position about sixty or seventy years ago. It was proposed that these stones should be restored to their original position, but as in all questions of this kind, a great difference of opinion existed. Somesaid that it would benothing short of desecration to touch a monument of such antiquity; but, it should be re- membered, that it was not proposed to substitute fresh stones,, but to replace those lying on the ground in the position in the circle which they were formerly known to occupy. These two stones are of great importance, and there can be no doubt that, ultimately, all the circle will fall and perish in the same manner, unless some means are taken to obviate such a result. My object in referring to the subject is to give expression to the feelings of those who are interested in the matter, that it should again be taken into con- sideration. I do not understand that any difficulty exists in an engineering point of view, and if the stones were replaced it would certainly be with the best effect to the structure. (Hear, hear). I will now conclude the few observations which I have taken the a ee an Society’s Report. i liberty of making. Those who come after me will be able to do much more than I can to teach and instruct you upon the subjects into which we are met to enquire. I will not detain you any longer, except to observe that before proceeding to discuss any points which may be brought under our notice, there is some business of the Society to be transacted; and first of all I will call upon the Rev. Mr. Lukis, one of the Secretaries, to read the annual report of the Society. - (The right hon. gentleman then resumed his seat amidst loud applause). The Rey. Mr. Luxis then read the following REPORT. The Committee of the Wilts Archzeological and Natural History Society has great pleasure in laying before the members an account of its progress during the past year, and in congratulating them on its present position. It is a subject of great satisfaction that we have received a steady increase in the number of our members. At our inaugural meeting last year they amounted to 137; at the present moment they have by gradual additions reached the number of 281. It is hardly to be expected, in a county more remarkable for the interest attaching to its antiquarian remains than for the number or wealth of its population, that such additions to our members should be otherwise than gradual. And comparing our own pro- gress with the efforts which had previously been made, almost in vain, to promote the same object, we have certainly good reason to be well satisfied with the position in which we stand. This progress may be in a measure attributed to the circulation of our magazine among those classes who were unacquainted with the Society, or indifferent to its success. The cheap form in which it is put forth, renders it accessible to many who would be unable to purchase a larger or more expensive volume. We trust that our members will not be unwilling to contribute to its pages merely because they have not the leisure or the ability to furnish lengthened papers; for almost every one may make use 8 Second General Meeting. of it as a kind of Wiltshire Notes and Queries, as a place for recording local customs or peculiarities, or any little discoveries which may have come in their way. We have not lost sight of the possibility of publishing those interesting collections of John Aubrey, to which attention was directed at our last meeting. This would be a valuable addition to Wiltshire Topography. And we may venture to urge on our most excellent Secretary Mr. Jackson, to do us the favour of car- rying out our wishes in this respect; and to thank him for the services he has rendered us in editing the magazine. There will be found on the table some detailed drawings of Wootton Rivers Church, and other antiquities in the neighbourhood of Marlborough, the use of which has been offered to the Society, and the publication of which it is hoped we may be able to undertake. The same gentleman who made them is preparing drawings of the Porch of Bishop’s Cannings, and of a tomb and other interesting details of Winterbourne Basset Church, which he will also place at the service of the Society. Their publication will furnish the commencement of a Wiltshire portfolio: and the example thus given in one neighbourhood will, we may hope, in course of time, be followed in others. It is also much to be wished that some drawings in our collection should be selected for pub- lication, by way of beginning the illustration of the Churches of Wiltshire. It would also much facilitate this object, if any of our members who are photographists could favour us with views of Churches and other objects of interest in their respective neigh- bourhoods. In speaking of our progress during the past year, we are bound to acknowledge, with many thanks, the receipt of several valuable presents. We are happy in being able to add that the finances of the Society are in a prosperous condition. The receipts up to Sep- tember, 1854, including the amount of subscriptions towards the purchase of Mr. Britton’s collection have amounted to £367 4s.; and the expenditure to £311 19s. 3d.; leaving a balance of £55 4s. 9d. In consequence of a liberal donation of £10 by the Society’s Report. 9 Marquis of Lansdowne, and the large accession of new members, we may venture to estimate our receipts for the ensuing year at about £250. As the property of the Society has been thus increased, it becomes necessary to appoint trustees in accordance with Rule VI. of the Society, and a resolution to that effect will be laid before the meeting. While thus referring in terms of congratulation to our past pro- ceedings, we cannot but deeply regret the loss which the Society has sustained by the death of several of its members. We may be permitted to specify Mr. Bucknall Estcourt, whose family has been for so many generations connected with this county, and who was ever most forward in encouraging every object of local and county interest. But while assembled in this city, and under the shade of its venerable Cathedral, we cannot but refer in terms of the deepest sorrow to the great loss which both the Society and Diocese have sustained in the death of our late venerated Diocesan. It is not for us in this place to speak of his many virtues as a Bishop of the Church, but we cannot but regard with affectionate remembrance not merely the interest which he expressed in the first establish- ment of this Society, but also the many and various ways in which he promoted practically one of its great objects. Our Parish Churches, considered merely as architectural ornaments of our county, are objects of interest to all of us; and these our late Bishop took under his especial care in instituting the Church Building Society, and earnestly promoting its interests year by year. To this may be added his munificent contribution to the adornment of the Cathedral, by his restoration of a large part of the cloisters, which were in a lamentable state of neglect and decay; and the very anxious desire which he always expressed to restore to its original beauty that singular specimen of the skill and taste of our forefathers, our graceful Chapter House. He has gone from us; but the work on which he set his heart will be ac- complished, and every one who has contributed to that, will feel that he is not merely helping to restore a most exquisite work of ancient art, but also to rear a memorial to one of singular piety, simplicity, and disinterestedness; and one moreover who endeared c 10 Second General Meeting. to himself, especially in this city, the hearts of all classes, whether rich or poor. He who is gone will thus have his memorial written in our hearts or engraven in stones, still among us; and he on whom his mantle has fallen will doubtless carry out, both in his patronage of our Society, and every other design of usefulness, the intentions of his predecessor. It is for this, as for other reasons, that we are glad at meeting together for the first time in this city, which in itself and in its immediate neighbourhood presents so many objects of interest :— British, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon remains, one of the purest specimens of Gothic architecture, several ancient domestic buildings, collections of paintings and sculpture, and places like Boscombe and Bemerton, recalling the memory of Richard Hooker and of George Herbert. We must now venture to congratulate ourselves, though in his own presence, on the favour which has been conferred upon us by the Right Hon. gentleman who has kindly undertaken to be the President of the meeting. He has given ample evidence of his munificent taste and generous love of art in the erection of that noble Church, unrivalled in its own style in this country, which needs only to be alluded to. But we must remember for how many generations his distinguished ancestors were the patrons of taste and art in this country. The descendant of ‘Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s mother,’ and of her son, who has been described as “the most universally beloved and esteemed of any man of that age,” ‘“‘of excellent parts and a graceful speaker,” “and of disposition affable, generous, and munificent,” a poet and a patron of poets, architects, and painters; the descendant again of the noble founder of the unequalled private collection of ancient marbles (which we are permitted the pleasure of inspecting), and of his next successor, the designer of Wilton, as it now stands, and whose skill as an architect is expressly spoken of by Lord Orford, could hardly fail, in inheriting the name, to inherit also the taste and munificence of his ancestors. Under his presidency we are confident that the proceedings of this meeting will be crowned with eminent success. And this we Second General Meeting. if sincerely hope may be an earnest of the increased activity of a Society which, though so recently founded, has already furnished sufficient evidence of healthy and vigorous life. The CHarrman then moved the adoption of the report, which was agreed to. The Lord Bisuor of Sarispury: Ladies and Gentlemen,—W ith- out a moment’s notice a paper has been put into my hands, conveying “the cordial thanks of this meeting to the secretaries, the Rev. Mr. Jackson, and the Rev. Mr. Lukis, for their zeal and per- severance in editing the Society’s Magazine, and for preparing the present report.” If I had been aware that it was intended to introduce such a motion to the meeting, and that it was to have been placed in my hands, I should have prepared myself to express the deep interest I take in the progress of this Society. As it is, I fear I shall have to content myself with merely assuring you that whatever course was pursued by my late beloved and revered pre- decessor, I shall endeavour steadily to follow. I am aware that one of the objects dear to his heart was to promote the well-being of this Society, and I will endeavour, as far as it is in my power, to give effect to his good purposes. I think that a Society of this kind must commend itself to the sympathy and patronage of all persons, and that on the most indisputable ground—whether we look upon its effects as a means of education and of training the intellect, or as a means of improving the moral well-being of our population. I am not, indeed, one of those who are content to be daudator temporis acti, nor do I forget the Word of God which enjoins me to “say not what is the cause that the former days were better than these, for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning these things;”’ but at the same time I am sure that it is one of the only ways of avoiding the evil tendencies of the present generation by binding up, as closely as possible, our sympathies and interests with the great and good works and endeavours of our able and most excellent forefathers. There can be no doubt that one of the perils in which we stand, intellectually, in the present generation, is that we find every thing made so ready to hand that we often-times lack the motive for that accurate and exact investigation, that patient and c 2 12 Second General Meeting. unceasing diligence which so marked the labours of our ancestors. Perhaps we are not aware what hours the archeologists of old spent in every monastery in this country in writing those valuable books which now contain, it may be, the records of all our past history. We are often tempted, in these days, to think only lightly of the labour which our forefathers devoted to such subjects; but we have only to read the works of the great archzeologists—such for example as Dr. Maitland—to see how the presumptuous ignorance of these times must wither under the scorn of a great man like him. We shall find that the former times and seasons of which people are apt to speak so contemptuously were marked by the greatest intellects—the most persevering labours—and the greatest discoveries. But surely we must also look upon the operations of societies like this in reference to their moral results. It is a most admirable thing to bind ourselves more and more closely with the labours of past generations, in order that we may think less of our own endeavours, and feel more indebted to the labours of others. Perhaps it is a striking fault of the present generation that we are led to value ourselves too highly; and nothing will tend more, I believe, to bring us into due order upon this point than to study with care and exactness what was accomplished by our forefathers. At any rate the thoughts which moved and actuated the people of the 16th century, should be an inducement, in an age when these things are nearly forgotten, to restore a taste for them by establishing a Society of Antiquaries on a permanent footing. An endeavour to accomplish this end was made by Archbishop Parker, about 1572, when he—fearing lest history itself should perish under the careless disregard of former generations—was led to inaugurate a society for the express purpose of preserving the sacred records. That endeavour was for a considerable time marked with great success— and on looking at the list of those who were members of that society you will find two names, one of which is well known in this city, and the other in the northern part of the county—I mean the names of Mr. Lambert, and Mr. Heneage. The labours of Archbishop Parker were soon foiled, for he was suspected of having secret objects and designs quite distinct from archeological pursuits; but never- Second General Meeting. 13 theless you cannot fail to perceive how valuable, how precious, and how dear were the objects in which he and others were engaged, for during the whole of the civil wars the labours of archeologists seemed to flourish when everything else was in abeyance. Those great men—Anthony Wood, Selden, and a host of others, whose names I do not now remember, but the fruits of whose labours we are now enjoying, devoted themselves, during the turmoils of that time to the revival of a knowledge of the labours of our ancestors. As a Bishop of the Church I feel of course, on independent grounds, the very deepest interest in the well being of such a society as this, for I am one who, from my own personal convictions and individual tastes, feel that if we are building houses to God it is of the utmost importance for the progress of divine knowledge—for the cultivation of good and holy tastes and aspirations—that those houses should express the ideas which must be at the bottom of our souls, if we would fain have our religion prosper and take hold of the hearts and affections of man. And it is to the labours of such societies as this that we owe the revival of a good, and pure, and holy taste upon these subjects. As religion lays hold more deeply of the sympathies of our fellow Christians, they will yearn more and more earnestly to express those ideas in every work which they raise to the honour and glory of God. But unless our tastes had been formed—unless we had been assisted by going back to purer ages of architectural skill, we might, perhaps, have remained in that tasteless and impure architectural condition which existed through- out the whole nation during the past century. We have now emerged from that state, and I would only ask persons, in going through the length and breadth even of this county, to see not only in our churches, but also in our schools, how much has been done for the revival of a pure architectural taste. These are, I believe, real and great blessings, and it is my office to try and promote such blessed results. I cannot but feel the very deepest interest in the progress of this Society, and I am therefore, able to move, with the greatest sincerity, that we should thank those to whose exertions the present state of the association owes so much. (The right rev. Prelate was much applauded at the conclusion of his address). 14 Second General Meeting. The Rey. A. Fane, (Warminster) :—Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen.—I am sure I owe you a great many more apologies than the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, inasmuch as the resolution which his Lordship has been pleased to move, has also been de- posited in my hands without the slightest previous intimation; and at an archeological meeting I consider it to be an utter breach of theory to place a perfectly new thing into the hands of a new mover and a new seconder, without any prior warning whatever. But as we are in an infantine state, I apprehend that I must make full ‘allowance for such an irregularity. In attempting to second the resolution which has been prefaced by the admirable remarks of the Lord Bishop, it is unnecessary for me to say that I take a deep and cordial interest in this association, and that I believe the principles enunciated by his Lordship to be really vital and essential to the well being of society; for I think that there ought to exist centres from which a knowledge of architecture, and every other subject connected with archeology, may, as it were, be continually flowing. In seconding this resolution I feel that if I have one single claim for the office, it is, that if anybody is conversant with the intolerable difficulties which beset the secretary of any undertaking, it is my- self, for as the clergyman of a large parish one is requested to act in the capacity of secretary to such a number of objects that it is absolutely difficult to remember their names. With regard to the secretaries of this association I will venture to assert that if they were to make a clean confession before this meeting of the number of letters they had written, and the intolerable and strange nuisances they have had to encounter—how they have been thought intrusive upon one man and neglectful of another for not answering a letter by return of post acknowledging the receipt of an old bone, or something of that kind—and how it was thought they were about to steal the article because they did not forward an immediate reply ; —I say if they were to make a confession on all these matters you would at once be firmly convinced that there are no persons in this room so much deserving of your thanks. They have not.only to set the matter a-going, and to endure the difficulties of which I have spoken, but they have also to collect intellects for contributions Second General Meeting. 15 to the Society’s magazine—they have to search for knowledge in the different mines of information; and when they have done that, they have to collect everything into a given point, and to make what are technically termed “selections,” without invidiousness to any person: in short they have to do all the dirty work of the association. I believe that none are acquainted with the onerous duties of a secretary, except those upon whom they have devolved. To my mind the Right Hon. Chairman himself would have been the best person to have proposed and seconded this resolution, for I think if there be orie man more than another who feels the odious- ness of a secretary’s post, it must be the Right Honourable the Secretary at War. I will now beg most humbly, but yet most cordially, to second this resolution—‘‘That the grateful thanks of this meeting be given to the Rev. Mr. Jackson, and the Rev. Mr. Lukis, for their zeal and perseverance in editing the magazine of . the Society, and also for preparing the present report.” (Applause). The resolution on being put to the meeting, was unanimously adopted. Joun Brirron, Esq., F. 8. A., rose to propose on behalf of the committee, the names of the following gentlemen as honorary members of the Society: viz.—The Rey. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A. J. Y. Akerman, Esq., Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries; John Britton, Esq., F.S.A.; E. R. Brayley, Esq., F.S.A.; Albert Way, Esq., F.S.A.; C. R. Smith, Esq., F.S.A.; George Godwin, Esq., F.R.S.; Wm. Yarrell, Esq., F.R.Z.S.; Professor Owen, F.R.S. ; Thomas Bell, Esq., F.R.S., &c.; and Thos. Wright, Esq., M.A. F.S.A.; &c. ; Mr. Brackmore seconded the resolution, which was agreed to. The Rey. Sub-Dean Eyre said, that at the former meeting of the Society the members omitted to elect a Committee of Trustees, to whom the care of their property might be entrusted. He had now to propose the election of Sir Edmund Antrobus, Bart; Sir John Wither Awdry, Knt.; Sir F. Bathurst, Bart.; the Rev. Arthur Fane; Capt. Gladstone; the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert; Sir H. R. Hoare, Bart.; Walter Long, Esq.; H. Merewether, Esq.; Joseph Neeld, Esq.; Earl Nelson; Chas. Penruddocke, Esq.; G. P. Scrope, . 16 Second General Meeting. Esq.; and T. H. 8. Sotheron, Esq. The property of the Society had very largely increased, and he trusted that when the gentlemen he had named were elected, their responsibilities would be annually augmented. The Rev. J. Briss seconded the resolution, which was at once adopted. Mr. Cunntneton then proposed the re-appointment of Col. Olivier, as Treasurer of the Society, which was agreed to. The Rev. Mr. Luxts said, he had much pleasure in proposing Mr. Henry Swayne, and Mr. James Nightingale, as local Secretaries. The Rev. W. R. Cozens seconded the proposition, which was carried. The Rey. Mr. Luxis then read an article on “Church Bells,” which will be found in the present Number. The meeting then dispersed. THE ANNUAL DINNER of the Society took place at the Three Swans Hotel, at five o’clock, and was attended by between 60 and 70 ladies and gentlemen. The chair was taken by the Worshipful the Mayor of Salisbury, who was supported on the right by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese; G. P. Scrope, Esq., M.P.; J. H. Jacob, Esq., &e.; and on the left by Major-General Buckley, M.P. The Mayor discharged his duties in a most lively and agreeable manner, increasing very considerably by the dexterity of his archzeological allusions, the excellent spirit of social humour in which the evening was spent. After the customary honours to her Majesty, the Royal Family, and the Army and Navy, in giving which he observed that the barrow-digger felt the deepest sense of gratitude to the military, for had it not been for that class of men, many barrows would not have existed, and . the excavator would not have had his desponding countenance so ———— The Annual Dinner. 17 often lightened up by the discovery of relics of a by-gone age. The Cuarrmawn said he had next to propose “the health of the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese,” and he did not think that he could present to them a more appropriate toast for a meeting like that. If they were to look throughout England it would be im- possible to find a Bishop more anxious for the sustentation of the religious edifices that they saw around them, and when he made that remark about the Bishop he was bound to add that throughout the whole of his diocese he was supported in that great work by the feeling of the Clergy. There was no country probably in the whole world where there were so many objects of interest as they had in England associated with their village Parish Churches, and they all, as Englishmen, felt the greatest interest in the main- tenance and preservation of those buildings. Archeologists, in particular, entertained that feeling, and sympathised with the object most deeply; and hence it would be impossible to find a more appropriate toast on an occasion like the present than that of the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese, who were so zealous in the maintenance of the edifices which were entrusted to their care. After the remarks of the Bishop in the morning, there could be no doubt of his zealous support of the cause of Archeology, and that so long as he was spared in the See of Salisbury the Society might count upon his most cordial aid. The Lord Bisnop or Saxissury returned thanks. The Mayor had done him no more than justice in assuring the meeting that nothing was more deep in his heart than the maintaining, and keeping, and repairing any ravages of time that might have been effected on those beautiful structures, not only in this city, but throughout the diocese. Not only would he pledge himself, but he would do so for every one of the ministry, to pursue the objects, under Gop, not only of maintaining those fabrics and repairing them when needed, in doing so they hoped to enlist the sympathies of all good archeologists; but whenever there might be a necessity for erecting new edifices, they would endeavour to rival their forefathers in the beauty of their structures, and thereby hand down to posterity some memorials of the taste and piety of the present D 18 Second General Meeting. generation. Most of the gentlemen whom he addressed had been archeologists almost from their birth, for they had nearly all been educated in public schools where they had become conversant with the memorials of genius which had been transmitted to us by the ancients; and there was no advice that Eton men should more closely abide by than that of Juvenal—to avoid all pedantry, such as a mere knowledge of the materials and history of antiquity, unaccompanied by a desire to turn that knowledge to high practical purposes. He hoped to enlist on his side the sympathies of all his brethren by inducing them to throw themselves heartily into that system of progress—that well known word by which the application of science and of the arts, to all the useful employments of life was known—a system which was calculated to benefit our fellow- men, and at the same time to correct any evil tendency that might arise from the knowledge obtained in their education. His lordship then went on to observe, that he felt indebted to the Mayor for the reception accorded him at his enthronization, and remarked that, as long as he lived, he should never forget the kindness of his language on that occasion. He therefore felt sure that they would forgive him, if he ventured to propose, without having obtained permission, the health of the most excellent Mayor of the city of Salisbury. The Mayor regretted that it had not been his good fortune to contribute more extensively on this occasion to the advancement of the Wiltshire Archeological Society. He had hoped to have been enabled to have directed their attention to a subject which had, to a great extent, escaped the observation of the archeologists of England—he meant the subject of the music of the middle ages. He was particularly anxious to have laid before the meeting the result of some of the researches in which he had been engaged for a number of years, but a pressure of engagements had prevented him doing so. Were time and health granted to him, however, he hoped, at the next meeting of the Society, to lay before its members a clear and distinct account of the music of the middle ages in this country, and at the same time to show them—what had not been shown for the last 300 years—the principles which The Annual Dinner. 19 guided the musicians of that period in its execution. He then proposed the health of the President of the meeting, the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert; the health of Mr. Poulett Scrope, M.P. That of the Secretaries, the Rev. J. E. Jackson, and the Rev. W.C. Lukis, was then given, and acknowledged by those gentlemen. Mr. Jackson expressed himself highly gratified by the encourage- ment afforded to the Society in the city of Salisbury, and mentioned that the association had that day received an accession of no fewer than 77 names, chiefly from the south of Wilts. The Rey. A. Fane, in a humourous and effective speech, in the course of which he referred to the general and deserved respect in which John Britton, Esq. was held by all archeologists, proposed the health of “Mrs. Britton and the Ladies.” Mr. Brrrton said, were he fifty years younger, and possessed the knowledge and experience he had now, he might probably tell them a story of his adventures in the world of archeology, art, and science, that would amuse them, excite their curiosity, and tend to promote their progress in the subject before them. Were he pos- sessed of the quick and ready wit of the Mayor of this ancient and interesting city, and were he possessed of the eloquence of his friend who had proposed the toast, he might reward their attention by comparing the state of archeology at the time when he com- menced his labours, with its condition at the present moment. It was then in the lowest possible grade, in the literary world, and the books which were published, as well as the illustrations contained in them, were but of little value. To assist him in the study of archwology, the only books were ‘“ Camden’s Britannia,” “ Grose’s Antiquities,’ and one or two others, which abounded in as many fictions as you could meet with in one of the romances of the age. As they might imagine, he was often retarded by a consideration of the physical impossibility of the illustrations in these precious volumes being correct, and the profound incomprehensibility of the letterpress. In a word, there was everything calculated to impede and harass the youthful student. By means of perse- verance, however—more perseverance than knowledge or science— he began to obtain a few glimpses of what was meant by lines in D2 20 Second General Meeting. drawing, and complex sentences in words, and these so excited his curiosity, that he was determined to master the greatest antiquities in the country; and a periodical publication that came out in Paternoster Row, under the superintendance of Mr. Hogg, and was circulated in sixpenny folio numbers, was the only running fountain to which he could resort for refreshment. He alluded to these things to show the difficulties that the student at that time had to meet, as compared with his opportunities now. At the present day, wherever he went—and he sometimes travelled as far as Plymouth or the Land’s End,—he met with an abundance of old and young clergymen, of young men and maidens, with their sketch-books, and archeological vade mecums, full of information and curiosities, which afforded him great delight. He was much gratified to find that the young as well as the old could reap infor- mation, amusement, and excitement, from the abbeys, the churches, the mansions, and the monuments of the land. They had now, not only in the metropolis, but almost all over the country, arch- zological and natural history societies; and he was glad to find that the latter subject was blended with the former, inasmuch as it went to the very foundation of archeology. He was glad to find Salisbury honoured by such a society as the one whose objects they were now endeavouring to promote, and he was also glad to see such assemblies as those he had witnessed on this occasion. After passing some high eulogiums upon the Mayor and the Bishop Mr. Britton concluded by saying—Allow me to make one more remark, and that is to exhort you all zealously to promote the popularity of the Wiltshire Archeological Society. I am myself a native of the county; I was born in it in the year 1771, and therefore you may tell pretty nearly what my age is. But although lam an ancient Brit(t)on, I am not yet disinterred from a tumulus. The CuarrMan then proposed the health of the local Secretary, Mr. Swayne, who returned thanks, and expressed himself much indebted for the assistance which he had received from Mr. James Nightingale. This terminated the proceedings of the dinner; and it being now eight o’clock the company adjourned to the council chamber, where EEE a The Evening Meeting. 21 THE EVENING MEETING was appointed to be held. In the unavoidable absence of the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, the chair was taken by G. P. Scrope, Esq., who, in a few introductory observations, called upon the Rey. J. E. Jackson to read a paper which he had prepared on “the two chantries founded by the Hungerford Family in Salisbury _ Cathedral.” This (which is printed in the present number) was followed by a paper on “ Boyton Church,” by the Rey. A. Fane, and another on the “‘ Family of the Giffards,” by the same gentle- man. Of these the former is printed in No. 3 of the magazine; the latter will appear in its place amongst the proceedings of this meeting. The various articles in the museum were kindly explained by J. Y. Akerman, Esq., and the company dispersed between ten and eleven o’clock. SECOND DAY—THURSDAY. The early part of this day had been set apart by the members for excursions to Old Sarum, Stonehenge, Clarendon, Lake, &e., but the state of the weather was so unpromising that only a limited number ventured forth, defying the elements in their determination to gratify their archeological curiosity. Wilton was to be the rendezvous for the re-assembling of the scattered visitors in the afternoon. An enterprising party took the route to Wilton by Old Sarum, Lake House, and Stonehenge. At Lake House, they were highly gratified by the inspection of a museum of Wiltshire anti- quities, founded by the late ingenious and Rev. Edward Duke; and a most hospitable table was spread for their refreshment. Smaller parties, notwithstanding the splashing showers, found their way to Clarendon, Longford Castle, the Moot, Downton, &c. About half-past two o’clock a very large number had assembled at Wilton House, where they were cordially received by the Right Hon. Sidney and Mrs. Herbert, and where a most sumptuous cold 22 Second General Meeting. collation was provided. In addition to those assembled on the previous day, were the Most Noble the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord Carnarvon, Lord Heytesbury, Lord Rivers, and the Hon. Misses Pitt, the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Daly, and others. After the repast some of the guests amused themselves by inspecting the treasures of art to be found in the galleries of sculpture and painting ; while Mr. Herbert conducted others to the magnificent new Church in the town of Wilton, which has been reared by his liberality. After some time spent in admiring the interior of the sacred edifice the party adjourned to the Town-hall, where a paper on the arch- itecture of the Church (which will be found in the present volume) was read by J. E. Nightingale, Ksq. The members left Wilton House about six o’clock. In the evening, in compliance with the kind invitation of the Lord Bishop of Salisbury, the Society re-assembled at a conversazione in the Palace, the whole suite of rooms in which were thrown open for the occasion. Among the large party by which the Palace was thronged, were the Right Hon. Sidney and Mrs. Herbert, with their guests from Wilton House above mentioned; Earl Nelson; the Countess of Morley; the Mayor and Mrs. Lambert; G. P. Scrope, Esq., M.P.; the Hon. R. Daly; Major-General Buckley; Lady Catherine Buckley and Miss Buckley; M. Higgins, Esq. and Mrs. Higgins; Admiral and Mrs. Montagu; Colonel and Mrs. Luard; A. Seymour, Esq. and Miss Seymour; Alfred Morrison, Esq., Fonthill; &c. &ce. In the drawing-room, Mr. Clutton the architect who has been selected by the committee for restoring the Chapter-House of Salisbury Cathedral, as a tribute to the memory of the late Bishop, having been introduced to the assembly by Mr. 8. Herbert in a few apposite remarks, read a paper on “The Origin and Uses of Chapter- Houses,” which was illustrated by various paintings and ground plans. At the conclusion of its delivery, The Marquis of Lanspowne said he had listened with much pleasure to the address, and would venture to express, on behalf of every one present, ladies and gentlemen—for the ladies, he was happy to say, shared in the desire for the preservation and resto- Second Day—Thursday. 23 ration of the different features of our beautiful cathedrals—their thanks to Mr. Clutton for his clear and satisfactory description of a style of architecture,-which derived a particular interest from its connection with the peculiarities of church history in this and other countries. There was another source of interest of a more local and personal kind, in this subject, from its bearing upon the effort that was being made for the restoration of the Salisbury Chapter-House. Mr. Clutton had revealed to them the remarkable features of the past; and it remained for themselves, by their liberality, to enable that gentleman to procure for them a glimpse of the future, and by their efforts to accomplish the renovation—for although time could destroy it could also renovate—of the Chapter-House, and then they would have the beauty and purposes of the structure, not only illustrated by drawings and lectures, but by the restoration to them, in palpable reality, of a fabric, which he would almost say, stood highest among buildings of this description. He would be glad to see the future restoration effected by the same gentleman to whom they were that evening so much indebted for a history of the past. Earl Netson begged to urge upon every one present the necessity of assisting the object. They had already collected £4,400, and if a spirited effort were made before the spring, he hoped that they would have the whole sum of £5,000, which, he was convinced, would be sufficient to do all the essential part of the restoration. Mr. G. P. Scropx, M.P., desired to express the universal feeling of gratitude entertained by the members of the Wilts Archeological Society, for the kindness and hospitality shown to them during their assembly in Salisbury. Their thanks were especially due to the Lord Bishop and the Right Hon. Mr. Herbert, for their hospitality ; and he should not omit mentioning the Mayor, who had been very attentive to them by giving them the use of the council chamber, and presiding at the dinner. The time for the holding of the meeting next year had not yet been fixed upon; but he could not express a higher hope than that the members would be as well treated as they had been in the ancient and renowned city of Salisbury. The company broke up about eleven o’clock. 24 Second General Meeting. THIRD DAY—FRIDAY. In the morning, several of the members attended the museum in the council chamber, when G. P. Scrope, Esq., M.P. took the chair, and told the company that they had a duty to perform before they left Salisbury. Among the multiplicity of objects which de- manded the attention of the committee and the officers, it was not surprising that there were two or three omissions, which he now wished to call their attention to, and solicit the hearty concurrence of the meeting in filling up. He alluded to the kind and zealous co-operation of the Mayor and principal inhabitants of Salisbury, in welcoming them to this historical and truly archeological city ; and for the important aid they had rendered in making up the splendid, varied, and extraordinary collection of ancient relics, manuscripts, drawings, and books that constituted the museum, which nearly filled the spacious room where they were assembled— some of these had been sent by the estimable Prelate, who had so hospitably and cordially received them at his Palace, and who had been so politely seconded by Mrs. Hamilton ; Mr. Sidney Herbert and his accomplished lady likewise contributed some articles of importance; while the Mayor and Corporation of the more ancient city of Winchester sent several remarkable objects, which had excited very general attention. The Dean and Chapter, the Mayor and Corporation, and several citizens of Salisbury seemed to vie with each other in their offerings to this Archzological shrine. Mr. W. Cunnington, of Devizes, contributed a large cargo of geological specimens from his comprehensive but choice Wiltshire museum. He would now advert to another subject and person omitted yesterday—he meant Mr. W. Cunnington, to whom this Society was indebted for its birth and early nurture. He tempted some of his friends to assemble, and to purchase Mr. Britton’s Wiltshire collection, and to found the Society. To him, therefore, every lover of topographic research was deeply indebted. The Chairman concluded by moving the following resolution :— “That the thanks of the Society be given to Mr. William Society's Report. 25 Cunnington for his able exertions and labours as local secretary at Devizes, in the formation of the Society, and its proceedings during the past year. The resolution was carried unanimously. Several papers were ready for perusal, but in consequence of the day being fine, and many members having made engagements for excursions, one only was read by the Rev. J. E. Jackson; viz., “Some Notices of the Library at Stourhead, by J. B. Nichols, Esq., F.S.A.” Mr. Scropz, after thanking Mr. Nichols for his valuable paper, moved the following proposition, which was carried nem con:— “That the thanks of this Society be given to the Worshipful the Mayor of Salisbury for his liberal permission to this Society to use the Council Chamber, and for his other assistance in their support; and also to the numerous exhibitors of objects of interest in the temporary museum.” The proceedings then terminated. 26 The Museum. @ List of Articles Exhibtted TEMPORARY MUSEUM AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, SALISBURY, September 13th, 1854. Those marked with an Asterisk have been presented to the Society. By THE Hart Bruce:— *A Gold Ring found in a Roman Villa at Great Bedwyn. By THE DEAN anpD CHaPTER OF SALISBURY:— One of the original transcripts of Magna Charta, (seal lost). Charter of King Stephen, dated Oxford, a.p. 1136, con- firming the liberties of the Church. Fine Saxon and Latin MS. of ap. 969-1006, marked “Liturgia Gregoriana,”’ containing Rules for the Calendar, Psalter, Lord’s Prayer, &c., beautifully illuminated with initial letters. A magnificent folio Breviary, later than a.p. 1456, given by Walter Long of Erlingham to some Abbey. Bequeathed by the late Bishop Denison to the Dean and Chapter of Salis- bury. CasE CONTAINING ReELIcs FROM THE CATHEDRAL, Viz.:— An Episcopal Ring of Gold set with a Sapphire, found in removing the Tomb of Bishop Beauchamp, who died 1481, from the middle of his Chapel in 1789. Fragments of Pastoral Staff in wood, Chalice and Paten of Silver-gilt, and Episcopal Ring of Gold set with an Agate, The Museum. 27 found with aSkeleton, (supposed to be that of Bishop Longespee, who died 1297), on removing the pavement of the Lady Chapel, in 1789. Two Chalices of Pewter, Episcopal Ring, and six Trays of Fragments found in Tombs, &c. Large Coloured Drawing showing the interior of the Chapter- House, as intended to be restored. Chasuble! of Green Velvet, embroidered with the Crucifixion and figures of Saints, with this inscription:—“Orate: p: aia: Johann: Baldwini.” Portion of a twisted Wire with a noose, which until about the year 1775 hung over the tomb of Charles, Lord Stourton, in Salisbury Cathedral. (He was executed at Salisbury, March 6th, 1557, for the murder of Mr. Hartgill and his son, at Kilmington, near Stourhead. His remains were interred under a plain altar tomb with pierced sides, at the east end of the Cathedral. In 1790 it was removed to its present situation between two of the piers on the south side of the Nave). By tHe Ricur Hon. Smyey Herserr:— A plain Gold hoop Ring in excellent preservation, found in the gardens near Wilton Abbey. It is set with a small sharply pointed black diamond, and is inscribed Benedicta sit Sta Trinitas. It has besides, a monogram consisting of a capital letter P entwined with a smaller e. It is described as an Abbot’s ring, but it seems more probable that it belonged to one of the later Abbesses, or possibly to some member of the Pembroke family, who became possessed of the Abbey after the dissolution of the Monasteries. 1 The Chasuble (casula) is the outermost of the Eucharistic vestments used at the celebration of Mass. It was in use as early as the sixth century. In its primitive form it was perfectly round; but in the middle ages of an oval shape. It is without sleeves and has an opening in the centre for the head. Being put on it fell in two peaks, one before the other behind. ‘The oldest form of orphray or embroidery is in the shape of a fall, in the present instance it forms a straight line from one point to the other. EB 2 28 The Museum. A Case containing a lock of Queen Elizabeth’s hair, together with the verses and memorandum annexed. They are under- stood to have been discovered a few years since, between the leaves of an old book in the library. ‘‘ This lock of Queen Elizabeth’s owne Hair was presented to Sir Philip Sidney by Her Majestey’s owne faire hands, on which he made these verses and gave them to the Queen on his bended knee. Anno Domini 15738. Her inward worth all outward show transcends, Envy her merit with regret commends ; Like sparkling gems her virtues draw the light, And in her conduct she is alwaies bright; When she imparts her thoughts, her words have force, And sense, and Wisdom, flow in sweet discourse.” By Joun Swayne, Ese., Town Clerk of Wilton:— MS. Will of John Fromond, Burgess of Wilton, proved before the Mayor, a.p. 1348. [In this document the Churches of St. Nicholas, St. Mary the Virgin, and St. Cecilia in Wilton are mentioned. The Mayor’s seal is attached; it is of a slightly oval form, in good preservation, and differs in some respects from the Mayor’s seal now in use. Two figures are seated under a double canopied niche; the principal figure, apparently a female with drapery hanging from her head, places her right hand on the head of the figure in the adjoining niche, who is in the attitude of prayer. In the present seal of the Mayor of Wilton these two effigies are represented as crowned, and of different sexes, the male holding an orb and giving bene- diction }. MS. Freedom of Wilton to John Mundy, 4 Henry V., 1416. [An impression of another and later seal of the Mayor of Wilton is attached to this document ; it is slightly larger and more oval than the preceding ; the workmanship is by no means so good. The attitude of the figures varies slightly, but they still differ materially in subject from the two royal effigies on the seal now in use}. MS. 19 Richard II. Grant from the Prior of St. John, at Wilton, to John Budell, Chaplain of the Church of St. John, and of the Bolebrigge Chantry, Langford. The Museum. 29 MS. 19 Henry VII. Pass for William Johnson and Richard Scorfield, servants of Sir John Wyndham, Kunt., dwelling in the County of Norfolk, taken as a rebel against the King, and put to death at Tower Hill, on Corpus Christi even. then last Was a year. A curiously made Puzzle Cup in china. By Mr. Georce Sancer, Fisherton :— A collection of Eight Bronze Celts, Two Spear Heads, Lock and Key, and other small Bronze articles. [All found in the neighbourhood of Salisbury, principally at Harnham Hill and at Old Castle]. By R. Case containing Coins found in the vicinity of Salisbury. Twelve Encaustic Tiles of the 13th century. Two Seals and two Rings bearing merchant’s marks. Small Carving in Ivory. Ditto in Alabaster. Small Bronze Figure found at Old Sarum. Metal Triptich of the Greek Church. Small Leathern Black Jack. Fragments of Stained Glass of the 16th century. Four-handled Urn. Herrey, Esa., Salisbury:— Stone ware Jug of remarkable design, found at Bulbridge House, near Wilton, date 1560. Impression of the Seal of Trinity Hospital, Salisbury. By Mr. Mc.Ewen, Devizes :— Cabinet of Coins. Fragment of Chinese Carving. By rue Rev. Tuomas Murxs, Stockton :— MS. Volume containing an elaborate account of the Parish of Stockton, illustrated by a great number of Drawings of the Church, Monuments, &c. By Masor Grove, of Zeals:— An interesting collection of personal objects connected with the Royalist family of Grove. [Col. Hugh Grove and Col. John Penruddock were beheaded at Exeter, 16th May, 1655]. 30 The Museum. Bands worn by Hugh Grove at his execution (spotted with blood), also a portion of his Hair. A richly carved Wooden Comb and Pincushion, given by King Charles II. to the wife of John, son of Hugh Grove. Cap, Stocking, and Handkerchief, left by Charles II. at Mere when he escaped. Blue Silk Cloak of Charles II., embroidered in silver. A pair of Gloves, of the same period. Copperplate Portrait of Hugh Grove, also his Speech and last Prayer before execution. [Believed to be in his own hand-writing ]. Two Deeds with great Seals attached of Henry VIII. and James I. Six MSS. with Autographs. Household Book of the Duke of Buckingham, dated 1634. Vellum MS., 1573. An interesting specimen of goldsmith’s work, consisting of a Salt, richly chased, and ornamented with astronomical de- vices; it is formed in divisions like the stages of a tower, and is meant to contain some other condiment besides salt. [This curious object is of silver-gilt; it stands about fourteen inches in height, and is probably of a date about 1600]. Proclamation at the death of King Charles II. addressed to W. Chaffin, of Zeals, Esq., Sheriff of Wilts, Feb. 16th, 1684. By C. Penruppocke, Ese., Compton House :— The original Warrant for the Execution of John Penrud- dock and others, signed “ Oliver P.,” dated at Whitehall, 3rd. May, 1655, and addressed to John Coppleston, Esq., High- Sheriff of Devonshire. Case containing the Cap of French Cambric bordered with lace, in which Colonel John Penruddock was beheaded. [At the back a portion is severed off, indicating the blow of the axe]. Mrs. Penruddock’s last Letter to her husband before his execution. Portraits of Col. John Penruddock and of Arundel (Freke) his wife. Four Cavalier Swords, one of which was worn by the Colonel. The Museum. 31 By Mr. Hayter, Salisbury :— Four-handled Cup of Glazed Ware, with cover and inscrip- tions, dated 1692. By THe Rey. Atex. Grant, VManningford Bruce:— Ancient Tinder Box of very complicated design. A curious instrument for lighting a pipe, consisting of a whistle for calling the waiter, tongs for applying a live coal, and tobacco stopper. Found at Pewsey. By tHE Rev. G. L. Benson, Salisbury :— Fragments of Etruscan Pottery. A Bronze Celt, and a Corsican Gourd. By tHe Rev. A. Mc.Ewen, Dumfries :— * Impression of the Chapter Seal of Melrose Abbey. By H. J. F. Swayne, Esa., Stratford :— Silver-gilt Locket containing Portrait, date 1617. Cavalier’s Badge, Silver-gilt. An interesting collection of Coins, consisting of Silver Pennies, struck at Wilton, Sarum, Winchester, Wallingford, &e., temp. Will. I.; also a Penny, struck at Wilton, temp. Henry II.; Gold Noble, Edw. III.; Newark Siege Piece, Charles I. By Mr. E. W. Broprm, Salisbury :— Three Cases containing various Antiquities, chiefly of Metal, found during the recent draining excavations at Salisbury. These objects consist of an extensive collection of keys, of various dates, ranging from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Also some latch keys, similar to those in use at the present day, but which are probably as early as the 15th century. Several examples of missile weapons were particularly interesting: a triangular headed dart, probably intended to be projected from a balista; barbed darts of a form in use as late as the end of the 15th century; the heads of the English cross-bow bolt, the arrow, and the bird-bolt; the latter being of a curved form resembling the tail of a fish. Knives in use in the middle ages, the handles of some of them being tastefully ornamented. Also knives used in handicrafts, probably by leather cutters and cordwainers; 382 The Museum. and shears of a diminutive size, not unlike those sometimes ’ discovered in Anglo-Saxon graves: spoons bearing the makers’ stamps, the hilts and blades of swords and daggers, the trap- pings of horses, a fragment of chain mail, the wheel-locks of carbines and muskets, probably memorials of the struggle between the Parliament troops and the royalists, when Ludlow was driven out of Salisbury by the army of Sir Marmaduke Langdale; and, lastly, several rings and badges of copper enamelled with armorial devices, some of these probably as early as the 14th century. [Great praise is due to Mr. Brodie for the pains he has taken in arranging and preserving these local reliques. He has lately most liberally offered to present them to the city as a nucleus for a local museum, in case an institution of that kind should be formed]. A Winged Mercury, in Bronze, found at Old Sarum. A Coin of “Offa,” in excellent preservation, found at Win- terslow, Wilts. Ancient Watch and Chinese Silver Box. Stone Ware Jug. By Mr. W. Stevens, Salisbury :— Five Fragments of Stained Heraldic Glass, from the old Guildhall and other ancient buildings in Salisbury. A curious white enamelled Earthenware Drinking Cup, about 74 inches high, bearing several scriptural subjects and coats of arms, with the initials L.W. By Messrs. Brown, Canal, Salisbury :— A large collection of Topographical and other Books re- lating to Wiltshire. By Mr. J. E. Nigurincare, Wilton:— Byzantine Carving in Ivory, representing our Saviour in glory. Specimens of Tiles, called “Azulejo,” from the prevalent blue colour; from the Alhambra. Piece of Terra Cotta of classic design from Tangiers. Bulla of Pope Urban V., found near Wilton. Four Illuminations from Service Books. The Museum. 33 Iron Locker, 15th century. Four Plates of Limoges Enamel. Watch, with case of elaborate Metal work; from Padua, date 1520. German Triptych, 17th century. Fibula and Nail, forming the head of Medusa, remains of Roman occupation; from the island of Elephantina, in Upper Egypt. ; Two portions of a Glass vase-shaped Lamp, richly coloured and gilt, with an Arabic inscription; from the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, at Cairo, date about 1360. [These curious lamps are said to be of Syrian manufacture; Mr. Curzon thinks it more probable “that these beautiful specimens of ancient glass were made in the island of Murano, in the lagunes of Venice, as the manufactories of the Venetians supplied the Mahomedans with many luxuries in the middle ages’’]. A series of impressions of Wilton Seals, consisting of the Common seal of the Borough of Wilton; personal seal of the Mayor; the hospital of St. Giles; the guild of weavers; and a personal seal of the 12th century, belonging to Joane, daughter of Joannes Westone, found near the abbey of Wilton. [The seal of the priory of St. John now in use is not the original, it is circular and bears the Agnus Dei. The original seal of the abbey of Wilton is engraved in the 8th vol. of the Archzologia, to which is added a learned essay on the subject by the late F. Douce. This remarkable seal, of which two imperfect impressions are known to exist, belongs to a period not much later than the reign of King Edgar, and is probably the oldest monastic seal in existence |. By Miss Wickens, Salisbury:— Volume containing a large number of drawings of antiquities in Salisbury and the neighbourhood. Copy of an ancient Fresco Painting in St. Thomas’ Church, Salisbury, representing the last judgment. Model of the Old Bell Tower of Salisbury Cathedral. [This formerly stood on the north side of the cathedral, and was z 34 The Museum. taken down when other extensive alterations were made at the end of the last century ]. Wooden-barrel Cup, formerly in the possession of Sir Isaac Newton. By Mr. W. Osmonp, Jun., Salisbury :— Two Water-colour Drawings of the Poultry Cross, Salisbury. A large and interesting collection of Sulphur Casts of Seals, chiefly relating to Co. Wilts. By tue Rey. A. Fang, Warminster :— Seven Roman Coins, found in an earthen vessel at Long- bridge Deverill. Gold Ring, found at Sherrington. By Mr. J. Bennett, Salisbury; & Rev. W. C. Bennert, Corsham :— Stone-ware Jug, elaborately mounted in Silver-gilt, of the time of Queen Elizabeth. Large folio Family Bible, richly bound, with massive silver mounting, and illuminated, containing the Pedigree of the Bennetts and about 140 illustrations, date 1679. Mortuary Ring. Ancient Silver ditto. One Gold and one Silver Coin. By tHE Lorp ArunDELL, of Wardour, (through John Lambert, Esq., Mayor of Salisbury) :— ; A Wooden Peg Tankard, traditionally said to have belonged to an Abbot of Glastonbury. It is richly carved, with figures of the Twelve Apostles under an arcade of round-headed arches, and has a representation of the Crucifixion on the lid. [A very early date has been assigned to this cup, but there seems no reason for supposing it to be much, if any, older than 1600]. « Annales Archzeologiques”: by Didrow, 5 vols. By tHe CHurcHWwARDENS oF St. Tuomas, Sarwm:— Ancient Antependium of green Velvet, ornamented with orfrais and embroideries, representing the Annunciation. By Watrer Hopexrson, Esa. :— Detailed Drawings of Wootton Rivers Church, and other Antiquities in the neighbourhood of Marlborough. ee ete The Museum. 35 By F. C. Luxts, Ese, F.S.A., Guernsey:— A series of 24 Stone Celts, and other Celtic Antiquities, with a large and valuable collection of Drawings illustrative of Celtic remains. *A Cast of a Guernsey Stone Celt, and some Hand Bricks. By F. C. Luxis, Ese., M.D., F.S.A.:— A copy of his ‘“ Observations on Celtic Megaliths, &c.” By Joun Brown Wuirte, Esa. :— * Nine Roman Coins, found in the parish of Little Bedwyn. By roe Rev. Sus-Dran Eyre, Salisbury:— Engraving of Salisbury Cathedral, (N.E. view). By THe Rev. W. C. Lukis, Great Bedwyn:— Models of Bells and Mould for casting them. Drawings (full size) of the Ist, 4th, and Tenor Bells at Ogbourne St. Andrew. A large and interesting collection of Antiquities was kindly con- tributed By roe Drrecrors or THE WINCHESTER MusEuM:— Amongst other objects of local interest was the Original Winchester Bushel, presented to the city by King Henry VII. in 1487. A series of Standard Gallons, Quarts, and Yard Measures, of the period of Henry VII. and Queen Elizabeth; these are formed of a mixed yellow metal. The Bronze Horn of the Warder of Winchester Castle. Three Taper Stands, of the 15th century, found on the site of an ancient chapel on St. Giles’ Hill. A collection of Roman Urns, found at Winchester. Fragments of Pottery, from Egypt, Pompeii, and Constan- tinople. British Bead of Glass, found in a peat moor at King’s Sombourn. A series of Leaden Papal Bulle. A curiously carved Cup, in Ivory, of early date; found amongst the ruins of Basing House. Anglo-Saxon Fibula, enamelled, from the ruins of HydeAbbey. F 2 36 The Museum. A Pair of Roundels; these articles were used as fruit trenchers about the period of Elizabeth; they are curiously painted, and inscribed with quaint devices. Celt, found in a barrow near Maupas, Normandy. Ancient Bone Pins, discovered in Winchester. By Eart Netson, Trafalgar :— Two ancient Silver Salvers and Cup. By Joun Brirrton, Esea., F.S.A.:— Large Portfolio of Coloured Drawings: by J. H. Le Keux. By Joun B. Nicnotns, Ese., F.S.A., London :— Portfolio of Drawings, Prints, &c., relating to the County of Wilts. By Mr. Bippiecomse, Salisbury :— Ancient View of the City of Salisbury from the N.E., (Oil Painting). Drawing of the Cathedral, taken from N.E., showing the Hungerford Chapel, &c. Engraving of the Interior, from the West end, 1754. By tHe Rev. J. P. Bartierr, Exbury, Hants:— A collection of 28 pieces of Roman Pottery, lately discovered in the Western parts of the New Forest. [Innumerable fragments, and a great many entire vessels were found scattered over a tract of some extent; they are all more or less im- perfect, and seem evidently to have formed the refuse of a potter’s kiln. Some of these vases have been figured, and a description given, in a late vol. of the Archeologia]. By Mr. Humpnrey Brackmore, Salisbury :— Ancient Key. A Box in Brass, curiously chased. By Miss Maynez, Teffont:— A Coin of Aurelius, and a Half-Noble of Edward IIL., found at Teffont. By Mr. Pranerey, Heytesbury:— Ring, found at Monkton Deverell. Ditto, found at the Manor House of Corsley, once the seat of the Raleigh family. The Museum. 37 By Mrs. Hussy, Salisbury:— Large four-sheet Print of Salisbury Cathedral, from the South-West: by Thacker. By Mr. W. Downrine, Fisherton:— A collection of Flints, of the Chalk formation, with Crystals and Calcedony. By Mr. Brown, Aldbourne :— Small Bell, of German manufacture, date 1560; found in the foundation of an old wall at Aldbourne, 1854. By Mrs. Cotston, Roundway Park:— Five Gold Filagree Beads. Two Gold Pins, with Garnets set in the heads, attached by chains to a central ornament, also mounted in pagel and having a cross engraved on it. Five Precious Stones of various shapes, mounted in gold; some supposed to be carbuncle. Piece of Jet, of a triangular form, set in gold. Remains of an Incense Pail, consisting of fragments of wood, 19 triangular ornaments, and 2 hoops of brass. [The above articles were discovered a few years since, with a skeleton, on opening a tumulus on Roundway down. A description and coloured engraving of them will be found in No. I. of “Re- mains of Pagan Saxondom”: by J. Y. Akerman, Esq. | Portions of Two Urns, (Roman and ancient British) found near the same spot. Two Crania, from the same locality; one of these exhibits several sword cuts, and is conjectured to have been that of a soldier who fell in the battle fought on Roundway down, A.D. 1643. By Mr. Cunnineton, Devizes :— A collection of Fossil Sponges, from the Chalk Flints of Wiltshire, 47 specimens. Humerus of large Saurian, (probably Pliosaurus) 27 inches in length, from the Kimmeridge Clay, near Devizes. Coracoid of Saurian, 4 large Teeth, and 8 Vertebra, one 7 inches in diameter, from the same. 38 The Museum. Left Ramus of the Lower Jaw of Ichthyosaurus Campylodon, 2 feet 11 inches in length, from the Upper Green Sand of Warminster. A very perfect specimen of Ammonites Rostratus, found in the Upper Green Sand of Devizes. A selection of Fossil Univalve Shells, from the Upper Green Sand of Wiltshire, 35 specimens; also Fossil Bivalve Shells, from the same stratum, 168 specimens. By Mr. Farkner, Devizes:— Minute Shells and Seeds, from the centre of Silbury Hill. Globular Flints, hollow and solid. Sponges from the interior of hollow flints. Dust from ditto, washed and unwashed. Humerus of large Saurian, from the Kimmeridge Clay, near Devizes. By Mr. E. Kite, Devizes :— Model (in plaster) of the Font in Preshute Church. Ancient Deed, alienation of property at Chiseldon, Wilts, from William Malyn, gent., to Thomas King, with impression in white wax of Great Seal of James I. By Mr. W. D. Wi1xEs:— Stroup, Anvil, and Hammer Bones of the internal Ear, from an Anglo-Saxon Skull. By Mr. R. Wayten, Salisbury :— Drawing of the Market-place, Devizes, as it appeared about the year 1800. Another Drawing, of the Town-hall, showing several old houses in St. John’s Street, now removed. Tartar Sword. Drawing of a Head and Coats of Arms, in an old house at Stratford. By Mr. Cuapman, Salisbury :— Ancient Box of carved Oak. By Mr. Howrrr, Wilton:— Ware Vessel, probably a rude funeral lamp or cresset, found in the churchyard of the new church at Wilton. The Museum. 39 Rude Lump of Baked Clay, with a hole in the centre, possibly used to support large candles ranged on the floor of a church around a corpse in funeral obsequies, found at ditto. By Mr. Foor, Salishury:— Ancient Wooden Dish, found in St. Anne’s Street. By Mr. Baker, Warminster:— Large quantity of Upper Green Sand and other Fossils, from the neighbourhood of Warminster. By Dr. Tuurnam, F.S.A., Devizes:— Stone Axes, Arrow Heads, and small Whetstone, from Ireland. Bronze Spear Head, from a tumulus at West Everley. 40 On Church Bells. On Church Bells, WITH SOME NOTICES OF WILTSHIRE BELLS. By Tue Rev. W. C. Lots. I po not propose to enter into the antiquity and history of bells in general. This has been done already by several most able writers of our day, I refer particularly to the Reverends Alfred Gatty, and H. T. Ellacombe. My object is to speak of church bells exclusively, as we find them, making some passing allusions to some of the uses to which they were applied in former times, as well as to those to which they are applied now. Accordingly into the origin of church bells, whether they were adopted into the christian church from heathen temples, or whether they are the legitimate offspring of the church herself, I will not now enquire. And in the pursuit of this very interesting and fruitful subject I propose to consider the following divisions :— 1. Belfries; their condition, and the causes of their frequent dilapidation. . Bell-founders and foundries. . The composition of bell-metal. . Method of casting and tuning bells. . Bell hanging. . Expenses of bells in early and present times. . Ancient bells. . Epigraphs or legends. Oonr DD Oo FP & NW . Bell ringing. 10. Spoliation of bells, temp. Reformation and subsequently. 11. Comparative scale of tenor bells. I have adopted this order, because in investigating the subject of. campanology, the belfry first presents itself to your eyes. You ¢ena-—= -----~----------—----~-- Canons - Haunch po nnesenstan nena ennnnenne Waist [See Mercennus de Harmonicis, lib. iv.} N.B. The Sound-bow is the line of the thickest part, where the clapper must strike. By the Rev. W. C. Lukas. 41 ascend it, and the bells themselves then come under your con- sideration. But you will know very little about them, unless you have first become acquainted with their founders, and the several changes which were introduced by them in the form of the bells. 1. Belfries. Some persons apply this term to signify the whole tower; others limit its application to the part in which the bells are suspended; and others again to the room or space in which .the ringers stand, which is either on the floor of the church, or in one of the stages of the tower. This is a matter of very little con- sequence; and I do not intend to speak of this part of the church further than just to remark by the way, that as it was clearly erected for the purpose of carrying bells, it is a matter for our grave con- sideration how it comes to pass that so many of our village churches should have their towers in so dilapidated a condition. I have seen several in the course of my Wiltshire rambles which are in so dangerous a state that the bells are forbidden to be rung. There can be no doubt that this arises from two causes. In the first place, bells for which the towers were originally constructed were not subject to the same revolutions and tossings as now. They were swung to and fro, it is true, as I shall explain presently, but very gently compared with the present wild summersets of change ringing, an art of comparatively recent date. Consequently in constructing the towers, the architects of those days had not to take into their calculation the great vibration of the walls produced by the violent motion of the bells. In 1810 the spire of St. Nicholas’s church, Liverpool, fell, as the people were assembling for service, and killed twenty-three persons. This catastrophe was partly caused by the vibration of the bells. Any one who has stood in the belfry of the lofty and beautiful tower of Magdalen College, Oxford, when a peal is ringing on its ten sweet-toned bells, knows the way in which a tower is made to sway. To a person of weak nerves it is perfectly alarming, and it is easy to understand how this kind of vibration must loosen the masonry and eventually endanger the building. ' The following is an extract from the ancient churchwarden’s ° accounts of St. Thomas’s, Salisbury. “At a vestry held 6 April, G 42 On Church Bells. 1640. Item, by reason of the danger w% the tower is in by ringing of the bells, since they were high hung, and in other re- spects, it is agreed that the bells shall bee hung lower at the same pitch they formerly were hung att, and the churchwardens are desired to do itt accordingly.” In the second place, and this I take to be the principal cause of the evil, churchwardens have been sadly negligent. With a little grease and new ropes allowed now and then, they have imagined that their duty to the bells and to the parish has been faithfully done, whereas mischief of a three-fold nature has been growing and increasing,—mischief to the building, to the bells, and to the parishioners;—the one ending in its dilapidation and ruin; the second, in their utter destruction; and the third, to the prejudice of their pockets. In a tower in this county, I found three out of six bells broken, as I firmly believe, from this cause, and several peals of bells rendered nearly useless in consequence of the shaky state of the towers. As an instance of the way in which some, I may say many, churchwardens speak and act, I will mention, that I was warned by a parish clerk to be very careful where I stept in the bell-loft, for, said he, “the tower be main crazy.” On asking the churchwarden for the key of the church, and mentioning the clerk’s humane warning, he said “Sir, I have known the tower these forty years, and he never was no better than he isnow. He’s quite safe. I’ll tell’ee what, sir; one day the bishop come, and he said, muster churchwarden, you’ve a very pretty church, and he’s in very good order. Another day, another gentleman come, I think they call’un a rural dean, and he said, muster churchwarden, you’ve a pretty church, and he’s sadly out of repair.” When I returned the key I did not see the churchwarden, or I should have told him that in my humble opinion both the rural dean and the parish clerk were right; for I had seen very many churches and many belfries, but few in a worse condition. And to illustrate the way in which these good easy parish officers will sometimes suffer the house of God to fall into decay, while I fear they expend what they rob Him of upon their own bodily comforts, I will tell you, that in ascending a Wiltshire tower with By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 43 careful step, I sank through the rotten floor of one of its stages, and was preserved from a broken limb, if not an untimely end, by the joists which happened to be less decayed. Bells require very constant attention to keep them in proper ringing order. When you consider their enormous weight, the different parts of their gear, the iron and the wood of which it is composed bolted and screwed together; the frame work on which they hang, and in revolving which they violently shake and vibrate; and then reflect that the iron and the wood are both exposed to continual changes of atmosphere; and that, under one condition of atmosphere, when one of those materials expands, the other contracts, and that then the bells cannot oscillate so easily, you will form some idea of the care and attention they require to keep them in ringing order. Well, suppose screws to get loose, and to remain so during many successive generations of churchwardens, the iron straps to become corroded, thin, weak, and then to snap; the gudgeons to wear away unequally by the friction, and thereby to throw the bells out of the horizontal, you can imagine what the consequences must be. The bells revolve heavily, the frame work shakes and creaks, and the ringers, who have no voice in the vestry, and no power over parish moneys, do what they can to remedy some of the evil, and the very thing they do only increases the mischief. They put wedges between the frame work and the walls of the tower to stop the creaking; but the result of this is to set the walls shaking, and finally to destroy them. Or, if this does not immediately happen, the clappers of the bells get out of order, and striking the sound-bow suddenly in a fresh place, cause them to crack instantly. While upon the subject of Wiltshire bell-lofts, I cannot refrain from expressing another regret. I have been frequently much pained by observing the shameful state of filth and neglect of many of them. Generally speaking the dark winding stone staircases (when they have any) leading to them, are dirty, worn, and difli- cult to tread, and you have to cork-screw your way up with very careful step, and when you have secured your footing, and are beginning to congratulate yourself on having passed every obstacle, G2 44 On Church Bells. you suddenly come upon a huge heap of sticks, straw, feathers, bits of cloth, and other rubbish, the patient and laborious work of indefatigable jackdaws. When the towers have no stone stair- case, the bells have to be reached by a succession of crazy ladders, planted on equally crazy floors. How very shameful that any part of God’s house should be so neglected! Why should towers be so desecrated? Are they not as much a portion of the church as any other part? Why should they be left to the sole occupation of unclean birds, and profane and irreverent ringers? Why, the very jackdaws, starlings, and owls used to stare at me, and linger among the bells before they took flight, wondering perhaps what kind of evil bird I was, and with what possible object I had intruded unbidden into the territory to which generations of parishioners had given them a prescriptive right. We may, I think, attribute this state of things to two causes, first, to a want of interest in the art of bell-ringing; and secondly, to the difficulty which is experienced by the clergy in managing the generally most unruly set of men in a parish—the ringers. If gentlemen in a parish really loved bell-ringing for itself, they would not long endure the abominations that so frequently exist. However, there has been a salutary reform effected of late years among another branch of church musicians, and we may hope to witness a reform in this respect also before long. 2. We come now to the second division of the subject—Bell- founders and foundries. When you examine a church bell, you will generally observe that, besides a legend or some quaint epigraph upon them, there are also the initials or the name of the founder, and sometimes the town is added where the foundry was situated. The number of bell-founders, whose bells exist in Wiltshire, amounts to between twenty and thirty. This appears a large number, but you must recollect that they range over a period of three hundred years at least. I have a list of upwards of sixty founders, which I have collected chiefly from inscriptions on bells, but they are not found in Wiltshire only. I do not say that these twenty or thirty By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 45 founders had their foundries in this county, but you will neverthe- less be gratified to hear that Wiltshire has produced some of the most eminent men of this craft: I allude to Wallis, Danton, and the Purdues of Salisbury, in the 16th and 17th centuries; to the Corrs and Wellses of Aldbourne, in the 17th, 18th, and 19th cen- turies; and in the 18th century to Richard Phelps, of Whitechapel, London, a native of Avebury, who cast the great clock bell of St. Paul’s cathedral, weighing nearly four tons. It will be, I believe, a new thing to the people of Salisbury to hear that a very large bell-foundry existed here for a considerable period. I have ascertained that it continued to supply Wiltshire and other counties with bells for a period ranging from 1581 to 1731, and yet it is a very remarkable circumstance that no tradition of its existence has been perpetuated in the city. I have searched, in vain, through published histories of Salisbury, and have been equally unsuccessful in my enquiries here among those gentlemen who have made its antiquities and history their study. Not one vestige remains of the foundry, nor a single record of its site has yet come under my notice. I have, however, been informed that the street called Culver Street, was also called Bell-founder’s Street;! and it is just possible that it stood there. That the foundry must have been large and its business extensive, is evident from the very large proportion of bells in Wiltshire that came from it; and also from the fact that the heaviest bells in the county were cast there. It could not have been an insignificant foundry that produced such bells as the tenor of St. Edmund’s church in this city, and the tenor of Great Bedwyn. The earliest founder in Wilts with whom I am acquainted, was J. Wallis, of Salisbury, and his first bells are to be found at Little Bedwyn, Bishop- stone, Figheldean, Netheravon, Chute, St. Martin’s Salisbury, &c. 1JIn the Report of the Commissioners of Charities we find: ‘Salisbury— Thomas Bee’s charity; By Deed Poll, dated 29 Novy. 1624, Bartholomew Tooke and Wm. Marshall, in pursuance of the Will of Thomas Bee, conveyed one Messuage or Tenement, three Gardens, and two Orchards with the appurts. in Culver Street al* Bell-founder’s Street in New Sarum, upon the Trusts of his Will, &e.’ 46 On Church Bells. There appears to have been an extraordinary demand for his bells; and he seems to have been a man of few words, but of great deeds. A man is known by his works, and a man’s character and tone of mind may be known in some measure by his words. If we estimate him by his works he was a great man; and if we take his laconic epigraphs as an index of his heart, his was a trustful, ‘thankful, religious character. ‘In the Lord do I trust”; “Give thanks to God”; “God be our guide”; “Give alms”; “In God is all my hope and trust”; “Praise God”; “ Hope well”’; “Serve God”; these are some of his short expressive epigraphs. Associates and assistants are greatly influenced by a master mind. Men’s thoughts and characters are moulded on the pattern conti- nually presented to them. Danton, who appears to have been originally associated with Wallis, but in what capacity does not appear, in carrying on the foundry, after the retirement or death of Wallis, seems to have imbibed his joyful thankful spirit. ‘“O be joyful in the Lord”; “Praise God”; “Tove God”; “QO praise the Lord”’; &c. The bells which came from the hands of the Purdues may be classed among the finest and most beautiful that were founded at Salisbury. Your city once possessed a magnificent peal, surpassed by few in the kingdom. Not to mention the unpardonable de- struction of the belfry, an irreparable loss to the county and the lover of Christian art, you have lost one of the finest peals that ever existed in England; and the fine-toned cathedral clock bell, which formed the sixth of that monster peal of eight, hourly, by day and by night, tolls the knell of the departed members of that once united and harmonious family. This peal must have equalled that of St. Saviour’s, Southwark, the tenor of which weighs 52 ewt. The cathedral bell, cast in 1661; the tenor of St. Edmund’s church, which is a larger bell, cast in 1656; the fifth of Great Bedwyn, which for liveliness and clearness of tone is not to be surpassed by any, cast in the same year, were all the handiwork of William Purdue. With the deaths of the Purdues end the really great works of this foundry. They had successors, but the giants of the art were By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 47 no more, and with Clement and William Tosier closes the history of the Salisbury foundry, about the year 1731. Their bells are to be found in the immediate neighbourhood, at Nunton, Homington, Winterborne Dauntsey, Shrewton, Orcheston St. Mary, &c., but they are all of small dimensions. Clement Tosier, however, made one or two great efforts, for I have just discovered that in the year 1680? 1 Copy of a Document in the Muniment Room, Salisbury Cathedral. ‘Articles of Agreement had made and concluded by and betweene the Reverend Deane and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Sarum, and Clement Tosier, of the Citty of New Sarum, in the County of Wilts, Bell-founder, and Elizabeth Fflowry, of the said Citty of New Sarum, Widdow. “Tt is Articled and agreed by and betweene the partyes abovesaid as followeth, viz. :— 1. That the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry shall, at their owne proper cost and charges, new cast the seaventh and eighth Bells belonging to the said Cathedral Church, and fit and tune them to their places; And shall finde and provide such a quantity of mettle as shall be necessary for that purpose; Which mettle (to be made) shall bee composed of eight parts of the best Copper and two parts of the choysest Tinn; All which the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry doe promise to performe within the space of eight weekes after the date of these psents. 2. That the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry shall warrant and make good the said Bells being soe cast as aforesaid, for the space of one yeare and a day next after they are hung up in theire places, And if it shall happen either of the said Bells shall prove defective wthin the space of one yeare and a day aforesaid, that then the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry shall make good and recast the sd. Bells at his owne cost and charges untill they shall continue sound and pfect. for the space of one whole yeare and a day next after their hanging up. 3. That in consideration of the sd. worke to be performed the said Deane and Chapter doe covenant and agree to pay the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry after the rate of Twenty Shillings by the Hundred for the soe casting and perfecting the said Bells, and to allow and pay them after the rate of flive pounds, three shillings, and six pence for every hundred weight that the sayd Bells shall weigh more than they did before the said Tosier cast them, 4, That the said Deane and Chapter shall pay for the aforesaid mettle soe soone as the said Clement Tosier and Elizabeth Fflowry shall bring it in place, and for their labour and charge w° they shall be at in casting the said Bells soe soone as the said Bells are finished and hung up.” Tn witnesse whereof the partyes aforemencioned to these p'sents interchangeably have sett their hands, the 16th day of August, 1680. Signed in the prsence. of The marke of Clement x Tosier, Tho, Naish, Geo. Frome, Jun. The marke of Elizabeth 3 Fflowry. 48 On Church Bells. he, in conjunction with Elizabeth Fflowry’ (or Flory), widow of R. Fflowry, cast the seventh and eighth bells of the great Salis- bury peal; and that he also cast the fine tenor at Downton. The Corrs of Aldbourne were founders of church bells as early as 1696, and although this foundry must have supplied a vast number of bells in their days as well as in the days of their suc- cessors, the Wellses, I cannot discover that any very great work issued from their hands, compared with that of their brethren of the craft at Salisbury. The seventh and eighth bells at Calne, seven out of the fine peal of eight at St. Thomas’s, Salisbury, are some of the largest works of the Wellses.? Their epigraphs are of a totally different character from those of the Salisbury founders, and appear to be rather the composition of the clergy or of the donors, e.g. at Aldbourne we find on the treble bell, “The gift of Joseph Pizzie and Wm. Gwynn. Music and ringing we like so well, And for that reason we gave this bell.” ‘“‘Me resonare jubent pietas mors atque voluptas.” ‘On earth bells do ring, In heaven angels sing—Halleluiah.” ‘«My cheerful note aloft shall raise To sound my Benefactor’s praise.” ‘‘The heart resolves, the hand obeys To sound our mighty Maker’s praise.” 1 It is just possible that this was Elizabeth Orchard, who married Richard Fflorrey, the younger, at Great Bedwyn, on June 11th, 1660. Richard Fflorrey was buried at Great Bedwyn, Sept. 14th, 1679, and Elizabeth Fflorrey was buried at the same place, Oct. 16th, 1680. These dates will agree with the Salisbury document. 2 Extract from ‘‘The Marlborough Journal” newspaper, of ‘‘ Saturday, June 6th, 1772; vol. 2. No. 63.” Among the advertisements is:— “At the BELL-FOUNDERY at Aldbourne, Wilts, CHURCH-BELLS are cast in a most elegant and as musical a manner as in any Part of the Kingdom, the Founder having made the Theory of Sounds as well as the Nature of Metal his Chief Study; also hangs the same finding all materials in the most complete and concise manner; And also Hand-Bells prepared and strictly in Tune in any key. Horse-Bells, Clock and Room Bells, the neatest of their several kinds. Likewise Mill Brasses cast and sold at the lowest Prices. All orders will be punctually observed by Ros. Wetts, Founder. = He gives Ready Money and the best Prices for Bell Metal. ny By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 49 There was a bell-foundry also at Devizes, belonging to James Burrough, in the 18th century, but little business appears to have been done by it. The fourth bell at Collingbourne Ducis, and the fourth at Calne, with the first and second at St. John’s, Devizes, came from this foundry. And here, I think, ends the list of Wiltshire founders and foundries. A great many Gloucester bells are to be met with in Wiltshire, and they abound also in the western counties. That foundry is of great antiquity, and it was there that the art was brought to great perfection. In the time of King Edward IL., circa 1310, it is known that bells were founded there by John of Gloucester. From his days to the present time, 7.e. for more than five hundred years, the foundry has been in active operation, and especially so from the close of the 17th century, when we are introduced to the well- known name of Rudhall. The family of the Rudhalls must have been of that class of Englishmen who were once more common than now, called good “church and state people.” Nearly all their bells bear such epigraphs as the following: ‘Prosperity to the Church and Queen”; “May the Church of England ever flourish”; “God prosper the Church of England”; “Free from rebellion God save the King”; “Peace and good neighbourhood”; ‘God send peace.” Some of their bells are of considerable size, but the largest I have met with are the tenor of Westbury, in this county, which is 58 inches diameter, and is the largest bell in Wiltshire, weighing about 35 ewt.; and the tenor at Bath abbey, which is 593 inches diameter, weighs about 2 tons, and bears this inscription : ‘All you of Bath that hear me sound, Thank Lady Hopton’s hundred pound.” It would take up too much space, and too much of your time, if I were to say a few words only upon all the founders of Wiltshire bells and their foundries. I will merely add that Henry Knight, Ellis and Samuel Knight, of Reading, were bell-founders of some eminence in the 17th century; and that four of the Great Bedwyn peal, and the fifth of Collingbourne Kingston, besides several to be met with in Oxford, are their work. 50 On Church Bells. I also give here a chronological list of bell-founders, to which many others might be added:— GLOUCESTER. John of Gloucester . . . . . .~ cirea 1810 William Henshawe! ..... «© 1480 Abraham Rudhall,Sen2 . . . . 1684 Abraham Rudhall, Jun. ... . 1718 Abel Rudhall eee TT eR pice Thomas Rudhall re ta BRN 1780 satis }Rudhall . . . . . . 17851828 John SALISBURY. John Wallis .o- 6s oss »., ,Aeol—loas Jour Danton." . ss ss te. LOD William Purdue Roger Purdue COheraiw Vaped ier WhomaatPardue: &) fio) atk Ns 1663 Nicholas Bolter Jonathan Bolter Fg pedal rainy 3° pases John Lett AE Aga RG em 5) RE IST R. Flowry at ie dame te Mapu 1675 Glsment Tosier : 0%. 4... . koou-——ata Wuhan Vosier. .? 2.8. 3 ee 17238 ALDBOURNE, WILTS. William Corr ae he “calcrersiereeastresc) deg>s EROS SII John Corr AU Sac Bit Ph Tak 1750 Robert Wells 9 Hietd te wpe ely be4S ee James Wells : . . . « » w» . 1818—-1825 DEVIZES, WILTS. James Burrough . . . . . . = 1788—1754 1 There is a Brass to the memory of W. Henshawe and his two wives in St. Michael’s church, Gloucester. The figures of the wives alone remain, and the following legend:—‘‘Pray for the Soull of Willm. Henshawe Belfounder and late Maire of this Towne and Alys and Agnes his wyfes the whiche Willm. decessed the. . . day of. . . in the yer of our Lord God a thousand ccccc. . . and the seid Alys decessed the Seconde day of ffebruary the yere of ot Lord MX: ye. x1x. for whose soules of yor charite say a pater nost® and a Ave.” He died January, 1736, aged 78. By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. , READING. Henry Knight Ellis Knight Samuel Knight LEICESTER. Robert Newcombe Mr. Eayres SPRAIN ONES re ae WOODSTOCK. Richard Keene James Keene LONDON. John Hodson... Christopher Hodson . . Richard Phelps (Whitechapel) Thomas Lester Lester and Pack Pack and Chapman ‘ Robert Patrick GWwiitanlesgelly Mr. Janeway (Chelsea) Messrs. Mears (and at Crees) ~ Messrs. Warner and Sons Mr. Bowen Barrett and Oaoraen CHIPPING NORTON. Henry Bagley Matthew Bagley Henry Bagley DONCASTER. William Cuerdon BAWTRY, NEAR DONCASTER. Daniel Heddersley WOOTTON, NEAR BEDFORD. 1719—1743 Mr. Russell HERTFORD. John Bryant 1587—1623 1623 1693 1598—1612 1700 1626—1681 1653 1750—1800 1854 1854 1854 1854 1664—1679 1679 1722 ob. 1678 1720 1790 H 2 51 On Church Beils. BARROW, LINCOLNSHIRE. John Harrison 1749 WATH, YORKSHIRE. Mr. Hilton 1791 ST. NEOT’S, HUNTINGDONSHIRE. Mr. Arnold BICESTER, OXON. Edward Hemins 1729—1737 GUERNSEY. Nicholas Blondell 1759 CHEPSTOW. William Evans 1732 DOWNHAM, NORFOLK. T. Osborn . 1794—1802 KETTERING. Thomas Eyre 1755 OXFORD. Mr. Watts . Mr. Taylor 1835—1854 EDINBURGH CASTLE. Robert Borthwick 1528 LOUGHBOROUGH. Mr. Taylor 1854 BRISTOL. Mr. Cary 1854 BRIDGEWATER. T. Kingston 1826 CAMBRIDGE. one MiP HETRIOM 1521 Richard Corrington . 1606 WORCESTER. John Martin 1675—1700 SUFFOLK AND NORFOLK. Anthony Bond 1620 By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 53 LICHFIELD. Henry Mitchell . . ..... 1313 HUNTS. Miamsas Dorris” (hud bdo eo 7 1634 CARLISLE. George Lees fraps. tear reas Piivd Wrights. i Sek, 1600 DUBLIN. mramanvlodaces <6 fe. 1854 Santos Sheridan’ i. Pee 8s 1854 T. Murphy COLLUMPTON. Thomas Bilbie (and at Chewstoke) . 1740—1764 .... Pannell = J aie EXETER. Charles Pannell and Co. . .. . 1854 CHEWSTOKE, SOMERSETSHIRE. Thomas Bilbie (and at Collumpton). 1740—1764 DURHAM. Thomas: Bartlett?) yseolay syed os 16380 In the 15th century there were celebrated bell-founders in Bristol ; and foundries once existed at East Dereham, Norfolk, Chesterfield, and Nottingham. (FOUNDERS WHOSE LOCALITIES ARE UNKNOWN). Miohael Darbie: 26:66) Ge. vers 1654 ge Reem sows ere: dave 1579 Richard de Wambis eres OE | an ee a 1574 RAIGDIVUP LEOVOP (6 0th de ic 1592 1 In Sir Cuthbert Sharpe’s Extracts from Parish Registers, 1841, p. 54, there is the following extract from the Burial Register of St. Mary-le-Bow, Durham: “Thomas Bertlett (a bell-founder), This man did cast the Abbey bells the Summer before he dyed: buried Feb. 3, 1632.” ; 2 He cast the bells of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, but not to the satisfaction of the vestry, who record in their accounts that they were ‘very falsely and deceytfully made by Valentyne Trevor.” 54 On Church Bells. Robert Motte i 2" 2, OR os, 1578 retard: Bowler, 664-5. veaocacké ss 1603 Joneph Hatch. ois Sepceatows 1605 Bartholomew Atton etary. ' 1624 Robert Atton TINT opiate 17/3 1610 Francis hoster.) s’ «ss 1659 moos Wheel oS ATs ee” oe Ceeenenee Milles Graye (Se, Ere 1625 Thoma Wobbes: . «. sk gies 4S oe 1641 Henry Pleisant: 1 heyicddsed sw. os 1702 Eber, TI pi coo 5.) Fgh ocsh ede hauly'e 1704 Wm. -Cockey nw he ze, 5, re Robert Catlin to wee ee 1740 Thomas Hedderley . . . .. . 1762 William Dobson 1811 Henry III., sec. 12, is an entry of 10501b. of copper and 500lb. of tin, and the metal of an old bell, to be melted up with it to make three new bells for the church of the castle of Dover. In the Circle of Mechanical Arts, published by Mr. Martin, a civil engineer, in 18138 (p. 854), it is stated that in bell metal there is about one- fifth of tin. And in the Penny Cyclopzedia, tit. Bronze, it is stated that Dr. Thompson found English bell metal to consist of Oonper, +... clase ae ote tee lt UL A ie eee sae ee age ee ll Zinc . POS = POE Aan Sr 5.6 EL a 5. tek wi as 6 os Chat a 100. Bell metal, therefore, consists principally of copper and tin, in certain proportions, but each bell-founder has his secret mode of amalgamating his metals. I believe that the best bell metal is compounded of four parts of copper to one of tin. It is quite an error to suppose that silver enters largely into the composition of some bells. When the bells of my own church were taken down the other day for the purpose of re-stocking them, it was observed that the canons had become white in parts where there had been » By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 55 some friction, and I could not convince the workmen that it was tin and not silver which they saw. They knew better; and only wished they could have the bells to extract the precious metal which they contained. It has been stated by those who know much more about this matter than I do, that “silver, if introduced in any large quantity, would injure the sound, being in its nature more like lead, as compared with copper, and therefore incapable of producing the hard, brittle, dense, and vibratory amalgam called bell metal.’’ It is very certain that ancient bells have a better and more mellow tone than the generality of modern ones. The tenor bell of Ogbourne St. Andrew, which was cast in the 15th century, and weighs about 15 ewt., cannot be surpassed for richness and dignity of tone. This superiority is owing no doubt to several causes;—first, to a larger weight of metal than is commonly given now to a bell of the same note; secondly, to a better admixture of the metals; and thirdly, probably to the method then adopted of fusing the metals, viz., by a wood fire, which not being so hot as that of coal, does not reduce the inferior parts to a state of fusion, but they are thrown away as scoria or dross.” In bell casting, the art is to know when to put in the tin, and to ¢ap or pour the boiling metal into the mould. 4. Method of casting and of tuning bells. The art of bell-founding and tuning was brought to great perfection by Abraham Rudhall, of Gloucester, whose foundry has passed into the hands of the Messrs. Mears. When the size and proportions of the bell to be cast have been determined, four things have to be prepared—first, the crook; second, the inner mould or core; third, the outer mould or cope; and fourth, the crown. The crook is a kind of compass formed of wood, and is used for making the moulds. One leg of this instrument is curved to the shape of the inner side of the intended bell, and the other takes the shape of the outer side; and they are made to revolve round a 1 See the excellent little work ‘The Bell, &c.”: by A. Gatty, p. 30. 2 See the Ecclesiologist, vol. xiv. pp. 63, 297. 56 On Church Bells. » pivot fixed to a beam above, gnd the lower end driven firmly into the ground. The inner mould or core is built up of brickwork round this pivot, having a hollow space in the centre for a fire; and the face of the brickwork is then covered with a composition of clay and other materials, and moulded by one of the legs of the crook into the shape of the inside of the bell. It is then baked by means of a fire in the hollow, and when hard is greased and coated with another composition which is made to take the exact shape of the outside of the bell, by a few revolutions of the other leg of the crook. This is also hardened by the fire, and upon it are placed the inscriptions and ornaments in relief.! Over this, when it has been washed with a composition of grease and tan, the outer mould or cope is formed; and finally, the crown or head of the bell, for the formation of the canons, is then fitted to the top of it. The whole having been burnt, the cope is removed, and the inner composition between it and the core, representing the bell, is destroyed; so that when the cope is again put over the core, there is a space between the two of the shape and thickness of the bell, and into this space the metal is allowed to run. When a bell is to be cast, the core is placed in a pit close to the furnace, the cope and crown are carefully fixed over the core, and the whole is rammed round tightly with dry sand, leaving nothing exposed but the holes in the cap or crown, one for an air hole, and the other for the fused metal to run into. As soon as the metal is cool, the bell is dug out, and, if one of a peal, carried into the finishing department for the purpose of being tuned. Formerly this was done by chipping the inside of the bell, or by cutting away the edge of the lip. But Mr. Rudhall, of Gloucester, invented a simple machine for accomplishing this object. It is nothing more than a vertical lathe, driven by steam power. The bell to be tuned is fixed very firmly in an inverted position, and a powerful cutter, working on a pivot placed within it diminishes its thickness, if too 1 Mistakes in spelling frequently occur in bell epigraphs, owing to careless- ness (sometimes to ignorance) in making the impressions of the letters on the moulds. Letters, in some instances, are inverted, and in others put in their wrong places. WHEEL. . Upright Spokes. 6. Fillet.—Sve Elevation of Bell and Stock. . Transom, or Long Rail. 7. Head-stock. . Arms, or Spokes. 8. Ground-truck. . Shrouding. 9. Stay. . Sole of Wheel.—Sce Elevation of Bell 10, Catch. and Stock. 11. Timbers of Cage. of ON “11aa AHL NO NMOd PNIMOOT ‘YOOLS-CVAH AO NVTd *MOOLS GNV TTAd JO NOILVAATS “LOY }9HO} $O}B[ qd oso} YIOd 0} Aajor asoy, “aA'N “AUIS “6 9S “2 ‘save d-surpdnog *¢ ‘sdvajg “¢ “suoaspuy °% ‘sessvlg ‘T By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 57 sharp, or, by cutting away the edge of the lip, reduces its diameter, if too flat. It must have been a very difficult operation for Mr. Lawson Huddlestone, by the process of chipping, to modulate the sound of every bell in a peal till they answered exactly the intervals of the monochord, and more particularly in those cases where the bells had been cast at different periods, by different founders, and with different metal. But it appears that this gentleman, who had a passion for bells, used to pass days and weeks in belfries in this laborious work; and thus tuned the peals of Colerne, Shaftesbury, Knoyle, and St. Cuthbert’s, Wells. 5. Bell hanging. When a bell is ready, the next operation is to hang it in the church tower; and here, in England, one or two great changes have been introduced in the mode of doing this. It is perhaps one of the most difficult of all the operations con- nected with bell fixing, and requires the greatest care and skill of the person employed. I must here begin by saying that a great deal of the mischief to which I have alluded in speaking of belfries, arises from the unscientific manner in which bells are too often hung now. It is too frequently the practice for parishioners or church- wardens, when the bells require repair, to send for the village carpenter, who knows about as much of bell hanging as he does of geology, in the comfortable but vain notion of saving parish money. Bell hanging is an art of itself, quite distinct from that of bell founding, and, like it, has secrets of the trade. It is of the utmost consequence that the stock, or piece of wood to which the crown of the bell is fixed, should bear a due proportion to the size of the bell, and the length of the staple from which the clapper hangs. If this is not attended to, the clapper will not strike the bell properly. This is determined on sound principles of dynamics. But what can a village carpenter, who never fixed church bells before, know of that science? And what must be the result of his unskilful efforts ? Before the introduction of change ringing it was not of so much 1 The key note of a bell depends in a great measure on its diameter at the mouth, and on the thickness of the sound-bow. It depends also of course on the quality of the metal. 58 On Church Bells. consequence how the stock was made, because bells were then only chimed. But as soon as they begun to be swung rapidly to and fro on their gudgeons, and rung in time, it became necessary to reduce the proportions of the various parts of their gear to fixed rules and principles, which can only be known by those whose business it is to make them their study. Among others who can be recommended for their intelligence and skill in this department, may be mentioned Mr. H. Boswell, of Pembroke Street, Oxford; and Mr. James Ansell, of London. A change also took place in the form of the bells, in order that they might be rung more easily. The early bells, with which we are acquainted, have their crowns not so well adapted for the pur- pose of modern ringing as more recent ones; but there can be no question as to their superior elegance of form. Bells of the 17th and subsequent centuries have their crowns, particularly of heavy bells, flattened, and the canons brought closer together, in order to fit the stock better, and increase the leverage, but at the expense of their beauty. A great variety of crowns may be observed, each founder having a design peculiar to himself. Some are of a pleasing form, and others are the reverse. There is a striking contrast between the first and fourth bell at Ogbourne St. Andrew; and again between each of these and the beautiful medieval tenor of the same church. One important part of bell-gear remains to be noticed, viz., the wheel. This is, in fact, the powerful lever, by means of which the bell is moved; and it has undergone some changes. It is not probable that the full wheel was employed much before the year 1677. Before that period bells were moved by means of a short piece of wood fixed at right angles to the stock, or by a half-wheel, which was in use in 1527, and is still to be met with in Dorsetshire, at Dunchideock, Devon, and in Guernsey. The half-wheel was all that was required for chiming, but it could not answer the purposes of change ringing, in which it is necessary that the bell should be set, i.e., turned up, and rested against the slider or catch, each way.) 1 For an explanation of this operation see ‘The Builder.” TREBLE BELL, OCBOURNE S™ ANDREW, WILTS, Scale lz inch. W.C.Lukis det « 4™ BELL, OGBOURNE ST ANDREW. Scale 1#é trch ———— WiC. Lukis aed? ee TENOR BELL, OCBOURNE ST ANDREW, Scate 1é inch. Black Letter inscription, “Trinitatem adoremus, 15% Century, WC. Lukis aelt* OLD HALF-WHEEL. Beautifully moulded, at Dunchideock, Devon. Date, 15th century. By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 59 Several changes also have taken place in the mode of attaching the clapper, which I will only allude to now. There are models upon the table, explanatory of three of these modes, one being the ancient, and another the modern method.! 6. Expenses of bells, &c. There are many entries to be found in parish account books which throw considerable light upon the history of bells and bell-founders; and among other things, the value of bell metal, old and new, with the cost of casting bells, per ewt., is accurately given. In 1457 bell metal was charged £5 Os. 8d.; and the price of casting was 20s. ld. From the churchwardens’ accounts of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, we find that in the year 1592, bell metal was worth £2 16s. the cwt. From that of Steeple Ashton, in this county, we learn, that in 1616, it was worth £5 12s. In the year 1630, the accounts of St. Thomas’s church, in this city, tell us that it maintained the same value, and that the cost of casting was 14s. the ewt. In 1663, we find from the same accounts that the value had risen to £6 6s.; and that old bell metal fetched £4 5s. In 1680, the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury agreed to pay Clement Tosier after the rate of 20s. per ewt. for casting two bells, and to allow and pay him after the rate of £5 3s. 6d. per cwt. of extra metal. In 1716, the vestry of St. Thomas’s church agreed with Mr. Abraham Rudhall, of Glou- cester, that he should have £7 for casting the second bell, and 1s. per lb. for any additional metal. In 1769, the parish of St. Mary, Marlborough, agreed to give Mr. Robert Wells, of Aldbourne, £6 10s. per ewt. for a new third bell, and were to receive £4 13s. per cwt. for the old metal. And now the price varies from £6 10s. to £6 15s.; but if frames, carriage, hanging, journey, &c., are included, the cost is about £7 per cwt.; and old metal realizes about £4 4s. 7. Ancient bells. In the Archdeaconry of Wilts there are one hundred and seven churches, of which I have examined the bells of sixty-two, with an aggregate of two hundred and ninety-three 1 An excellent article upon the subject, by the Rey. H. T. Ellacombe, has recently appeared in Willis’s Current Notes. 12 60 On Church Bells. bells, and of this number only ten are clearly of a date prior to 1500, thirteen are of the 16th century, and one hundred and twenty-six belong to the 17th century. Out of five hundred and nineteen bells in this county, twenty-nine belong to a period prior to 1500, twenty-three to the 16th, two hundred and fifteen to the 17th, one hundred and seventy-two to the 18th, and fifty-nine to the 19th century; and twenty-one have no date or inscription. And this rarity of bells of the 15th century is not confined to Wiltshire only; although the proportion of bells of that date in other counties may be greater. E.g.; in the Framland Hundred, county of Leicester, which contains thirty-eight churches, and one hundred and twenty-seven bells, there are as many as twenty-three of a pre-Reformation period.' The cause of this rarity throughout Eng- land I will explain presently. In the earliest bells, only the name of the Saint is given, inti any further inscription; and we find simply, “Sancta Anna’ at Cholderton, ‘‘Sancte George” at Pewsey, and “Gabriel” at Mad- dington. I think there can be no doubt that the second bell at Winterbourne Gunner and the fourth bell at Pewsey were cast by the same hand. There is a bell (the second) at Potterne, which appears to be very ancient, the letters upon it being of early character and forming no words that I could decypher. Of alphabet bells (i.e. where, instead of a legend, they bear some of the letters of the alphabet), which are said to be of considerable antiquity, I know only one in Wiltshire; and curiously enough it derives a still greater interest from being in Bemerton church, and called by Isaac Walton “Mr. Herbert’s Saint’s bell.” The following is a list of Wiltshire bells of pre-Reformation date : Sixth and eighth at Aldbourne. Pitt ohh ty: Ogbourne St. Andrew. MOGOHE Jie'cieen.s Cherhill. Fifth nine aces Collingbourne Ducis. Fourth ss, aes oe Pewsey. 1 Keclesiologist, Vol. IV. Second By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 61 ee eee ewe eee eevee at Durnford Magna. Poulshot. Calne (Saint’s bell). Hilmarton. Compton Basset. Potterne. Allington. Newton Toney. Salisbury Cathedral (Bishop’s bell). Odstock. Winterbourne Earls. Winterbourne Gunner. Broadchalk. Rushall. Charlton. Maddington. Orcheston St. Mary. Orcheston St. George. Grittleton. Cholderton. Downton. Stockton. Dinton. Bemerton. It is very seldom that bells of the 15th century have dates upon them; and I have not met with one in Wiltshire; but bells of the 16th century are very frequently dated, e.g. First First and third First and second Winterbourne Basset . . 158] First and fourth Little Bedwyn’ . . . . 1581 Fifth at Aldbourne ; . °1516 Wappenham, N i tanits 2) “VOUS Bruton, Somerset. 1528 Lapley, near Brewood, Stat. fordshire . . .! 529 Penton Mewsey, Haniel «ul OB6 Thornham, Norfolk oy fae ETLOO Saint John’s, Winchester . 1574 Mrpneineay se ike i) OE St. Martin’s, Salisbury . . 1582 62 On Church Bells. Birt) .2i i aoe atiGhwte+( -i6).0 ol Apne thee Bigetog sais bie Bishopstone . . wish hae Second. (26.44 Winterbourne Testi »@ 1588 Glasgow (Great bell, broken PEUE TOD) 5 ese x 1583 TRird. sc .cceu, OMCENERIEVOT, «5 << -. Drive, Leper Secondi.s....... Combe Bisset : eeOR) Vibe One sages. t 3 St. Alkmond’s, Derby wt) Shae Second ...... Bishopstone . . ae i: Second |). .asi.s Maddington . . 1587 First and Second St. N ‘holes’, Great Kistoe Backs~ .... os 1587 USF Se eee St. Mary’ s Watlington,0 Oder 1587 1 a eR Netheravon . . . 1588 SERAPH 7.5. cere Combe Bisset eee) AOTC eee enor... .: <7 Cathedral, Oxford . . . 1889 necond SY Nky: ot Manningford Bruce. . . 10592 Fourthyyioni & Wantetslows o> .. «ea lege Ones an tome Gayton, Northants . . . 1594 RenOr see eA Burton Agnes, Yorks, now soldl 4 Logan Bourthia cc. Fotheringay, Nednantie . 1595 ORG Soo ste siese« Llimpley Stoke ... . 1596 irs Pre es Cathedral, Gloucester . . 1598 hard .'0 5c. 2 Wappenham, Northants . 16599 I may mention here that bells were frequently the gifts of private individuals,—clergy and others—in former days, as they are now; and the record of the donation is generally inscribed upon them. Bell-founders also generously presented them. At Watlington, Oxon, on the first bell is “Jerem. Ewstes gave this bell in 1587.” And this gift seems to have been thought worthy of a second record. For on his brass in the same church is: “Here lyeth buried the body of Jerem. Ewstes, eldest sonne of Robert Ewstes, late of this Town of Watlyngton, who gave the trebble bell that hangs in this steppill. He deceased the fyrst day of May.” We find a similar record on a brass in Wyke church, Hants: “Here lieth Willm. Complyn and Agnes his Wife, y® wiche Willm. decessid y* xxj day of May in y® yere of oure Lord m*ccccLxxxxviij. Also this be By the Rev. W. C. Lnkis. 63 y° dedis y* y® said Willm. hath down to this Church of Wyke y* is to say frest dedycacion of y* Church xl» and to make newe bellis to y°sam Church x" also gave to y* hallowyng of y® grettest bell yj* viij*”’ On the tenor of Heyford, Northants, is: ‘‘Thomas Morgan Esquier gave me To the Church of Heford frank and free 1601.” On a disused bell in Tonge church, Salop, is: “Henricus Vernon miles hane campanam fieri fecit 1518 ad laudem Dei Omnipotentis Beate Marie et Bartholomei Sancti. Quam per duellionum rabiem fractam sumptibus parochie refudit Abr. Rudhall Gloucest. anno 1720.” At Dewsbury, Yorks, one bell is known by the name of “Black Tom of Sothill,” and it is said that it was given as an expiatory gift fora murder. At St. Mary’s, Marlborough, on the treble bell, is: “Wallington Clark gave mee, J. Bliset R. Ednee c. w.—R. C. 1654.” At Hornby, Yorks, the third bell was given by Lord Conyers, temp. Henry. VII., but being broken was recast by William Lord D’Arcy and Conyers, in 1656. William Freman, Esq., of Magdalen College, Oxford, presented two bells to the college, in 1740, besides defraying the expenses of recasting the fifth bell, in 1748. In 1743, the Right Hon. Thomas Lord Vis- count Weymouth gave the treble bell to Horningsham church. On the fifth at Wolstanton, Staffordshire, “Richard Ashburie of this town Blacksmith gave me in 1623.” In 1803, two bells were added to the peal of six in St. Ebbe’s, Oxford, the gift of Mr. Baker, Plumber; and Mr. Scarsbrook, Collar-maker. On the second bell at Aldbourne, is: “The gift of Robert Wells Bellfounder 1787.” A bell is a not inappropriate memorial to a departed relation or friend; and in Broadhinton church, we find on the treble: ‘“ Glory to God x In memory of Uliana Margaret Tufnell C. & G. Mears fecerunt 1849.” 8. Epigraphs or legends. When speaking of bell-founders I mentioned some of their characteristic epigraphs. There are some other curious ones which I shall here introduce. On the fourth bell at Aldbourne we read :— ‘‘Humphry Symsin gaye xx pound to buy this bell, And the Parish gave xx more to make this ring go well.” 64 On Church Bells. On a bell at Binstead is :— “Doctor Nicholas gave five pound To help cast this peal tuneable and sound.” At Chilton Foliott, on the tenor is :— ‘‘Into the Church the living I call, And to the grave I summon all; Attend the instruction which I give, That so you may for ever live.” At Devizes, St. Mary, on the treble is :— “‘T am the first, altho’ but small I will be heard above you all.” On the second is :— “‘T am the second in this ring, Therefore next to thee I will sing.” Which at Broadchalk is thus varied :— ‘‘T in this place am second bell, Tl surely do my part as well.” On the third bell at Calne is :— “Robert Forman collected the money for casting this bell Of well-disposed persons as I do you tell.” On a bell at Alderton is :— ‘‘[T'm given here to make a peal And sound the praise of Mary Neale.” On the fifth bell at Amesbury is :— ‘Be strong in faith, praise God well, Frances Countess Hertford’s bell.” And on the tenor :— ‘« Altho’ it be unto my loss I hope you will consider my cost.” At Stowe, Northants; and at St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, we find :— ‘Be it known to all that doth me see That Newcombe of Leicester made me.” A fire-bell (cast in 1652) in the church of Sherborne has :— ‘Lord! quench this furious flame; Arise, run, help, put out the same.” By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 65 At St. Michael’s, Coventry, on the fourth bell is:— “TJ ring at Six to let men know When to and from their work to go.” On the seventh bell is:— “‘T ring to sermon with a lusty bome, That all may come and none may stay at home.” On the eighth bell is:— ‘‘T am and have been called the common bell, To ring, when fire breaks out to tell.” At St. Peter’s-le-Bailey, Oxford, four bells were sold towards finishing the tower, and in 1792 a large bell was put up, with this inscription :— ‘‘With seven more I hope soon to be, For ages joined in harmony.” But this very reasonable wish has not yet been realized; whereas at St. Lawrence, Reading, when two bells were added to form a peal of ten, on the second we find:— “By adding two our notes we'll raise, And sound the good Subscriber’s praise.” Besides curious epigraphs, church bells often bear the names of clergy, churchwardens, city authorities, historical personages, &c., and by these inscriptions points of pedigree may in some cases be established; but it must be remarked that these interesting facts are only derivable from bells of a post-Reformation period. The epigraphs prior to that date are all of a religious character, and are generally in the bad Latin verse of that period; e.g. on the sixth at Aldbourne, and on the eighth in the cathedral, Oxford, we find :— “Stella Maria maris succurre piissima nobis.” A common epigraph of the same period is:— “Sum rosa pulsata mundi Maria vocata,” as at Frowlesworth, Leicestershire, on the second bell; on the sixth in Gloucester cathedral; and on the treble at Thorp, near Milton, K 66 On Church Bells. Northants; which is varied to “ Katerina vocata” on the third (old peal) St. Giles’s, Oxford, and on the seventh of Magdalen college in the same city; whilst on the tenor of Dinton, Wilts, the last word is omitted. Another rather common inscription is:— “Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum”; which appears in full on the seventh bell at King Sutton, Northants, and on the fifth at Collingbourne Ducis; and in a variety of abbre- viated forms in other places. Sometimes it is found as “Ave Maria gratia plena,” as at St. Nicholas, Great Kimble, Bucks, and on the third bell at Grittleton; at other times we find only “Ave Maria gratia,” as at Winterbourne Earls; then “Ave gratia plena Dominus Decum,” as at Newton Toney; then “Ave gratia plena,” as at Great Durnford, Allington, and Stockton; then “Ave gratia,” as at Orcheston St. George, and Winchester college chapel; and finally “Gratia” only, as at Charlton. A not uncommon epigraph is:— ‘‘Rst michi collatum I H C istud nomen amatum”’; as at Clyst St. George, Devon; on the two bells at Teignmouth; on the fourth at Sidmouth; and on the second at the Vale church, Guernsey. Other epigraphs of the same period are such as these:— ‘Tn multis annis resonet campana Johannis.”’ ‘“‘Trinitate sacra fiat hee campana beata.” ‘Serva campanam sancta Maria sanam.”’ ‘*Protege pura via quos conyoco Virgo Maria.” ‘Andree campana fugiant pulsante prophana.” ‘‘ Johannes Christi care dignare pro nobis orare.”’ ‘‘Sancte Laurenti ora pro nobis.” But to return to epigraphs of a later period, and of a totally different nature. On the tenor of St. Thomas’s, Salisbury, is “Wm. Naish Esq Mayor.” On the tenor of St. Edmund’s in the same city, which was cast in 1656, we find the name of “William Stone Maior’’; By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 67 while on the fifth is “John Strickland Minester 1656.”! On two of the bells at Broadchalk there appears a name with which Wilt- shire Archzologists are very familiar. The epigraphs on both are alike, viz., “George Penruddock Knight John Aubrey Esquier c.w. 1660. W. @ P.” The history of these two bells is given by Aubrey himself in his ‘ Natural History of Wiltshire,’ (Britton’s Edit. p. 102) although he there speaks of but one bell. “At Broad- chalke is one of the tuneablest ring of bells in Wiltshire, which hang advantageously; the river running near the churchyard, which meliorates the sound. Here were but four bells till anno 1616 was added a fifth; and in anno 1659 Sir George Penruddock and I made ourselves churchwardens, or else the fair church had fallen, from the niggardliness of the churchwardens of mean condition, and then we added the sixth bell.” One of these two bells I regret to add is broken in many pieces, and appears to have been so for a long period. The church has been put into a tidy state of late years, but why should three out of the peal of six be suffered to continue broken, and “the tuneablest ring of bells in Wiltshire” be rendered silent? Not, I should hope, “from the niggardliness of the churchwardens,” nor from any dislike to the music of bells. For John Aubrey’s sake (if for no other reason), the three broken bells should be recast; and whenever that good work may be contemplated by the parish, I would suggest that the inscription on the Aubrey bell should be perpetuated on the new one. The tenor at Aldbourne bears this epigraph: ‘“Intonat de celis yox campane Michaelis. Deus propicius esto aiabus Ricardi Goddard quondam de Upham Elizabeth et Elizabeth uxorum ejus ac aiabus oim liberorum et parentum suorum qui hane campanam fieri fecerunt anno dni mcccccxyj.”” I have been told that the present family, who are descended from 1 “This Mr, Strickland was a zealous Puritan, who was elected to the Assembly of Divines, and was one of the most regular attendants. On the appearance of the Act of Uniformity in 1662, he relinquished the rectory of St. Edmund’s from purely conscientious motives, and died suddenly after preaching and ad- ministering the Sacrament, probably to a dissenting congregation, in Oct. 1670.” Hatcher's History of Salisbury. K 2 68 On Church Bellis. Richard Goddard, were not aware until recently that he had given this bell, and that he had been twice married. There is a remarkable bell in the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, viz., the fourth, which bears this inscription :— “‘Be it knowne to all that doth me see That Newcombe of Leicester made me. 1612.” Then below this, and in two bands encircling the sides of the bell, is a tune in the same relief as the letters of the legend. At the commencement of the music in the upper line is a half-figure of a man in the dress of the period with this inscription on a surrounding label: “x Keepe tyme in anye case”; and at the beginning of the lower line of music is a similar figure with “Then let us singe it againe.” 9. Bell ringing. Peal ringing is peculiar to England; it is not known abroad. It was formerly considered, not only a healthy but a gentlemanly recreation. Sir Matthew Hale, and Anthony Wood who says that “he often plucked at them (Merton bells) with his fellow colleagues for recreation,’ may be numbered among the amateurs of this art. Anthony Wood! learnt to ring on a peal of six bells, which had then been newly put up at Cassington. In our day, bell ringers have been ranked among the disre- putable characters of almost every parish; but if we are to give credit to Paul Neutzner, a traveller in this country between 1550 and 1560, they had become notorious even at that period. “The people of England,” he says, “are vastly fond of great noises that fill the ear, such as firing of cannon, beating of drums, and the 1 “He and his mother and two brothers Robert and Christopher, gave £5 to Merton College in 1656, towards casting their five bells into eight. ‘These five were ancient bells and were put in the Tower when it was built in 1421. The Tenor was supposed to be the best bell in England, and every one, Anthony Wood says, ‘was against the altering it, and were for a treble being put to make six, and old Sergeant Charles Holloway, who was a covetous man, offered money to save it, but by the knavery of Thom. Jones the Subwarden, (the Warden being absent) and Michael Darby the Bellfounder, they were made eight. John Wilson, Doc. Mus., had a fee from the College to take order about their tuning. All the eight bells began to ring May 14, 1657, but they did not at all please the critical hearer. They were recast in 1680 by Christopher Hodgson,’” (See Life, in Athene., Oxon. Vol. I., p. 27). By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 69 ringing of bells; so that it is common for a number of them that have got a glass in their heads to get up into the belfry and ring the bells for hours together for the sake of exercise.’ A very curious Latin book, published about the year 1600, contains a lawyer’s decision whether the number of bells might be increased in a church, and whether their ringing could be stopped. It speaks of idle boys being very fond of running to the towers to do the work. (Ellacombe). When bell ringing was more appreciated than, unfortunately, it is now, there were societies of ringers in Cam- bridge, Oxford, London,—such as the college youths (from their practising at St. Michael’s, on College Hill, London) founded in 1637,—Birmingham, and in other places. There are some societies of ringers now in various parts of England, and there is, among others in London, a society of college youths, but it is said not to be descended from the ancient society above mentioned, which became extinct in 1788. There is, I believe, an excellent society of Norwich scholars. I do not know where to find a society of ringers in Wiltshire. There are sets of men who ring for what they can get, which they consume in drink; but there is very little love for the science or its music. There is no “plucking at the bells” for recreation and exercise. Church ringers with us have degenerated into mercenary performers. In more than one parish where there are beautiful bells, I was told that the village youths took no interest whatever in bell ringing, and had no desire to enter upon change ringing. The whole number of changes that can be rung on any given number of bells is called ‘a peal’; and various series of changes or permutations have been invented, which are known by the names of their composers. One such series, called Grandsire Triples, was invented by M. Benjamin Anable, who died in 1755; and was subsequently improved by Mr. Holt. Another composer was Mr. Patrick, a maker of baro- meters, in the beginning of the last century. But one of the earliest composers was Mr. Fabian Stedman, of Cambridge, who, about the year 1657, invented a complex method of ringing, which has ever since been called “Stedman’s principle.” It is not my intention to enter here into the intricacies of change ringing, nor 70 On Church Bells. to explain the mysterious terms in use to express the method of effecting changes. “The Art of Change ringing, by Benjamin Thackrah,” and the ‘‘ Elements of Campanologia, by Henry Hub- bard,” which to the uninitiated look like books of logarithmic tables, will be found very useful by those who desire to know more of this delightful subject. It may be sufficient to describe to you the manner in which a bell moves, and its clapper acts during a peal. Suppose the bell to be raised, with its mouth upwards, and its clapper resting against the side of the bell at a; and that the bell is then set in motion in the direction Ac DE. The clapper accom- panies the bell until it is sent by the impetus away from it, and it only strikes the opposite side when it arrives at the point F; and reversing the revolution, it strikes at 8. The velocity of the clapper must depend of course upon the strength of the pull which sets the bell in motion, and consequently in peal ringing, the time in striking is regulated by the good ear of the ringer, who should have perfect command over his bell. If he do not pull evenly, the intervals will be uneven, and the music bad; and an even pull can only be attained by frequent steady practice. I need hardly state that bell ringing requires extreme care to prevent accidents. Any one who has handled the ropes knows this, and accidents have frequently occurred. In June, 1778, a man of the name of Lilley was drawn up by the rope at Doncaster, and killed by the fall. In 1812, a boy sitting near a ringer was caught by the rope, and so seriously injured that he died, and was buried in the same grave with a brother who was drowned. On the grave stone there is this quaint couplet :— ‘These 2 youths, were by, misfortun serounded, One died of his wounds, and the other was Drownded.” It is a very curious circumstance, and yet, I believe, purely accidental, that the key notes of the several peals in Oxford, form nearly all the notes of the chromatic scale. .g., Christchurch ...... D (vocal D). pt) Mary's “goes D (concert pitch). Merton .. PFU op voan eae E flat (rather flat). New College........ E flat. \ ACTION OF CLAPPER ILLUSTRATED. WiC Lukis add? 1 hea LARS “vt ep EO at CpeTaana Sgt antes ARS Prest Padget vee wee, agen air : y FP fog. , a? ae #5 Bea) aor ‘ea? ’ By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 71 Mardalen :dy. ties «i. E natural. REAEIAE Yi dha.s dh de Aids F. St. Mary Magdalen .. F. mt. Michael’s........ F sharp (rather flatter than St.Giles’). Bi. Gles'S. 2. a0... 2b, Sharp. clio Ts pai G (rather flat). St. Aldate’s ........ A flat. St. Peter’s in the East A natural. Molywell 2002 con 3. B flat. Oxford possesses three fine peals of ten bells, viz., at Christchurch, New College, and Magdalen; and in the last century, and up to 1827, had a corps of gallant youths who took intense delight in the science of ringing. I have the record of a series of musical exploits, ranging over a space of one hundred and twenty years, with the name of every man who took part in each performance, and the time in which it was accomplished. Such deeds deserve to be im- mortalized. There are few arduous works in the present day to be compared with that of ten stout-hearted men undertaking to ring six thousand or seven thousand, or even ten thousand changes ' without a mistake. On May 20th, 1734, six thousand eight hun- dred and seventy-six changes were rung at New College in four and-a-quarter hours. On April 19th, 1742, at Magdalen, ten thousand changes were started for, but after rmging seven thousand in fine style, the bob-caller by mistake brought the bells round ina little more than four hours. On Easter Monday, March 27th, 1815, at New College, ten thousand and eight Grandsire Caters were rung in six hours and forty-two minutes. Highworth, in Wiltshire, produced some good ringers at that time, and in 1787, Dec. 29th, they rung the whole peal of five thousand and forty changes, Grandsire Triples, (Holt’s method) in three hours and fourteen minutes, which was the very first time they ever attempted to ring this peal. It is recorded that forty thousand three hundred and twenty changes were performed at Leeds, by thirteen men, in twenty-seven hours; one man ringing eleven, and another nine hours; and eight Birmingham youths rang fourteen thousand two hundred and twenty-four changes, in eight hours and forty-five minutes. Records of remarkable performances are no doubt 72 On Church Bells. preserved in many Wiltshire belfries; but why should there be no memorials there of recent exploits ? Rules for ringers have always been considered necessary, and sometimes ancient ones in rhyme are preserved in belfries; ¢.g., in the church of North Parret, Somersetshire, are the following curious lines :— “‘ He that in ringing takes delight, And to this place draws near, These articles set in his sight, Must keep, if he rings here. The first he must observe with care; Who comes within the door, Must, if he chance to curse or swear, Pay Sixpence to the poor. And whosoe’er a noise does make, Or idle story tells, Must Sixpence to the ringers take, For mending of the bells. Young men that come to see and try, And do not ringing use, Must Sixpence give the company, And that shall them excuse. He that his hat on’s head does keep, Within this sacred place, Must pay his Sixpence ere he sleep, Or turn out with disgrace. If any one with spurs to’s heels, Rings here at any time, He must for breaking articles, Pay Sixpence for his crime. Tf any overthrow a bell As that by chance he may; Because he minds not ringing well, He must his Sixpence pay. Or if a noble-minded man Comes here to ring a bell, A tester! is the sexton’s fee Who keeps the church so well. Whoever breaks an Article, Or duty does neglect, Must never meddle with a bell, The rope will him correct.” 2 1 Tester, teston, testoon—equals twelve pence of time of Henry VIII. 2 Collinson’s History of Somersetshire, Vol. ii., p. 336. By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 73 By the way, I may mention some curious qualifications for a Royal Chaplaincy. Mr. Aubrey, in his ‘Natural History of Wilts, tells us that “ Mr. Ferraby, the minister of Bishop’s Cannings, was an ingenious man and an excellent musician, and made severall of his parishioners good musicians both for vocall and instrumentall music. They sung the Psalms in consort to the organ which Mr. Ferraby procured to be erected. When King James I. was in these parts, he lay at Sir Edw. Baynton’s at Bromham. Mr. Ferraby then entertained his Majesty at the Bush in Cotefield, with bucoliques of his own making and composing, of four parts, which were sung by his parishioners, who wore frocks and whippes like carters. Whilst his Majesty was thus diverted the eight bells (of which he was the cause) did ring, and the organ was played on for state; and after this musicall entertainment, he entertained his Majesty with a foot-ball match of his own parishioners. This Parish in those dayes would have challenged all England for musique, foot- ball, and ringing. For this entertainment his Majesty made him one of his Chaplains in ordinary.” It is calculated that seven hundred and twenty changes can be rung on twelve bells in one hour, and that it would require, at this rate, seventy-five years, ten months, and ten days, to ring all pos- sible changes (viz. 479,001,600) on the same number of bells. I desire to add one or two remarks by way of caution and advice to ringers in parishes where there exists a good ring of bells, properly clappered, which are often rung. You cannot bestow too much care upon them. Very frequently examine the condition of the stocks, iron-work, gudgeons, frame, wheels, and clappers. Do so every month, if not every week, and particularly in those cases where there has been any new work done to them. New gear requires much more constant watching than old. A month’s neglect may cost the parish many pounds. And as regards chiming for service, which is sometimes practised in the country on Sundays, unless you have a proper apparatus for it, let me beg of you to discontinue tying the clappers. Incalculable mischief is done to them by this method of chiming. You know that a clapper is suspended from the staple in such a manner as to move backwards L 74 On Church Bells. and forwards, and strike the bell each way, in the same place. If you tie the clapper, and pull it directly towards the striking place, all well and good; but if you pull it sideways from the ground- truck, you strain it and injure it greatly. Yet this is the common mode of chiming in the country, and parishioners wonder why the bells are so soon out of order, and ringers cannot account for the clappers not striking as they used todo. Ifyou must have chiming, the only way to have it without injury to the clappers, is to have a small block fixed in the floor in the direct line of their motion, with a second rope to be used for this purpose only. 10. Spoliation of church bells. We come now to a sad period in the history of church bells, viz., their spoliation. I mentioned above the rarity of ancient bells in this country. This is to be accounted for by the spoliation of churches in the 16th and 17th centuries. Weever tells us that in St. Paul’s churchyard “there was a bell-house with four bells, the greatest in London; they were called ‘ Jesus bells,’ and belonged to Jesus Chapel: the same had a great spire of timber covered with lead, with the image of St. Paul on the top, which was pulled down by Sir Miles Partridge, Knt. He won it at a cast of dice from King Henry VIII., and then caused the bells to be broken as they hung, and the rest pulled down.” Sir Miles was hanged on Tower Hill. In the little Sanctuary at Westminster, “King Edward III. erected a clochier and placed therein three bells for the use of St. Stephen’s Chapel. About the biggest of them were these words: ‘King Edward made me thirtie thousand weight and three, Take mee down and wey mee and more yu shall fynd me.’ But these bells being to be taken down in the reign of King Henry VIII. one writes underneath with a coale: ‘But Henry the eight Will bait me of my weight.’ ”’ Bells were removed from churches to be cast into cannon, and it is said that they “were exported in such quantities that their farther exportation was prohibited in 1547, lest metal for the same use should be wanting at home.” The Duke of Somerset “ pretended that one bell was sufficient for summoning the people to prayers, By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 75 and the country was thus in danger of losing its best music—a music hallowed by all circumstances—which accorded equally with social exultation and with solitary pensivenesss.”’} Some counties, Devon and Cornwall especially, suffered more than others. ‘When the rebellion in these counties was allayed,” says Strype,” “it was remembered how the bells in the churches served by ringing to summon and call in the disaffected unto their arms. Therefore in Sept., 1549, an order was sent down from the Council to Lord Russell to execute a work that proved no doubt highly disgustful unto the people :—viz. to take away all the bells in Devonshire and Cornwall, leaving only one in each steeple, the least of the ring, which was to call the people to church.” But a cloven foot appeared in this order. It was to be not so much a measure to prevent the like insurrection for the future, as to bring the King out of debt; for to effect this, amongst other things, this course was devised in 1552:— 1. To gather and coin the church plate. 2. To sell chantry, college, and other lands. 3. To sell the bell metal. “Two gentlemen of those parts, Champion and Chichester, assistant perhaps against the rebels, took this opportunity to get themselves rewarded, by begging not the bells, but the clappers only, which was granted them, with the iron-work and furniture thereunto belonging: and no question they made good benefit thereof.’’* We read in Weever that “in the time of Elizabeth, bells were removed by private individuals out of covetousness, and a procla- mation was issued forbidding any bells or lead to be taken away.” But it appears that in the reign of Edward VI., the robbery had commenced, for in 1552, one Thomas Hall, of Devizes, complained that the churchwardens of the parish of St. Mary, had two great bells in their private possession which they would not give up. Eyery one knows the curses that were pronounced on sacrilege at the consecration of churches and abbeys. On one of the ancient 1 Southey’s Hist. of Churches. 2 Eccles. Mem., vol. ii. 3 Thid. L 2 76 On Church Bells. bells of Malmsbury Abbey, which have long since disappeared, was the following epigraph: ‘‘Elysiam celi nunquam conscendit ad aulam Qui furat hane nolam Aldelmi sede beati.” Anglicé, ‘Tn heaven’s blest mansion he ne’er sets his feet Who steals this bell from Aidelm’s sacred seat.” 11. But I must hasten to a conclusion, and now come to the last division of the subject, viz., a comparison of the respective sizes and weights of tenor bells, of Wiltshire and other peals; from twenty-six inches to sixty inches diameter. N.B. The figure after the locality denotes the number of bells in the peal. Weight. Diameter Cwt. in inches. ce 4 26 Wootton Rivers, 5. 274 Stratford Sub-Castle, 2. 29 Ebbesborne Wake, 3. 293 Charlton, 3. 293 Winterbourne Dantsey, 3. 304 Week, Hants, 3. c. 5 3803 Allington, 3; Orcheston St. George, 2. 3l St. Ebbe’s, Oxford, 8. 314+ Ham, 4 c. 6 313 Easton Royal, 3. 33 Nunton, 3; Toney Stratford, 3; Winterbourne Earls, 3; Idmiston, 4; Chute, 2. c. 7 333 Tilshead, 3; Orcheston St. Mary, 3. 832 Tidcombe, 3; Odstock, 3. 34} Rushall, 3. 343 Bishopstone, 3; Newton Toney, 4; Ludgershall, 5; Laugharne, Carmarthen, 6. 35 St. Thomas’, Oxford, 6. ce. 8 303 Preshute, 5 386 Chilton Foliott, 5; Devizes, St. James, 4; Stock- ton, 4; Winterslow, 4. ec. 9 36} Maddington, 3. 363 Poulshot, 3; St. Lawrence, Winchester, 5. 37 ~—sCéBritford, 5. 374 St. Peter’s in the East, Oxford, 6. Weight. Cwt. c. 9 By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 77 Shipton, Hants, 3. Collingbourne Ducis, 5; North Tidworth, 5; Combe Bisset, 4; Alvediston, 3; Marden, 5; Shrewton, 5; St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford, 5; Burbage, 5. Yatesbury, 4; Liddington, 5. Milton Lilborne, 6; Chirton, 5; Holywell, Ox- ford, 5. Pangbourne, Berks, 6; College, Winchester, 5. West Lavington, 6; Wivelsford, 5; All Saints, Oxford, 5. Pewsey, 6; St. Martin’s, Guernsey, 3; Kemerton, Gloucester, 6. Durrington, 5. Shalbourne, Berks, 5; the Vale Church, Guern- sey, 3. Figheldean, 3; St. Aldate’s, Oxford, 5. Holy Cross, Winchester, 2. St. Magnus, Orkney, 3. Laycock, 6. St. Michael’s, Oxford, 6. Upavon, 5. Marlborough, St. Peter, 8; St. Giles, Oxford, 6; Swindon, 6. Chiseldon, 5; Durnford Magna, 5; St. Martin’s, Sarum, 6. Ogbourne St. Andrew, 5; Hungerford, Berks, 6. Marlborough, St. Mary, 6; Broadchalk, 6; Holy- rood, Southampton, 8; St. John, Winchester, 5. Market Lavington, 6; St. Pierre du Bois, Guern- sey, 3; St. Sauveur, Guernsey, 3. St. Martin’s, Oxford, 8. St. Peter’s, Carmarthen, 6. Ramsbury, 6; Netheravon, 5; Wanborough, 5. Bitton, Gloucester, 6. Potterne, 6. Bishop’s Cannings, 8. Chepstow, Monmouthshire, 8. 78 On Church Bells. in inches. e. 17 471 Magdalen College, Oxford, 10; St. Pierre Port, Guernsey, 8. 7 c. 18 474 Avebury, 5; Aldbourne, 8. 48 Devizes, St. Mary, 6; Urchfont, 8. 481 Cathedral, Bristol, 4. ce. 19 484 Ogbourne St. George, 5. 482 Steeple Ashton, 6; Amesbury, 6. 49 New College, Oxford, 10. Weight. Diameter Cwt in i c. 20 494 50 Downton, 5. c. 21 504 502 Olveston, Gloucester, 6; Thornbury, 8. 51 ~~ Devizes, St. John, 8. 514 St. Lawrence, Reading, Berks, 10. c. 23 513 52 c. 25 523 522 Great Bedwyn, 6. 53 534 St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, 6. 531 St. Edmund’s, Sarum, 6; St. Mary, Reading, 8. 532 St. Thomas’, Sarum, 8. 54 Merton College, Oxford, 8. 564 Gathedtak Wanphesteese. ie) [w) ve) or jor) ol c. 33 58 Westbury, Wilts. c. 38 594 Bath Abbey, 10. Compared with foreign bells, English ones are of no very great size; but from the custom of round and change ringing amongst us, we have come to think more of our own. There is a magnificent clock bell over the Mairie, at Rennes in Brittany, 86} inches in diameter and 6 inches thick at the sound-bow (a larger bell by 1 inch than Great Tom of Oxford), which nobody takes notice of, although its fine deep tones are heard every hour; whereas we make a sort of peep-show of Great Tom. The epigraph upon it is “Jay ete fondue a Rennes Capitale de la Province daus l’enclos de By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 79 Vabbaye de St. Melaine au mois de 9. bre 1731 sous le regne de Louis XV. Roy de France et de Navarre. Toussaint Francois Rallier Maire Coronel des Milices Bourgeois. (Round the rim), A. Brocard et M. Piosson Fondeurs Lorrains mont faitte avec les douze appieu (sic). G. P. Les Chauchards pere fondeurs Lorrains mont faite.” At St. Brieuc there are two very great bells, which I had no time to examine. The Brocards were eminent bell-founders in the 18th century, and I was informed in August last, by the Curé of the town of Baud in Brittany, that the foundry retains its celebrity to the present day. I happened to reach Baud at the very moment when a new bell, weighing about 13 ewt., arrived for one of its churches. It was quite a model of good casting, and the epigraph stated it to have been cast at Napoleonville (Pontivy), and sold by “Alphonse Danjou Marchand fondeur.” The eight bells of the church of St. Pierre Port, Guernsey, composed how- ever of very indifferent metal, and cast in 1736, and the three bells of St. Martin’s church, in the same island, cast in the same year, were the handiwork of the Brocards. I have to apologize for the great length of this paper; but if I have succeeded in drawing your attention to the too often neglected state of belfries, and in inducing some to take up the subject of bell ringing for its own sake as well as a means of reforming village ringers, I shall be well contented to submit to your unfavourable judgment upon my efforts to ring a series of changes on your own bells, and my very indifferent performance. I have feebly attempted to draw your notice to this subject with the same feelings of pleasure and exultation with which the vener- able shepherd of Marlborough Downs is said to have addressed Queen Anne, when, on a progress to Bath, she was met at Shep- herd’s Shore, in these words : “‘Staund here greate Queen amongst your loving people, And listen to the bells of Bishop’s Cannings Steple.” W. C. Luxis. N.B. The epigraphs or inscriptions will appear in our next number of the Magazine. 80 On Church Bells. WORKS ON BELLS. The following list of Works on Bells, which may be found useful by those who desire to study the subject, has been kindly supplied by the Rey. H. T. Ellacombe. Anon. Recueil curieux et édifiant sur les cloches de l’Eglise, avec les Céré- monies de leur Bénédiction. Cologne, 1757. Barravp (Abb.) Notice sur les cloches, 8vo. Caen, 1844. Bormert (G. L.) Programma de Feudo Campanario, Gottingew, 1755. Buonmatret (Ben.) Declamazione delle Campane, dopo le sue Cicalate delle tre Sirocchie. Pisa, 1635. Campant (Gio. Ant.) Opera. The frontispiece a large bell. Roma, 1495. CANCELLIERI (F.) Descrizione della nuova Campana Magiore della Basilica Vaticana. Roma, 1786. CANCELLIERI (F.) Descrizione delle due nuove Campane di Campidoglio beneditte del Pio VII. Roma, 1806, 4to. Cave (G. G.) An Turrium et Campanarum Usus in Repub. Christ. Deo dis- pliceat? Leipsiz, 1709, 4to. ConraD (Dietericus), De Campanis. Germanice. Eecers (Nic.) Dissertatio de Campanarum Materia et forma. Eacers (Nic.) Dissertatio de Origine et Nomine Campanarum. Tene, 1684. EscHENWECKER. De eo quod justum est circa Campanas. Frsc (Laberanus du). Des cloches, 12mo. Paris, 1607-19. Gorzi. Diatriba de Baptismo Campanarum. Lubec, 1612. Grimaup (Gilb.) Liturgie Sacrée, avec un Traité des cloches. Lyons, 1666, 4to., Pavia, 1678, 12mo. HinscHEN (Gio.) Dissertatio de Campanis Templorum, Leipsie, 1690. Homsere (Gas.) De Superstitiosis Campanarum pulsibus, ad eliciendas preces, quibus placentur fulmina, excogitatis, 4to. Frankfortie, 1577. LazzaRrinI (Alex.) De vario Tintinnabulorum Usu apud veteres Hebreos et Ethnicos. 2 vols. 8vo Rome, 1822. Lupovicr (G.F.) De eo quod justum est circa Campanas. Hale, 1708 et 1739. Maem (Hier.) De Tintinnabulis, cum notis F. Swertii et Jungermanni, 12mo. Amstelodame et Hanovie, 1608, 1664, 1689. ‘A learned work.”—Parr. Martene. De Ritibus Ecclesiz. Mepetm (Geo.) An Campanarum Sonitus Fulmina, Tonitrua, et Fulgura impedire possit, 4to., 1703. Mitzter (B.A.) De Campanis. Nerturen (Mar.) Campanula Penitentiw, 4to. Dresden, 1644. Pactaupi. Dissertazione su due Campane di Capua. Neapoli, 1750. PacicHetii (Ab. J. B.) De Tintinnabulo Nolano Lucubratio Autumnalis. Neapoli, 1693. Dr. Parr calls this ‘‘a great curiosity.” Pacer. De Campanis dissertatio. Rocca (Ang.) De Campanis Commentarius, 4to. Rome, 1612. REIMANNI (Geo. Chris.) De Campanis earumque Origine, vario Usu, Abusu, et Juribus, 4to. Isenaci, 1769. By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 81 Savonti (G. M.) Notificazione per la solenne Benedizione della nuova Campana da Collocarsi nella Metropolitana di S. Lorenzo. Geneva, 1750. SELIGMANN (Got. Fr.) De Campana Urinatoria. Leipsiew, 1677. 4to. Srockrier (Ar.) Dissertatio de Campanarum Usu, 4to. Altdorfii, 1665, 1666. Srortus (G. M.) De Campanis Templorum, 4to, Leipsie, 1692: Swertivs (Fran.) Turers (G. B.) Des Cloches, 12mo. Paris, 1602, 1619. Turers (J. B.) Traité des Cloches. Paris, 1721. Wattert (Ar.) De Campanis et precipuis earum Usibus, 8vo. Holmie, 1694. Wuturerrt (Car.) Ragguaglio delle Campane di Viliglia, 4to. Roma, 1601. Zecu (F.8.) De Campanis et Instrumentis Musicis. Without enumerating any Encyclopedias, in most of which may be found very able and interesting articles upon the subject, the best treatises for all practical purposes will be found in the following: Prrorecunts, del Vannuccio Biringuccio, nobile Senese 1540, 1550, 1559, 1678. There is a French translation of it by Jasper Vincent 1556, 1572, 1627. The tenth chapter is about bells, which Magius refers to in his work. DucanGE in Glossario, in vocibus Ais, Campana, Codon, Cloca, Crotalum, Glogga, Lebes, Nola, Petasus, Signum, Squilla, Tintinnabulum. Mersenni (F. M.) Harmonicorum Libri XII. Paris, 1629, 1643. (Liber quartus de Campanis), This and Biringuccio contain all the mystery of bell casting, &e. PurreNDOoRFF. De Campanarum usu in obitu Parochiani publice significando, in ejus observationibus. Jur. Univers., p. iv., No. 104. The works of English authors, seem to be chiefly confined to the Art of Ringing, as the following list will show: TINTINNALOGIA, or the Art of Ringing improved, by T. W(hite), 18mo., 1668. This is the book alluded to by Dr. Burney, in his History of Music, Vol. iv., p. 413. CaMPANOLOGIA, or the Art of Ringing improved, 18mo. 1677. This was by Fabian Stedman. CAMPANOLOGIA, improved by I. D, and C. M., London Scholars, 18mo. 1702. Ditto, second edition, 12mo. 1705. Ditto, third ditto, oo Racal Ditto, fourth ditto, yl ORE Ditto, fifth ditto, by J. Monk, 18mo. 1766. Tue Scoot or Recreation, or Gentleman’s Tutor in various exercises, one of which is Ringing. 1684. Cravis CampaNnoLoata, by Jones, Reeves, and Blackmore, 12mo, 1788. Re- printed in 1796 and 1800? Tue Krvcer’s True Gourper, by 8. Beaufoy, 12mo. 1804. Tue Campanoxoata, or Universal Instructor in the Art of Ringing, by Wm. Shipway, 12mo. 1816, Exements or Campanoxoata, by H. Hubbard, 12mo, 1845, 1854. M 82 On Church Bells. Tue Bett: its origin, history, and uses, by Rev. A. Gatty, 12mo. 1847. Ditto, enlarged. 1848. Brunt’s Use AND ABUSE OF CHURCH BELLS, 8vo. 1846. ELLacomBe’s PracTicAL REMARKS ON BELFRIES AND RINGERS, 8yo. 1850. =a Paper oN Betts, with Illustrations, in the Report of Bristol Architectural Society. 1850. Croome’s Frew Worps on Betis anpD BELL Rinere, 8vo. 1851. Wootr’s ADDRESS ON THE ScIENCE oF Campanotocy. ‘Tract. 1851. Prary Hryts to Bert Ruovcers. No. 47, of Parochial Tracts. 1852. Tue Art or CHANGE Riverine, by B. Thackrah, 12mo. 1882. QuaRTERLY Review: Art. Church Bells, Sept., 1854. To these may be added, as single poetical productions, Tue Lecenp or THE LiwertcK Bett Founprr, published in the Dublin University Magazine. Sept., 1847. Tue Bett, by Schiller. There is a curious collection of MSS. on the subject, by the late Mr. Osborn, among the Additional MSS., Nos. 19, 368, and 19, 373. Hungerford Chapels in Salisbury Cathedral. 83 On the Bungerford Chapels in Salishury Cathedral. By the Rev. J. E. Jackson. Ir is proposed in this paper to give some account of two Chantry Chapels, founded by the Hungerford family in Salisbury Cathedral. One of these, the earliest, still remains; but the second has been long since entirely removed. Therefore in referring to the first, you will have your own acquaintance with the Cathedral to assist you. The description of the second you will be so good as to take upon trust. A few words, by way of preface, upon Chantries in general. A Chantry was an endowment or perpetual stipend settled upon one or more priests to say daily mass for the souls of a deceased Founder and his friends. The name is also applied to a particular altar, or more frequently to a little chapel, annexed to a Church. The main use and intent of them was for prayers for souls departed, on a supposition of Purgatory, and of being released therefrom by masses satisfactory. The anniversary day of the Founder’s death was called his Obit. Fuller, the Church Historian (a Prebendary of Sarum), has some quaint remarks upon Chantries, and their suppression at the end of the reign of Henry VIII. He says that “A Chantry was what we call in grammar an adjective, unable to stand of itself, and was therefore united for better support to some Parochial, Collegiate, or Cathedral Church. “Henry VIII. made three meals, or if you will, one meal of three courses, on Abbey lands: besides what Cardinal Wolsey, the King’s taster herein, had eaten beforehand, when assuming smaller M 2 84 Hungerford Chapels in Salisbury Cathedral. Monasteries to endow his Colleges.’ Henry’s three courses were— 1. The smaller Monasteries under £200 a year, seized a.p. 1535. 2. The greater Monasteries, a.p. 1538. 3. Colleges, Chantries, and Free Chapels, which were granted to him by Parliament, a.p. 1545. “The first of these (the smaller houses) were most in number: the second, richest in revenue: the third, Chantries, &c., in one respect better than both the former, viz., that the former being spent and consumed, these alone were left to supply his appetite. “The stipends of the Chantry priests varied in proportion to the piety and property of the Founder, from 40 marks for 2000 masses, to fourpence for one mass. They were not allowed to receive more than seven marks per annum, or three marks with their board. “ Founders of Chantries generally preferred priests not beneficed, as best at leisure constantly to attend the same. But their dead founders did not so engross the devotion of those priests but that, by general and special obits for other men, procession-pence and other perquisites, they much bettered their maintenance. “Some deductions were made by the will of the Founders, to uses merely charitable and no whit superstitious, out of the surplus of the Chantry lands, as to the relief of poor people, and main-. taining of scholars at the Universities. But this did not save them from confiscation: for as the stork in the fable that was found amongst the cranes destroying the husbandman’s corn, in vain pleaded his own piety to his parents, and was killed, for company- sake, with those birds amongst whom he was caught: so it is more than suspicious that these pious uses were utterly extinguished at the suppression of Abbeys; to teach men’s charities hereafter to beware of too familiar a converse with superstition. Vast was the wealth accruing to the Crown by the dissolution of Chantries. “Many a little,” saith the proverb, “make a mickle.” The founda- tions, though small in revenue, yet being many in number, amounted up to a great bank. There was not a Cathedral or Collegiate Church in England, but some Chantries were founded therein, as in many parochial Churches. These may easily be recognized in country Churches, as often projecting from the old building, from which they differ in style, being neater and newer. EE — eee ee Oe Se By the Rev. J. E. Jackson. 85 “ How much the yearly revenue of all these Chantries and other Chapels amounted to the King knew as little as we do; indeed, some of his officers did, but would not know, as wilfully concealing their knowledge herein. Yea, some of these Chantries may be said in a double sense to have been suppressed, as being not only put down, but also concealed, never coming into the Exchequer, being silently pocketed by private (but potent) persons. True it is the courtiers were more rapacious to catch, and voracious to swallow these Chantries than Abbey lands; for, at the first, many were scrupulous in mind, or modest in manners, doubting the ac- ceptance of Abbey lands, though offered unto them, till profit and custom, two very able confessors, had, by degrees, satisfied their consciences, and absolved them from any fault therein. Now, all scruple removed, Chantry land went down without any regret. Yea, such as mannerly expected till the King carved for them out of Abbey lands, scrambled for themselves out of Chantry revenues, as knowing this was the last dish of the last course, and, after Chantries, as after cheese, nothing to be expected. The Act of Parliament, for dissolving Chantries was passed in the first year Edward VI.” So far Fuller.' Most of these Chapels were parted off from the Church by open sereens of wood or stone. Some were mere spaces within the Church enclosed within rails, and enclosing monumental tombs, with effigies of the founders and other sculptured decorations, with an altar at the east end, raised on a step, and having a piscina and an ambry or closet on the south side. Henry VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey is the grandest specimen existing of a Chantry Chapel, for such it may be regarded, having been built expressly to contain his sepulchral tomb, with an altar, and endowed for priests to offer up prayers. Directions for this are given in his will. Noblemen and lords of manors often founded and endowed Chantries at the end of the aisles of Parish Churches, and appro- priated them for the reception of family tombs, heraldic insignia, * 1 Church History. B. vi., See. v. ii. 86 Hungerford Chapels in Salisbury Cathedral. and a portion of their armour. Some of these Chapels in our Cathedrals are amongst the most splendid works of art, belonging to their respective times, as may be seen at Winchester, Gloucester, Windsor, and elsewhere. In old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, there were no less than forty-seven Chantries. In Salisbury Cathedral there appear to have been, at the Refor- mation, several of these endowed Chantries or Chantry Chapels— viz., those of John Waltham, Bishop of Sarum, who died 13895; Edmund Audley, Bishop, who died 1524; Richard Beauchamp, Bishop, 1482; Giles Bridport, Bishop, 1262; Gilbert Keymer, or Kymer, Dean, 1463; Henry Blundesdon, 1335; Roger Cloun, about 1390; Andrew Hulse; Walter, Lord Hungerford, 1449; and Robert, Lord Hungerford, his son, 1459. Before proceeding to describe the two Hungerford Chapels I must first say a few words about that celebrated Wiltshire family, of which there is almost as little left amongst us as there is of one of their Chapels; especially (as most suitable on this occasion) about their connexion with the City of Salisbury. They appeared in this county for the first time as an acknowleged family of importance about 1300. I find a priest of Sarum of the name a little earlier. They probably derived their family name from the town of Hungerford, in which neighbourhood their earliest property appears to have been situated. The first of any eminence was a Sir Robert, who died in 13852. He was representative for the county in Parliament, and a Justice in Eyre. He was owner of property in ‘‘ Novel-street, in New Sarum.” He had a brother, Walter, Bailiff of Salisbury, 1333. Sir Thomas, son of Walter, who died in the reign of Richard IL., was steward to John of Gaunt, and sometime, but for a very short time, Speaker of the Commons in Parliament. He purchased the estates at Heytesbury and Farley Castle. He is described first as a “citizen and merchant of New Sarum” in 1357, though in what sort of wares he dealt I cannot say—probably in wheat and wool— for in the possession of broad acres on and under the Wiltshire downs, where those commodities are apt to grow, the Hungerfords were certainly no wise deficient. It is a common ‘saying, not yet, By the Rev. J. E. Jackson. 87 I believe, quite extinct, that they could ride on their own land all the way from Farley Castle to Salisbury, a good thirty miles. That this saying is literally correct I cannot exactly admit, because in that line of country they certainly would have encountered in their ride some large properties with which they never had any- thing to do, as, for example, the territory of the Lady Abbesses of Wilton. Still, in one sense, the saying is so far true, that during the period of their existence in the county, (about three hundred years), there really are very few parishes between those two points with which they had not, at some period or other, some connexion ; and it is also the case, that in their best days, they actually were owners of a very considerable portion of that tract of country. Indeed the same may be said of many other parts of Wiltshire. The number of places with which their name is associated, either by ownership to a greater or less extent, or by some memorial or other, is very extraordinary, and almost sufficient to fill a map of of itself. In the city of Salisbury they do not appear to have remained long or to have possessed much, and, with the exception of the “ Novel-street’’ tenements already mentioned, I have not met with much notice of them here. Their coat of arms on the ceiling of an aisle in St. Thomas’s Church implies a benefaction to that part of the building. The shield of some younger member of the family is (or lately was) on a window in the Cathedral library. Sir Thomas, just spoken of above, was in a.p. 1370, Special Attorney for the See of Sarum when its property was held for a little while by the Crown. The great man of the family was son of Sir Thomas the Speaker, viz., Walter, Lord Hungerford and Heytesbury, Lord High Treasurer of England in the reign of Henry VI. He had been a supporter of Henry IV. upon his seizure of the throne, and under that pa- tronage passed through many public situations, civil and military, and made a vast addition to the property of his family. He served at Agincourt under Henry V., and got a good share of prize-money: amongst other things a grant of the Barony of Homet, in Nor- mandy, which he held under the Crown, by the somewhat singular 88 Hungerford Chapels in Salisbury Cathedral. service of rendering every year at the Castle of Rouen, one lance with a fox’s brush hanging to it. ‘ Which pleasant tenure,” says Camden, “TI have thought not amiss to insert here amongst more serious matters.”’ The history of it is, that this was one of the badges of the house of Lancaster; an emblem in which certain his- torical critics have recognized some allusion to the wiliness of King Henry IV.’s character, who is said to have acted now and then upon the advice of a much more ancient public man, Lysander, the Spartan General—* When the lion’s skin is too short, piece it out with the fox’s tail’’—or as the adage has been versified by Prior; ‘