BELFRIES & RINGERS 
 
 REV.H.T.ELLACOMBE,
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 Ruth M. Shaver
 
 ' ' THE revived interest in all ecclesiastical studies has extended to 
 hells, and the researches of Mr. ELLACOMBE are worthy fruits of this 
 newly-awakened spirit." QUARTERLY REVIEW. 
 
 " THE Rev. H. T. ELLACOMBE, Rector of Clyst St. George, Devon- 
 shire, has published Practical Remarks on Belfries and Ringers, with 
 an Appendix on Chiming. [Bell & Daldy.] These are exceedingly 
 sensible and judicious ; and we should be glad to hear that they were 
 circulated extensively. The author holds it to be essential for the 
 proper management of a belfry that the ringers should be paid out 
 of an endowment fund. He adds a set of rules which have been 
 proved by experience to be suitable for a large peal ; and the Ap- 
 pendix is illustrated by some useful descriptive plates of the method 
 of hanging bells and of contriving chimes." ECCLESIOLOGIST.
 
 PRACTICAL REMARKS 
 
 BELFRIES AM) RINGERS, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. HENRY THOMAS ELLACOMBE, M.A., F.A.S. 
 
 OF 1 1 1:11.1, COLLEGE, OXFORD; 
 BBCTOK OP CLY8T ST. GEORGE, DEVONSHIRE, FORMERLY VICAR OP BITTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 READ WITH A PAPER ON BELLS (OMITTING THE APPENDED RULES) BEFORE THE 
 BRISTOL ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY, ON MONDAY, DEC. 10, 1849. 
 
 AN APPENDIX ON CHIMING, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 BELL AND DALLY, 186, FLEET STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXI.
 
 " SOME, perhaps, may wonder why any one should thus trouble 
 himself about so low and mean a subject as this is generally thought 
 to be ; but I think nothing mean or low, that hath any relation to 
 the service of God and His Church." BP. BEVERIDGE.
 
 ML 
 
 WITH PERMISSION, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 
 
 PBIMATB OF ALL ENGLAND ; 
 
 ; HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OP YORK, 
 
 PEIMATE OF ENGLAND J 
 
 HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, 
 
 PRIMATH OF ALL IRELAND : 
 
 HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN, 
 
 PBIMATE OF I JIELAXD ; 
 
 MOST OB ED IENT, HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1965353
 
 PRACTICAL REMARKS 
 
 BELFRIES AND RINGERS. 
 
 REARED in a country parsonage, and close to a peal 
 of eight bells, as musical and as well rung as any in 
 the kingdom, it has been my lot from childhood to 
 have seen much of the practices in a country belfry. 
 They had better, I grieve to say, be passed over in 
 silence ; for such things as I remember to have seen 
 and heard would hardly be tolerated in a village ale- 
 house ; and yet the ringers were considered respect- 
 able, honest men in their way, and had the honour 
 many of them of being the ringers of the Cathedral 
 bells in the adjoining city, where fifteen men were 
 required; and it was a well-known fact that, as a 
 body, a more drunken set of fellows could not be 
 found. It is painful to me even to allude to such 
 ungodly practices : I mention the fact, in the hope 
 that it may perhaps call the attention of those in 
 authority to this crying evil, which exists more or 
 less in every parish and belfry in England ; for I fear 
 it may be too truly said, "Ex uno disce omnes;" 
 and how dreadful it is to think of such conduct in a 
 church, if perchance (as formerly no doubt was uni- 
 
 A 2
 
 G 
 
 versally the case) the ropes hang down to the pave- 
 ment of the ground floor. It is therefore high time 
 especially in these days, when so many efforts are 
 made to restore a better discipline, and a more legi- 
 timate and correct system in all Church matters 
 that some move should be made towards bringing 
 the belfry and the occupiers thereof under regula- 
 tions in accordance with church order and discipline. 
 
 Perhaps no one thing has been the source of such 
 constant trouble and annoyance to the clergyman as 
 the belfry and the ringers; especially if the same 
 parties happened to belong to the self-appointed and 
 conceited choir of "the singers" I have heard of 
 clergymen who have even refused to accept a living 
 where there was a peal of bells ; and of those who 
 have said, upon learning the number of the bells in 
 the tower, " Then, certain it is, there are as many 
 drunkards in the village." " That man is a ringer," 
 is quite enough in some places to intimate that he is 
 an idle, sottish character. I know one clergyman 
 who left his curacy in Worcestershire on account of 
 the conduct of the ringers. 
 
 The condition of the belfry itself rarely seems to 
 have attracted the notice of the Deans-rural, or of the 
 Bishops and Archdeacons, so as to form one of the 
 articles of inquiry issued to the churchwardens to be 
 presented at their respective visitations ; or surely 
 much of the dirt and rubbish, which may generally 
 be found there, would long ago have been swept 
 away, and their dilapidated state repaired. 
 
 I would therefore most respectfully suggest that, 
 in all such articles of inquiry, questions should be
 
 inserted as to the condition and cleanliness of the 
 belfry the character and conduct of the ringers 
 whether drinking or smoking is ever practised there 
 and whether ringing matches for prizes are allowed ? 
 There can be no doubt that such an inquiry 
 would be productive of very great benefit : it would 
 strengthen the minister's position, and put the 
 churchwardens on their guard, if they found such 
 points closely inquired into ; especially if they found 
 the inquiry was followed up by firm, active, and 
 judicious proceedings. For, in country parishes espe- 
 cially, the churchwardens have hitherto been rarely 
 found to uphold the minister in such matters; in 
 many places being raised but little above the grade 
 of the. ringers, and in some places being themselves 
 of the number: thus the minister, feeling that the 
 whole onus of controlling the bells and correcting 
 abuses in the belfry rests solely on his shoulders, he 
 is induced rather to let things go on as he found 
 them, than screw up his moral courage to undertake 
 the task of bringing about a reformation. For though 
 the controlling power, which by law the minister 
 possesses over the bells, is generally now pretty well 
 understood,* and his veto upon their use established, 
 yet, unless absolutely necessary, and in very glaring 
 
 * In the time of the public excitement about Queen Caroline, and 
 the passing of the Reform Bill, several cases of most disgraceful 
 conduct on the part of ringers were brought before the authorities, 
 and the offenders were punished. 
 
 The 88th Canon is sufficiently powerful. See alsaDr. Phillimore's 
 Edition of Burn's Eccles. Law ; or the late Editions of Prideaux's 
 Guide to Churchwardens. 

 
 8 
 
 cases, it will be found a very impolitic step for him 
 to exercise his right ; and, by such means, to bring 
 about the reformation he wishes. He may silence the 
 bells ; but the chances are that, by so doing (especi- 
 ally if he has but lately come to reside in the place), 
 he will awaken a most discordant clamour (or, to use 
 a ringer's phrase, "open " other " clappers") through- 
 out his parish against himself, and the Church, and 
 all his ministrations, which he may not be able to 
 tranquillize for years. In such a movement he will 
 find it far better to give as little offence as possible, 
 endeavouring to lead and draw the ringers to his 
 views by kind and temperate reasoning, and not 
 raising the angry and malevolent passions of such 
 characters by an intemperate zeal, or any harsh and 
 overbearing exhibition of authority. Men of little 
 experience as country pastors may think a different 
 course preferable ; but time and practice will prove 
 to them, that for their own comfort, for the sake of 
 peace, and for the good of the Church, a firm but 
 kind and gentle course "unam eandemque viam 
 prementem " is the most effectual way to win the 
 hearts of our people ; after which, there will be little 
 trouble in carrying out every desirable restoration of 
 good order and ecclesiastical usages. 
 
 I will not presume to say that the plan adopted in 
 my own parish is the best that can be devised, or 
 that it has been brought about by the most judicious 
 management ; but it may be of service to others to 
 know what was the condition of the ringers at one 
 time, and what improvement has been introduced 
 among them. 

 
 9 
 
 When first I went to that parish, more than thirty 
 years ago, scarcely one of the ringers attended the 
 services of the Church ! I used to see them on a 
 Sunday, waiting in the churchyard till the service 
 was over ; and then, almost before every person had 
 left the holy place, they would strike out a merry 
 peal. This was a state of things which could not be 
 suffered to continue, and therefore at once I did 
 what I could in the way of talking and reasoning 
 with them ; and at last I was obliged to make it a 
 rule, that unless they came to pray they should not 
 be allowed to ring. For a time this gave great 
 offence ; but I remained firm, and at last the man 
 who was most outrageous confessed to me that my 
 view of the matter was right. 
 
 In the course of time the old ringers dropped off, 
 and others, self-appointed, succeeded ; and very soon, 
 by their own consent and proposal, I obtained the 
 custody of the keys of the tower. Before that, the 
 ringers had uncontrolled admission to the belfry 
 when they pleased, and for what purpose they 
 pleased ; but ever since, the keys have been kept at 
 the vicarage. 
 
 It had long been the practice and a very common 
 one it is in country villages to ring a peal or two 
 on Sunday mornings, sometimes before and some- 
 times after breakfast ; but I observed that the ringers 
 seldom came to church afterwards ; and therefore, 
 except on festival days, I at once prohibited all peal 
 ringing at any time before morning service. How- 
 ever delightful and poetical may be the thoughts 
 connected with the cheerful peal on a Sunday morn-
 
 10 
 
 ing, I am quite sure that in most cases it will be 
 found that peal-ringing on Sundays morning or 
 evening leads to the alehouse afterwards. Much 
 evil therefore will be prevented by stopping it alto- 
 gether, until a better system of appointing and re- 
 munerating the ringers can be introduced. 
 
 I once received a letter from the son of one of the 
 ringers, in which he implored me to use my influence 
 to put a stop to Sunday ringing ; recounting in his 
 letter the evils and misery he had witnessed in his 
 father's family, which had resulted from this practice. 
 
 In the course of years I had the pleasure to see 
 this point also carried ; for, at last, the men them- 
 selves came to a resolution to give it up. I then 
 expressed my approbation, especially as it was their 
 own act from conviction ; but as they had done so, 
 they at the same time understood from me, that it 
 would not be allowed again for mere practice or 
 amusement. 
 
 I should add, that when the Sunday ringing was 
 discontinued, it was with an understanding that they 
 might in future practise two evenings in the week 
 instead of one, to which the amusement or practice 
 had long before been limited. It would sometimes 
 happen that a young hand stood in need of a little 
 more frequent practice ; and then it has been usual 
 for some of the company to have the keys of the 
 belfry, and tie the clappers, and so raising and falling 
 can be practised without any annoyance to the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 Experience has long convinced me, that no proper 
 system for regulating the use of the bells, and the
 
 11 
 
 conduct of the ringers subservient to legitimate 
 ecclesiastical uses will ever be effected without an 
 endowment fund. This fund should be vested in 
 the incumbent as trustee; and so appointed, that 
 fines should be levied on the portion or dividend of 
 each ringer who is guilty of any neglect of duty, or 
 who acts contrary to the regulations which may have 
 been agreed upon for their observance. The fine so 
 kept back, at the end of the year, on the dividend 
 day, should not be shared by the rest of the company; 
 but should be given to some other parochial purpose 
 (perhaps to the Village School Fund), to be settled 
 in the endowment deed. 
 
 Perhaps the great difficulty, in the way of carrying 
 out such an arrangement, would be the getting a 
 respectable and trustworthy man to be the foreman 
 of the company ; who would keep an honest account 
 of all fines incurred ; and who should be one with 
 whom the company would agree to keep on good 
 terms. Strongly impressed with this view of the 
 subject, and consulting with friends on the principle 
 involved in it, I have long wished to make a trial ; 
 and, having opened the matter to some of the ringers, 
 the rules which are annexed to these remarks were 
 drawn up and submitted to them.* With the ex- 
 
 * There may be some who will be disposed to smile, perhaps, at 
 the reading of these rules ; but it should be borne in mind that they 
 are by no means what I would wish them to be : they are, it is to 
 be hoped, but a beginning of a more excellent way ; they apply to a 
 particular place ; it is surely not expedient to generalize, at first, 
 where a reform is aimed at. " Wisely and slowly ; perfection is but 
 of slow growth. They stumble that run fast." 
 
 A 3
 
 12 
 
 ception of the first which is a resolution those at 
 the beginning are only an amended form of some 
 which they had themselves made, or had traditionally 
 observed: those at the end are drawn up on the 
 principle here laid down. The men readily signed 
 them ; and, since that, the churchwardens have added 
 their approbation so that, at all events, a trial will 
 be made.* 
 
 It should have been noticed, that the ringers to 
 whom these rules apply have nothing at all to do 
 with the service bells and chiming : the sexton 
 attends to all that. It is certainly desirable that the 
 ringers, as officers of the church, should be in attend- 
 ance at those times : but that cannot be expected of 
 men of that grade, unless they are paid for it ; or 
 unless they have been happily trained in principles 
 of love and reverence for the Church, and feel it an 
 honour to be so employed ; but, even then, you 
 would not be certain of the required number on every 
 occasion. 
 
 In some places, especially in the north of England, 
 it is usual, I believe, to ring the bells in peal before 
 service ; but the more general practice is to chime, 
 as in the old distich, 
 
 " To call the folk to church in time 
 
 We chime :" 
 
 and miserable work that is in some places ! the sexton 
 and a boy, or other chance person helping him, jangle 
 three or four bells. A clever fellow may sometimes 
 
 * Since these remarks were written, the rules have been tried twelve 
 years, and worked most satisfactorily. Here I have introduced a 
 shorter code, which I should recommend for general use. 
 
 I
 
 13 
 
 be seen chiming three, or even more, by leaning 
 against the wall, and taking one rope in each hand, 
 while another rope is looped up for each elbow and 
 his foot to work. " Angels' music !" 
 
 And here I may be allowed to mention a contri- 
 vance which may be easily adopted, and with very 
 little expense : by which all the difficulty in the way 
 of securing the regular chiming of all the bells in a 
 tower may be obviated. * 
 
 This may be effected either by heavy hammers to 
 strike outside on the " bridge" of the bells, like those 
 of a clock ; or by fixing light hammers or balls, pro- 
 portioned in size, and in length of lever, to each bell, 
 and so arranged to work on an axis as to strike on 
 the inside just where the clapper strikes, and when 
 not in use, to drop down, so as to be quite clear of 
 the swing of the bell when rung. This mode is 
 more simple than the outside hammers, for which 
 there is often little or no room. A cord, or " sash 
 line" fastened at the end of the lever, may be guided 
 by pulleys to a given point in the church, where the 
 ends are tied, when used, to a fixed horizontal bar. 
 This bar should be about three feet from the floor ; 
 and about two feet above it there should be the last 
 set of pulleys, arranged in a row about three inches 
 apart the pulleys should not be less than four inches 
 in diameter. Care should be taken to pull the 
 lines down, so that the hammer or ball may be ad- 
 justed above within a few inches of the bell. With 
 such an arrangement one person may easily do all 
 the work : the lines must be untied when he has 
 * See Appendix, with illustrations.
 
 finished, otherwise the bells cannot be rung if re- 
 quired. In this way the cliiming is done at Bitton ; 
 and by this simple method, 
 
 " To call the folk to church in time, 
 One little boy six bells can chime :" 
 
 indeed, any number might thus be chimed. 
 
 There is also this advantage, which will be duly 
 appreciated by some, that the ropes hang down to 
 the floor of the church. 
 
 By the other method, with outside hammers, the 
 finest chimes, on the heaviest peal of ten bells in 
 the kingdom, daily pour forth their deep-sounding 
 solemn musical notes at ten and three at the Cathe- 
 dral of Exeter ;* but there, the weight of the bells 
 requiring heavy falling hammers, additional levers 
 are used below, like the keys of a pianoforte. 
 
 Much in the same way, the celebrated Carillons, 
 on thirty-three bells at Antwerp, and other Belgic 
 towns, are worked. There, however, most of the 
 hammers (indeed the clappers of the bells are used, 
 
 * " How many a tale their music tells, 
 
 Of youth, and home, and that sweet time 
 When first we heard their soothing chime." 
 
 " Oh wondrous power of modulated sound ! 
 Which, like the air, (whose all obedient shape 
 Thou mak'st thy slave,) can subtilely pervade 
 The yielded avenues of sense, unlock 
 The close affections, by some fairy path 
 Winning an easy way through ev'ry ear, 
 And with thine unsubstantial quality 
 Holding in mighty chains the hearts of all ; 
 All, but some cold and sullen temper' d spirits, 
 Who feel no touch of sympathy or love."
 
 15 
 
 for the bells themselves are not hung for ringing,) 
 are of wood, the blow from which produces a more 
 mellow sound. 
 
 In an interesting pamphlet, on " The Use and 
 Abuse of Church Bells," (Masters, 1846,) the au- 
 thor has laid down rules and suggestions which 
 he most judiciously advises none of his brethren to 
 " act upon, until he can himself realize the Church 
 system upon which they are grounded." But, 
 even when the minister may have happily adopted 
 such views, he would find it most painful and 
 difficult to attempt to introduce, and maintain, such 
 a belfry system ; where for years, perhaps, the 
 ringers have had their own way : and the parish- 
 ioners are attached to the familiar sound of their 
 musical bells, rung out on every occasion of village 
 rejoicing. Where, however, it can be taken up " ut 
 res integra, et in nova quasi parochia," there can be 
 no doubt, that with some slight alterations, which 
 the practical part of ringing requires, the system laid 
 down would be beautifully in keeping with all that a 
 true English churchman can desire, supposing an en- 
 dowment fund can be raised, and permanently secured. It 
 would be most gratifying to see such a system well 
 established. But, 
 
 " Sincerum est nisi vas, quodcunque infundis acescit." 
 
 So, unless you begin de novo, by raising up a body of 
 men well-grounded and instructed in the Church sys- 
 tem, it would all be unintelligible and hopeless. But 
 accomplish that, and then let the ropes hang down 
 to the very pavement of the church ; for it may be
 
 16 
 
 hoped that all would be conducted as decorously 
 almost as the ministrations in the chancel. 
 
 I have ventured to say that some alterations are 
 required in the suggestions proposed in the pamphlet 
 alluded to. Perhaps they would have been more in- 
 telligible, if the author had given a definition, or ex- 
 plained what he understands by a peal.* He proposes 
 one peal to be " a quarter of an hour ;" whereas it is 
 well known that some heavy bells cannot be raised 
 and ceased (" failed ") in that time; nay, some heavy 
 bells never can be raised in peal, but are raised 
 singly: a fortiori, a "five minutes' peal" would be 
 still more difficult. Bells may be chimed so long, 
 but they cannot be raised and rung : it is quite impos- 
 sible to have such a peal " after a burial." 
 
 It can hardly be expected that any ringers would 
 think it worth while to meet to practise only for a 
 " quarter or half an hour;" it would be almost use- 
 less : and a five minutes' peal at midnight would be 
 unintelligible almost as much so as what is meant 
 by the phrase, a " solemn cheerful peal." 
 
 * It is often asked " What is a peal?" and " ringing a peal?" 
 and it seems strange that there should be any difficulty in answering 
 the question. The term is generally applied to any ringing of bells 
 together no matter whether of ten minutes' or ten hours' duration. 
 Bells are first raised, either singly or in peal (that is, in ringing 
 order) ; they may then be set or not, as the ringers please, or rung 
 in changes or round ringing, and then ceased by setting or falling, 
 and then would end a peal in common parlance. But the term is 
 known and used, by all scientific ringers, as a performance of above 
 5000 changes ; any portion of changes under that number is called 
 either a short or long touch : in some places a piece of ringing, by 
 others a flourish on the bells, &c. See also page 9, Appendix.
 
 17 
 
 I trust the author will excuse these few remarks 
 on his suggestions: they are not made with any 
 spirit of jealous opposition far from it ; I feel assured 
 that we have each the same object in view an im- 
 provement in the belfry. I would even thank him for 
 the lead he has taken ; but we are not yet, in my 
 humble opinion, sufficiently advanced in Church dis- 
 cipline and intelligence to adopt a uniformity of use 
 in this matter. The circumstances of parishes vary 
 so much, that the clergyman of each must act 
 accordingly j but if he will turn his attention to the 
 subject and it really is one of serious consequence 
 to the morals of his parish, as well as to the credit of 
 the Church and be guided by those circumstances, 
 and act temperately and judiciously, he will soon 
 make some progress towards an improvement: his 
 example will be followed by others; and in this 
 way we may hope to see our belfries well ordered, 
 and our ringers and their households among the best- 
 conducted in the parish. 
 
 To quote from the writings of one of acknowledged 
 judgment in practical matters 
 
 " In places where the right persons have given up the custody of 
 the keys, much irregularity has been the consequence ; and when 
 the power has long been used by others, without any attempt at 
 restraint, much consideration, and gentle explanation, will in all 
 fairness be due, before this power is taken away. Frequently how- 
 ever a little good advice, given in a Christian-like, friendly manner, 
 will produce amendment." Cottager's Visitor, Vol. III. page 54. 
 
 It must be remembered, that the evils to be con- 
 tended with are not of yesterday, but are deeply 
 rootedj having been the growth of years ; originating
 
 perhaps soon after the superstitious use of bells, and 
 the rigid discipline of the Church of Rome ceased : 
 they have since crept in with other abuses and irre- 
 gularities which from that time have unhappily pre- 
 vailed in our Church. Certainly they are as old 
 as the depraved age of Charles the Second. For, 
 whereas before that period half or three-quarter 
 wheels only were in use (as is the case at present in 
 parts of Dorsetshire, Devon, &c.), an " improvement 
 in the art of bell-hanging" was, about this time, 
 effected by the introduction of "round wheels" (see 
 " Campanalogia ; or, the Art of Ringing Improved," 
 London, 1677, p. 44); the effect of which was, that 
 peals of changes could be rung more regularly and 
 easily, the bells being rendered manageable at every 
 pull. Thus, " the mysteries of bell-ringing " became 
 a fashion, and so the evil seems to have originated ; 
 for the idle, drunken habits of ringers are alluded to 
 in some excellent " Advice to a Ringer," with which 
 a section on ringing closes, in a little work published 
 in the year 1684, called the "School of Recreation; 
 or, Gentleman's Tutor." As the whole passage 
 seems to bear so well on the subject before me, and 
 as it contains a short account of the first introduction 
 of bells, it will not perhaps be out of place, nor be 
 digressing too much, to introduce it here as a suitable 
 conclusion. 
 
 "When God, in Israel's exodus out of Egypt, 
 commanded Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons, 
 and invest them with those pontifical vestments ac- 
 cording to the pattern God had cut out, it is observ- 
 able, that the robe of the Ephod was, with a par-
 
 19 
 
 ticular circumstance of beauty, to be adorned by 
 hanging the hem of it with Golden Bells* and pome- 
 granates, each placed in an orderly position, one by 
 another, round. This was the first institution we 
 can read of for the use of bells in sacred offices ; but 
 the reason was this : Because in Aaron's ministrations 
 before God, when he entered into the Holy Place, 
 and when he came out, the sound of the bells might 
 be heard in the temple for a memorial to the children 
 of his people. This use of bells continues in the 
 Aaronical order to this day. From hence the Chris- 
 tian Church likewise (of which the Church under the 
 Mosaic dispensation was but a type) has made use of 
 bells for the notifying the time when the people are 
 to assemble, and made a signal for convocating them 
 together to the temple ; and herein differing from 
 the Mahometans, in the steeples of whose temples 
 are never found any bells, but criers persons who, 
 with a loud voice, call them to prayers." 
 
 " Now, then, let us make this use of the institution 
 of bells. First ; let not only the musick and delight 
 the bells give thee invite thee to come to the temple 
 to be a partaker of that pleasure they may afford thy 
 body, but let their musick invite thee to come thither 
 when they call thee, to exercise thy soul in devotion 
 to God. Do not let thy frequent coming thither 
 on week-days for thy diversion make thee absent 
 thyself on Sundays from thy devotion ; but let their 
 original use make thee mindful of the Sanctum Sanc- 
 torum, the Most Holy Place. Do not let the Sunday 
 morning's peal engage thy presence then, and the 
 alehouse have thy company afterwards. Be as quick 
 * Exod. xxviii. 33.
 
 20 
 
 in hearing the chyming for prayers, as tliou art in 
 the notes for pleasure. 
 
 ' Whene'er the Old Exchange of profit rings 
 Her silver saints' -bell; of uncertain gains; 
 Thy merchant-soul can stretch both legs and wings : 
 How canst thou run, and take unwearied pains.' 
 
 " And should' st thou not be as nimble when the 
 saints' -bell of the Church sounds in thy ears, and calls 
 thee to attend the priest, who now signifyes his en- 
 trance into the Holy Place, and invites thee to joyn 
 with him in the sacrifice of prayers and praises ? 
 
 " Secondly ; nor let the bells be made thy lullaby, 
 to drown some dissatisfaction, and so make thee 
 repair to the belfree (like the nurse to her whistle- 
 bells) to quiet thy disturbed mind, and thus (as the 
 divine poet excellently expresses it) to silence it with 
 
 * Look, look, what's here ! A dainty golden thing ? 
 See how the dancing bells turn round, and ring 
 To please my bantling ! Here's a knack will breed 
 An hundred kisses ; here's a knack indeed, &c.' 
 
 But let the altar have thy presence in communion 
 with God, in prayers for his grace, and patience to 
 support any calamity that may fall upon thee. 
 
 " Lastly ; let the bells put you in mind to con- 
 template on death ; and, every time you ring, think 
 how long it may be ere one of these may be your 
 turn to have to sound 
 
 ' The nine sad knolls of a dull passing-bell, 
 With the loud language of a mighty knell.' 
 
 " This, in short, is the use the ringer ought to 
 make of this his recreation, which, if he makes duly 
 and rightly, he may then lawfully enjoy all the 
 benefit he can desire from it."
 
 ST. MARY'S CHURCH, BITTON. 
 
 RULES FOR THE RINGERS. 
 
 WE, the undersigned company of Ringers of the parish of Bitton, 
 by and with the consent and approbation of our Yicar and Church- 
 wardens, have agreed to the following rules and resolutions : namely, 
 FIEST, and chief of all, 
 
 We resolve to be a respectable body of men, as well as good 
 Ringers j and to give no occasion, by our conduct, to any person to 
 speak against us, nor to bring a disgrace on the church in which 
 we are connected officials. Neither will we desire to take into our 
 company any who are of low life and character idle, drunken fellows, 
 and sabbath-breakers ; for we acknowledge that the belfry is part of 
 the church, and that the Ringers, being officers of the church, should 
 bear a good character : and this is what we will endeavour to pro- 
 mote. 
 
 II. "We agree to have a Treasurer, who shall hold our moneys till 
 the end of the year, and the same person shall be the foreman of our 
 company ; and he is to see that these rules are observed, and the 
 forfeits hereafter mentioned put in force, and deducted out of the 
 moneys given to us ; and they are to be regularly entered in a book 
 to be kept by him, and divided equally among the ringers at the end 
 of the year. And if our treasurer and foreman does not do this, the 
 majority of us shall elect another. 
 
 III. We now agree that G. B. shall be our treasurer and 
 foreman. 
 
 IV. When the bells are to be rung for a marriage, or any other 
 special occasion, the foreman shall give notice thereof to the Ringers. 
 
 V. Every Ringer who shall not attend at all on such occasions shall
 
 22 
 
 have no shore of what is given, and shall also forfeit one shilling ; 
 unless he he prevented by sickness, sufficient to disahlo him from 
 working (provided timely notice has heen given) ; every Ringer so 
 absent shall he entitled to half a share. And every Ringer, having 
 had notice, is to he at the tower by the time the bells are raised up, 
 or forfeit sixpence. And if he does not remain till the ringing is all 
 over he is to forfeit his whole share ; unless the majority present 
 give him leave to go off. 
 
 VI. When there is ringing more than once on the same day, if any 
 Ringer does not attend at each time, he is not to have his full share ; 
 but only a part, in proportion to his attendance. 
 
 VII. If any Ringer cannot attend himself, he shall be at liberty to 
 provide a substitute, provided he be fit and able to take his place, 
 and of good moral character. And any Ringer employing such sub- 
 stitute shall be liable to all forfeits, as if he was there himself. 
 
 VIII. Any Ringer, who absents himself from the tower three 
 months, without providing a proper substitute, shall be considered 
 to have left the company ; but he shall be entitled to a share of our 
 moneys up to the time he left off coming. 
 
 IX. No person shall be considered a Ringer qualified to share any 
 of the moneys given to us, until he is able to raise and fall his bell 
 in proper time and place, and ring one peal of changes. And before 
 any person is taken into our company, his name shall be given to the 
 Minister and Churchwardens : and if he is approved by them, he shall 
 pay to our fund two shillings and sixpence, as entrance-money ; after 
 which we will endeavour to teach him. 
 
 X. That, for practising, we agree to meet every Saturday evening 
 throughout the year at half -past six o'clock in the winter, and at 
 half-past seven in the summer ; excepting when any person (man, 
 woman, or child rich or poor) is lying dead, between Upton Lane 
 and Westover or near the church when the bells, out of respect 
 to the feelings of the friends of the deceased, should be silent. And 
 also during Lent that is from Ash "Wednesday to Easter ; but we 
 will meet on the evening of Shrove Tuesday instead of the Saturday 
 in that week.
 
 23 
 
 XI. If any Ringer comes fifteen minutes after tho time, or is 
 absent unless through sickness or leaves the belfry before the bells 
 are down (unless the other Ringers consent to his going off) he 
 shall forfeit threepence. 
 
 XII. If by mutual agreement we meet on any other evening of a 
 working day, for practising, the same rule is to hold good. 
 
 XIII. That, for ten shillings given for a wedding, we agree to 
 ring one hour ; unless it should happen on a Sunday morning, and 
 there is not time before the ten o'clock service bell. For twenty 
 shillings given, we will ring one hour after the wedding, and one 
 hour in the evening : and, if any more is given, we agree to ring but 
 one hour more, about the middle of the day. 
 
 XIV. After the funeral of any one of our body, we agree to ring a 
 muffled peal without any pay. And after the funeral of any good 
 Christian, in the full Communion of the Church, we agree to ring a 
 muffled peal when requested by the relatives through the minister. 
 And when the parties are unable to give anything, it shall be freely 
 done by us as a work of Christian love and charity. 
 
 XV. If any Ringer refuse to ring on account of the small amount 
 of the money given at a wedding, or by benefit clubs, at Whitsun- 
 tide, or on any other special occasion provided it be not less than ten 
 shillings he shall forfeit one shilling : and if, for the want of him, 
 the six bells cannot be rung, he shall forfeit all that would have been 
 given to the company. 
 
 XVI. We agree not to commit any damage in the belfry or tower, 
 to the ropes or bells, nor to suffer any to be done. If any of us is 
 wilfully guilty of it, he shall pay for it out of his share, or leave the 
 company, and be reported by the foreman to the Churchwardens. 
 
 XVII. The Ringer who fetches the keys of the tower from the 
 vicarage is to be answerable for taking them back. 
 
 XVIII. The Bells are not to be rung improperly, nor in any other 
 way than the usual mode of ringings (except in case of fire, which 
 God prevent) ; nor are the bells to be fired or clashed excepting on 
 the 5th of November, twelve rounds in the evening.
 
 24 
 
 XIX. There is to be no ringing on Sundays, for any person or 
 thing excepting for a wedding, if there is time before ten o'clock; 
 and on the Sunday mornings stated in the next rule. 
 
 XX. The ringing days are the Queen's birthday, and the 5th of 
 November, morning and evening. If those days fall on a Sunday, 
 then the ringing is to be on the Monday following ; for which the 
 Churchwardens pay twelve shillings each day, and twelve shillings 
 when the Bishop comes. Also before eight o'clock on the mornings 
 of Christmas Day, Easter Day, Ascension Day or Holy Thursday, 
 and Whitsunday, being specially to do honour to our blessed Lord 
 and Saviour, Old Year's eve, and New Year's morning. For these 
 last occasions we trust to the generosity of the parishioners, to give 
 us what New Year's gift they please. All which our foreman shall 
 enter in a book, which any subscriber to the fund may see. 
 
 XXI. As a body, we agree not to spend our moneys in drinking ; 
 but every Ringer, having received his share, shall be at liberty to do 
 with it what he pleases. And if any member of our company re- 
 proaches another member for refusing to join and spend all together 
 he shall forfeit one shilling. 
 
 XXII. If any disputes or misunderstandings arise among the 
 Ringers (which God forbid), they may be referred to the Minister 
 and Churchwardens ; and, if so, we agree to abide by their decision. 
 
 XXIII. And in order to promote our own respectability and to 
 secure the gift of thirty shillings offered to us by some unknown 
 friend, through the Vicar added to his own New Year's gift of ten 
 shillings making together forty shillings for the six, seven, or eight 
 oldest members of our company who live in the parish, and not more 
 than one mile from the church ; we agree, that on Christmas Day, 
 Easter Day, and Whitsunday, when there is early morning ringing, 
 and sometimes between nine and ten on a Sunday morning for a 
 wedding on all those days, six of us at least, and all if possible, 
 shall be particularly careful to attend the services of the Church, and 
 in proper time ; and that whoever is absent, or comes in late, shall 
 forfeit, of his share of the said forty shillings, half-a-crown. 
 
 XXIY. That if either of us should disgrace himself by being
 
 25 
 
 drunk on n ringing day, or in the belfry, he shall forfeit half-a-crown ; 
 and also be in danger of being turned out of our company, if the 
 other Ringers, or the Minister and Churchwardens, think fit to do so. 
 
 XXV. That if any Ringer of the said number is guilty of fighting, 
 quarrelling, swearing, drinking, or smoking in the belfry, he shall 
 forfeit one shilling. "We know that we have our own houses to eat 
 and to drink in, and our own firesides where we can sit down and 
 smoke. " There is a time and place for all things." 
 
 XXVI. None but the Ringers, or their substitutes, should handle 
 the bells. And the foreman is not to allow any "idle-corner- 
 youths" of the place to be with the company of Ringers in the 
 belfry. The foreman also is to be responsible for the conduct of the 
 company in the belfry, and to report to the Minister any ill conduct 
 of any member which comes to his knowledge; and also if any 
 damage is done. 
 
 XXVII. No evening ringing is to begin after eight o'clock, nor 
 to be continued later than nine ; excepting on the evening of the 
 old year or forfeit sixpence each Ringer. 
 
 XXVIII. The use of the bells is to be confined strictly to eccle- 
 siastical purposes, as they were always intended to be : that is, they 
 are not to be rung for any political matters, such as elections ; nor 
 lawsuits, or trials, and such like ; nor for any clandestine or run- 
 away marriages, nor marriages elsewhere than at the church; nor 
 for prizes ; nor to be fired or clashed, excepting twelve rounds on 
 the 5th of November evening ; if they are, the whole of the thirty 
 shillings will be withheld: nor for any unusual special purpose, 
 without first obtaining the consent of the Minister and one Church- 
 warden, which the foreman is to do BEFOBE he gives any notice to 
 the Ringers. 
 
 NOTE. All these latter forfeits will be kept back from the said 
 forty shillings, and will not be divided among the other Ringers, 
 but will be given to some other purpose. If these rules are 
 found to answer, after a trial of two years, from New Year's 
 day, 1848, the thirty shillings now offered will probably be 
 doubled; at least the Vicar promises to use his influence to 
 ge*t it.
 
 26 
 
 XXIX. And now, lastly, wo agree to endeavour, as much as in 
 us lies, to be good Christians at all times, and regular attendants at 
 the service of the Church, either at Bitton or Oldland ; not to break 
 the Sabbath, for our own happiness here and hereafter. And we 
 must acknowledge, that if we can attend to ring for the sake of 
 getting a trifle, or to save a forfeit, or for our pleasure, it is cer- 
 tainly a discredit to us not to attend to worship the Lord God 
 Almighty for the good of our own souls, who has redeemed us 
 through Christ from eternal death. Witness our hands : 
 
 (Signed) G. B. 
 
 M. H. 
 
 W. B. 
 
 I. B. 
 
 R. H. 
 
 T. B. 
 
 S. P. 
 
 G. W. 
 
 "We, the Vicar and Churchwardens of Bitton, subscribe our names, 
 as approving the annexed regulations for the conduct of the Ringers ; 
 and when any person wishes to become a member of the company, 
 he will be expected to promise to conform to them by subscribing 
 his name, agreeably to a resolution of a full Vestry Meeting held at 
 Bitton, 1799; when rules of the same meaning, though worded 
 rather differently, were drawn up and signed by the Ringers of that 
 time. And the Churchwardens were then instructed to see that 
 there should be no more than one company. 
 
 (Signed) H. T. E. Vicar. 
 
 W M 1 
 
 > Churchwardens. 
 
 Jan. 1848. J. T. / 
 
 ONE WORD OF ADVICE. 
 
 Bingers, remember this that nothing can keep yon together, but sobriety 
 of character, and harmony among yourselves. Without these, you will be 
 like a rope of sand, doomed to drop to pieces, and leave your cheerful Tower 
 in sullen silence.
 
 CHIMING: 
 
 AN APPENDIX 
 
 PEACTICAL EEMAEKS 
 
 BELFRIES AND RINGERS, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. HENRY THOMAS ELLACOMBE, M.A., 
 
 OS OBIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD ; RECTOR OF CLYSI ST. GEORGE, DEVONSHIRE ; 
 FO BUBBLY VIC An OF BITTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 LONDON : 
 BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET. 
 
 MDCCCI/X.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I HAVE had the pleasure of receiving so many letters from 
 clergymen and laymen in different parts of the kingdom, for 
 a fuller and more detailed explanation of my method of 
 chiming, that it is supposed that this brochure of mine will 
 be more generally serviceable, if I show in a cut the principle 
 of this simple contrivance, which, without vanity, but in 
 justice to myself, I claim as my own. Any ingenious village 
 workman can set it up, but he must vary the form of the 
 levers, and the position of the pulleys, just as a house bell- 
 hanger would vary the cranks according to circumstances. 
 
 Referring to page 11 of "Remarks," and the plate 7 an- 
 nexed, the iron balls (1) should vary in size from 3 in. to 
 5 \ in. diam., and by drilling an inch hole, at the point 
 which strikes the bell, a plug of wood may be driven in, and 
 so a more mellow sound will be produced. And if a piece of 
 leather, or felt, be added to the wood, the effect is that of a 
 muffle; and, for funerals, an extra set of gear may be set 
 up, so as to strike on another point of the sound bow. It is 
 always better to make these chime-hammers strike anywhere 
 but where the clapper strikes, a little to the right or left as it 
 can be managed. The spindles, or axes (rollers, as the organ 
 builder calls them), may require to be varied in length, but 
 generally six inches will do, and these ought to work very 
 freely in the cheeks or holes (2). A well-fitted rule-joint 
 which a good workman might suggest, would be objectionable, 
 because it would require more frequent oiling, and, being 
 
 A 2
 
 exposed to the damp of the bell chamber, might soon get set 
 fast from rust ; but all the pulleys should be well made, and 
 so mounted in a carriage that they may be easily taken in 
 and out. The pins should be turned and fitted with a key, 
 or nut and screw. Three pulleys to each bell will be generally 
 sufficient ; (perhaps two may be enough for the bell just over 
 the stand), one immediately under the end of the lever, fixed 
 with coach screws, as best it may be, to the under side of the bell 
 chamber floor (6), and in a direction to lead the line to the 
 pulley (7)* which plumbs above the stand or floor, where a nest 
 of pulleys (8) is fixed about six feet from the stand. The 
 upper pulleys may be of cast iron, four inches diam.; they 
 should be bushed with brass and fitted up in carriages, each 
 one adapted to its place and required angle. " Side pulleys" 
 are not good. 
 
 The lower pulleys, which are to be fitted in a nest (8), 
 should be of hard wood, and brass bushed, that they may 
 make no noise. 
 
 This explanation, in addition to what may be seen at page 
 11 of "Remarks," and by referring to the accompanying 
 illustrations, will probably be sufficiently clear to enable any 
 person to complete the whole. In some places it may be 
 necessary to fix pieces of quarter timber to the bell cage, for 
 supporting the cheeks (2) in which the levers work, as the 
 floor may be too much below the bells. 
 
 By this contrivance, the bells are always ready to be 
 chimed, and it may be done by man, woman, or child, or even 
 by the clergyman himself ; neither is there anything to in- 
 terfere with the ringing of the bells, provided the lines are 
 untied, to allow the hammers to fall down at rest () . The 
 tones are brought out with a soft, mellow sound, and all the 
 harmonics are clearly generated, for nothing lies against the 
 side of the bell, the hammer falling away at once by its own 
 
 * Each of these pulleys requires to be fixed at a different angle, according to 
 the position of the end of the lever .
 
 5 
 
 weight. The wear and tear of the whole gear is very trifling, 
 and with care will last for years. When at rest (4), the ham- 
 mers lie on the floor, or on a blocking under the bells. For 
 chiming, each line is to be pulled down, so as to raise the 
 hammer within six or eight inches of the bells, and then it 
 must be tied to the bar (Plate vii 9), with a double half 
 hitch in a bow ; when ceased the knots are to be unslipt. 
 
 A patent for " Ringing Bells by Machinery" has lately been 
 taken out by Mr. Jones, of Pendleton, the particulars of which 
 may be obtained at the patent office for a few pence. It is a 
 contrivance for chiming, not for ringing. The following is 
 extracted from my remarks in the " Builder," Oct. 2, 1858 : 
 
 " Notwithstanding the daily marvels produced by science, I 
 do not believe a peal of bells will ever be raised, rung, changed, 
 and ceased, by any machinery. Ringing always implies that 
 bells are swung; and it is only by that swinging that the 
 grand full tone of a bell can be brought out. 
 
 " Mr. Jones's machine may be very ingenious ; but be that 
 as it may, there has been in use at Ottery St. Mary, for many 
 years beyond memory, an arrangement of outside hammers, 
 connected with wires and cranks and levers, and a barrel 
 fitted with lifters like a chime- barrel ; and by turning a handle 
 a person very easily chimes all the bells. 
 
 " About forty years ago, I set up a contrivance at Bitton, 
 with hammers striking inside, and levers, lines, and pulleys, 
 all brought to a given point on the floor. This arrangement 
 is very simple, and not liable to get out of order : it has been 
 in constant use. All dependence on a set of ringers is got 
 rid of, and soft and subdued harmony is produced ; and the 
 arrangement in no way interferes with the swinging of the 
 bells, for ringing either singly or in peal." 
 
 Since these " Remarks," to which I now add this Appendix, 
 were published, my station in the Lord's vineyard has been 
 changed from Bitton, county of Gloucester, to Clyst St. 
 George, county of Devon ; but it may be satisfactory to state
 
 that the rules for the ringers still work well there. They would 
 not be applicable every where, and were not required here. 
 Wherever such rules are introduced they should be as short 
 and simple as possible; but one thing I recommend most 
 forcibly, wherever it can be managed, viz., that " one way to 
 reform the belfry is to bring the ringers down, ad pavimentum, 
 and in conspectu ecclesice" and then, whatever evil work may 
 have been carried on heretofore upstairs, and out of sight, will 
 soon disappear. There may be many difficulties and obstacles 
 in the way of making such an arrangement, both practically 
 as well as socially ; but it is worth a clergyman's while to take 
 the whole cost of it upon himself, if that should be a matter 
 of contention ; it has been done here, though the road for the 
 ropes was rather crooked, and the length of " the pull" greatly 
 increased ; however, the ringing is managed very easily, and with 
 more comfort than when the ringers were nearer to the bells. 
 
 There has also been set up here my contrivance for chim- 
 ing. It is true we have but three bells, but now they are 
 never jangled as heretofore but evenly and regularly speak 
 out their simple original music as the service hours return 
 and sometimes it is done by a child not eight years old. 
 
 It is nearly ten years ago that the foregoing " Remarks " 
 were published, and since that time, it may be hoped that an 
 interest about bells has very much increased, and that many 
 are turning their attention to a reform in the belfry ; with 
 this object in view, perhaps I cannot do better than second 
 the advice given by the Rev. Mr. Lukis, in his " Book on 
 Bells/' viz : " that the clergyman himself (but I would add, 
 as an amendment, if he be strong and healthy] become a 
 ringer, and take his place in the belfry." He will, probably, 
 be able to do this more comfortably and effectively with a 
 young set, meeting them for the love of the thing, and so try 
 to raise the tone and caste of the ringers, and induce his 
 respectable inhabitants to join, not for filthy lucre sake, but 
 for the honour and pleasure of ringing. The old hands, if
 
 they be not incorrigibly bad, may be left to ring all the peals 
 for money's sake, which is, probably, the root of all the evil 
 Avhich so shamefully exists in many of our belfries. 
 
 And here I would quote a letter lately addressed to me by one 
 of the middle class a person well experienced in the art and 
 mystery of ringing, and who often takes part in a peal of grand- 
 sire trebles which lasts from two to three hours. " The public 
 seem to think that ringing is extremely laborious work, and 
 that the beer can is a necessary appendage : but if they under- 
 stood the art of variation, they would then enjoy the exertion 
 as we do. It is a pity that this noble art should be so little 
 understood by the more enlightened upper classes. How de- 
 lightful it would be to see a body of gentlemen take to the 
 ringing of the bells of their parish church, learning the art 
 thoroughly. I am convinced it only wants a start, and then 
 we should have in the church, among the congregation, those 
 who resort to the steeple, and shut out the low characters who 
 now infest the belfries/' 
 
 Another most respectable ringer in the midland counties 
 writes thus : " No music can be compared with bells in full 
 swing no recreation so manly, amusing, and skilful as the 
 ringing of them. I wish the science were made indispensable 
 among the qualifications of a clergyman, who has, or ought to 
 have, the command of both bells and ringers ; then we might 
 hope for a reformation in ringers and an advancement of the 
 science, but till then, I fear, all attempts will be troublesome 
 if not futile." 
 
 And surely there is good reason for this, when the fact is so 
 patent, that the ringers are seldom to be seen at church ; and 
 in the metropolis, there are not twenty, of all who ring in the 
 fifty to sixty steeples, who attend the services of the sanctuary. 
 
 After saying thus much by way of encouraging ringing, it 
 may seem strange to say a word against the ingenious science 
 of change ringing : but as I have stated in my "Remarks" (page 
 16), that the evils probably came in with the invention of
 
 8 
 
 whole or round wheels, by means of which bells were manage- 
 able at every pull, and could be rung high, and changed, and 
 set ad libitum ; and the well-to-do merry-men of a parish 
 joining in this new recreation, they easily raised money enough 
 to increase the original simple peals of three to six or eight, 
 aud so increased the number of their fraternity ; and in propor- 
 tion, the evils which we now deplore were enlarged ; aud that 
 is not all : for having managed to add to the number of a peal, 
 whether a tower was built for such an increased number or not, 
 they would call in the help of some ingenious and interested 
 mechanic, and get him to squeeze in the extra bells by erecting 
 additional framework sometimes upon the original cage 
 which being raised with long timbers, it became almost im- 
 possible to brace the whole properly, so as to make the extra 
 wood-work stiff enough to bear the swing of the additional 
 heavy metal : and therefore, in order to keep the cage steady, 
 wedge after wedge would be driven between the timbers and 
 the walls of the tower ; and hence the irreparable damage done 
 to many a beautiful build ing : which, if not remedied in time, 
 must eventually bring down, if not the whole tower, the whole 
 superstructure. 
 
 The ringing in olden times could never act with such batter- 
 ing-ram violence ; because, with the half wheels (Plate 2), the 
 bells were not raised to a set pull, but rung a little above stock 
 level, and kept there a certain time, and then ceased ; and so 
 the ringing would be continued, and each time of its repetition 
 was called a peal ; and supposing this to be correct, it is more 
 easy to understand the meaning of so many peals in a day, as 
 "at St. Michael's, thirty -three peals, at St. John's, thirty- 
 three peals, at Trinity, thirty-three peals, at Babyleake, because 
 it was so high, fifty-seven peals, and every peal 12," the number 
 rung at the funeral of Lady Isabella Berkley, circa 1500, as 
 recorded in Smyth's " Lives," p. 165. 
 
 Then they did not set the bells, for there was no sally : the 
 ringer held the rope by its end : and in those early days, when
 
 9 
 
 the priests themselves were the ringers, there were rings of 
 brass, sometimes of silver, at the end, for the hands. (Fos- 
 brooke Monac. p. 289.) 
 
 And this explanation of a peal may be an answer to what 
 has been advanced, that there are not bells enough in some 
 parishes to ring what the 67th Canon, directs, viz. : " At the 
 death of a person, one short peal, and one before and one 
 after the burial." The ringing, even of a single bell for any 
 length of time, would be called a peal, and so it is now termed, 
 particularly in the north, where single bells prevail ; " touches" 
 and "peals " are terms used by change ringers for performances 
 on bells : they also speak of "pieces" and "flourishes:" by 
 each is understood a certain number of changes. 
 
 And here I would repeat a caution contained in my paper 
 on Bells, read before the Bristol Architectural Society, 
 December 10, 1849, with the practical remarks now re- 
 published. 
 
 " It may not be amiss to say a few words about the belfry 
 by which is generally meant that part of a church tower or 
 steeple in which the bells are hung, but it also means the 
 place upon which the ringers stand to ring. The place for 
 the bells is properly called the bell-chamber or loft, in which 
 the timbers are framed together and constructed into what is 
 commonly called the 'cage.' 
 
 " It is of the greatest consequence that the timbers should 
 take their bearing independent of the masonry, that is, not 
 fixed into it. 
 
 " If, in the course of years, as will be the case, the frame 
 should vibrate or get ricketty, it should not be made 
 steady by putting wedges between the beam ends and the 
 walls, as is commonly done by inexperienced workmen, but it 
 may be easily stiffened by driving hard oak or iron wedges in 
 at the backs of the tenons of the braces in the mortices in the 
 sill pieces. 
 
 "The construction of the timbers or cage of St. PauPs,
 
 10 
 
 London, may be taken as a good example of hanging heavy 
 bells in a belfry. The timbers should always be laid on wooden 
 plates, the whole resting either on stone corbels, or on a set- 
 off formed in the wall. It is not the downward pressure from 
 the weight of metal, but the lateral pressure or vibration 
 caused by the motion of the bells, which does the mischief, 
 especially if any of the timbers are let into the walls or touch 
 them laterally. To avoid this, a well-constructed cage is 
 trussed and braced diagonally with most substantial timbers ; 
 the weight of the whole, if properly rested on corbels or set- 
 offs, keeps it steady. The higher the bells are placed in the 
 tower, the more does the vibration caused by ringing them 
 affect the masonry." 
 
 Of late years, a growing feeling has most happily prevailed 
 with regard to the organ and our parochial psalmody and 
 Church services ; and, having lived to test the value of music 
 in our parishes and schools, I would ask Why may not 
 something be done in the same way with the music of the 
 bells ? Mr. Lukis, in his book (p. 49), suggests " a religious 
 fraternity " and I would beg leave to commend specially to 
 the notice of my younger brethren, the clergy, the result of 
 his experiences in his parish. " The experience I have here 
 has convinced me, that it is utterly futile to attempt to re- 
 form the ringers, or to maintain the respectable character of 
 the ringers, without a regular personal attendance in the 
 belfry. But it is the same in that as in everything else under- 
 taken in a parish ; there can be no success without trouble 
 and perseverance ; and who should grudge his time and trouble 
 in any matter that concerns the well-being of his parishioners ? 
 People may, perhaps, smile at the idea of a clergyman making 
 a point of entering the belfry with his ringers, but they may 
 depend upon it that much real good may be effected by 
 his so doing." 
 
 If the society recommended by Mr. Lukis is to be "a 
 religious fraternity," we must adopt the usages of by-gone days,
 
 11 
 
 thus described by Dr. Rock, in " The Church of our Fathers," 
 on the subject of guilds, (vol. ii. p. 395) "Mutual help 
 with regard to this world and the next, this life's present wel- 
 fare, and the soul's happiness hereafter, was the bond which 
 linked the Anglo-Saxon layman with his fellow laymen in these 
 holy companionships." 
 
 It has been supposed that these guilds very nearly resembled 
 modern clubs and benefit societies. Every one has heard of 
 societies of ringers, viz., college youths Cumberland youths 
 &c. In the library of All Soul's College, Oxford,' is a manu- 
 script of the order of a company of ringers called the " Schol- 
 lars of Cheapside," dated 1602. The probability is, that these 
 associations are relics of the ancient guilds ; for as early as the 
 time of Edward the Confessor, there was in Westminster a 
 guild of ringers. They are recognised by Henry III., as appears 
 by a patent roll, in the 39th of his reign, dated the 6th of 
 March, which may be freely translated thus : 
 
 " Know all men, that we have granted to our Brethren of 
 the Guild of Westminster, who are appointed to ring the great 
 bells there, that they and their successors shall receive annually 
 out of our exchequer 100 shillings, fifty at Easter, and fifty at 
 Michaelmas, until we provide the like sum for them payable 
 out of lands for the said ringing. And that the brethren and 
 their successors for ever enjoy all the privileges and free cus- 
 toms, which they have enjoyed from the time of Edward the 
 Confessor, to the date of these presents." 
 
 To render this pamphlet more useful to those who may be 
 pleased to consult it, I have added the five plates which were 
 annexed to my paper on bells, published in the report of the 
 Bristol Architectural Society, 1850, the whole of which were 
 lent to Mr. Lukis to illustrate his book. The first is copied 
 from a bell in Mersennus de Harmonicis. Folio, 1648, trans- 
 lating his Latin terms. 
 
 I don't remember to have seen any bell in England fur- 
 nished with a clapper of the form represented. The tail, com-
 
 12 
 
 monly called the "flight," is so short, that the probability 
 is that such a clapper would " rear" in peal ringing as is now 
 practised in England. The way to cure a clapper of rearing, 
 or doubling its stroke, is to lengthen the flight ; but this must 
 be done with great caution, or the result may be fatal to the 
 bell. This lengthening of the clapper is probably the cause of 
 the " slatting" of the noble bell given by Cardinal Wolsey to 
 Sherbourne, an injury which lately befel it while ringing for 
 evening service on Advent Sunday, 1858. 
 
 And here I would give another caution. The sexton, or 
 whoever may be employed to chime, is apt to "clock the 
 bells" that is, to hitch the rope round the flight of the clap- 
 per to facilitate his work below ; in this way the clapper is 
 pulled athwart the ground truck, the rope gets chafed, and 
 the clapper is damaged in the crown staple; but what is 
 worse, some how or other the bells get " slat" This occurred 
 at Canterbury a few years ago, when the cathedral being under 
 repair, the bells were not rung out ; but to make a joyous sound 
 on festival occasions, the bells were " clocked," or clappered, 
 and in this way two of them were broken and had to be re- 
 cast. Mr. Denison, in his clever lecture on church building, 
 (p. 271,) has given good advice on this very point : " When- 
 ever bells are occasionally clappered, care should be taken to 
 put some separate pulleys in front of the middle of each bell, 
 with a separate and thinner rope to the clapper, and so ar- 
 ranged that the ringer cannot hold it against the bell, for I 
 believe more bells are cracked by tying the ropes to the 
 clapper, than by all other means whatever." 
 
 The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th plates explain themselves. 
 
 The 6th is kindly lent by Messrs. Warner. It represents 
 a bell " tucked up " in the stock. This tucking up varies, 
 according to the size and weight of a bell ; in small bells it is 
 not required, and is among the " secrets " of bell hanging, as 
 upon it depends the striking of the clapper in proper time, 
 and the rising of the bell in due course. Here is also shown
 
 18 
 
 the slider for the stay, working on a sweep piece*, which is an 
 improvement. The other plate illustrates my contrivance for 
 chiming. 
 
 It often happens that, in the course of years, the constant 
 battering of the heavy clapper in one place, makes a pit on 
 the sound bow ; the bell is no doubt weakened, and the 
 sound may be affected. The usual mode of cure is to turn 
 the bell, or quarter it, so that the clapper may strike on 
 another place; this obliges the insertion of a new crown- 
 staple, or altering the hanging of the clapper, which every 
 bell-hanger knows how to do. 
 
 With a view of obviating the supposed difficulty of this 
 operation (which after all is very trifling in the hands of a 
 good workman), a plan has been proposed by Mr. Denison 
 and Mr. Baker, by which a bell may be shifted round less 
 than a quarter. It is very doubtful whether the mode pro- 
 posed would not in practice require more hands than the old 
 way : time will decide this point. 
 
 It is said that the mushroom button, or flange, as shown in 
 the bells for the Westminster clock, is stronger than the old 
 fashioned canons, which are often defective. That may be; 
 but even if all the canons should be broken off, a bell may 
 be suspended and fastened to the stock by nuts and bolts 
 passed through the head of the bell, taking care to insert a 
 block of wood, of the required thickness, so that the bell may 
 hang at the same distance below the centre of the gudgeon 
 as it did before. Holes may be bored in the head of a bell, 
 without fear of damage to the sound. 
 
 In conclusion, and by way of advice, I would repeat, that 
 rules for ringers should be as short and simple as possible. 
 Though, in dealing with such persons, the advice of a heathen 
 is to be borne in mind : " Ne tu cede malis sed contra ca- 
 dentior ito," yet the words of Solomon must not be for- 
 
 * The curve may be taken from the outer edge of the wheel.
 
 14 
 
 gotten : " Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not 
 what to do in the end thereof."* 
 
 Rules in doggerel verse were very common a century and 
 more ago. I add a specimen, together with a list of bell 
 literature, which has from time to time been published in 
 " Notes and Queries." 
 
 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. 
 
 If any like to smoke or drink, 
 
 They must not do so here : 
 Good reason why just let them think 
 
 This is God's House of Prayer. 
 
 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. 
 
 * Prov. xxv. 8.
 
 15 
 
 If any one with spurs to's heels 
 
 Rings here at any time, 
 He must for breaking Articles 
 
 Pay SIXPENCE for his crime. 
 
 If 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 SHILLING is the Sexton's fee, 
 
 Who keeps the Church so well. 
 
 And when a ringer sets his bell, 
 
 And when his peal is o'er, 
 The rope he must hank up it well, 
 
 Or pence must forfeit FOUR. 
 
 If any at our Parson sneer, 
 
 Or Wardens' rules deride, 
 It is a rule of old, most clear, 
 
 That such shan't here abide. 
 
 The Sabbath day we wish to keep, 
 And come to Church to pray : 
 
 The man who breaks this ancient rule, 
 Shall never share our pay. 
 
 And ringers all should say or sing, 
 When bells are down and cease, 
 
 " May God preserve the Church and King, 
 And guide us Home in peace."
 
 16 
 
 BELL LITERATURE. 
 
 THOSE marked*, Cancellieri, in his work, calls Protestant 
 writers on the subject. 
 
 *Anon. Recueil curieux et ddifiant sur les Cloches de 1'Eglise, avec les 
 
 Ceremonies de leur Be*n6diction. Cologne, 1757. 
 Barraud (Abb.) Notice sur les Cloches. 8vo. Caen, 1844. 
 Boetneri (G. L.) Programme de Feudo Campanario. Gottingse, 1755. 
 Buonmattei (Ben.) Declamazione delle Campane, dopo le sue Cicalate 
 
 delle tre Sirocchie. Pisa, 1635. 
 
 Campani (Gio. Ant.) Opera. The frontispiece a large bell. Boma, 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 
 
 displiceat ? Leipsise, 1709. 4to. 
 Conrad (Dietericus.) De Campanis. Germanice. 
 *Eggers (Nic.) Dissertatio de Campanarum Materia et Forma. 
 Eggers (Nic.) Dissertatio de Origine et Nomine Campanarum. lense, 
 
 1684. 
 
 Eschenwecker. De eo quod justum est circa Campanas. 
 Fesc (Laberanus du). Des Cloches. 12mo. Paris, 1607 19. 
 *Goezii. Diatriba de Baptismo Campanarum. Lubeca3, 1612. 
 Grimaud (Gilb.) Liturgie Sacre'e, avec un Traite* des Cloches. Lyons, 
 
 1666. 4to. Pavia, 1678. 12mo. 
 
 *Hilschen (Gio.) Dissertatio de Campanis Templorum. Leipsise, 1690. 
 *Homberg (Gas.) De Superstitiosis Campanarum pulsibus, ad eliciendas 
 
 preces, quibus placentur fulmina, excogitatis. 4to. Frankfortise, 1577. 
 Lazzarinus (Alex.) De vario Tintinnabulorum Usu apud veteres Hebraos 
 
 et Ethnicos. 2 vols. 8vo. Romae, 1822. 
 Ludovici (G. F.) De eo quod justum est circa Campanas. Hate, 1708 et 
 
 1739. 
 Magii (Heir.) De Tintinnabulis, cum notis F. Swertii et Jungermanni. 
 
 12mo. Amstelodamffl et Hanovise, 1608, 1664, 1689. " A learned 
 
 work." PABE. 
 
 Marte'ne. De Ritibus Ecclesiae. 
 *Medelii (Geo.) An Campanarum Sonitus Fulmina, Tonitura, et Fulgura 
 
 impedire possit. 4to. 1703. 
 Mitzler (B. A.) De Campanis.
 
 17 
 
 *Nerturgii (Mar.) Campanula Peuitentiae. 4to. Dresden, 1644. 
 Paciaudi, Dissertaziono su due Campane di Capua. Neapoli. 1750. 
 Pacichclli (Ab. J. R.) De Tintinnabulo Nolano Lucubratio Autumnalis. 
 
 Neapoli, 1^93. Dr. Parr calls this " a great curiosity." 
 Pygii. De Campanis Dissertatio. 
 
 llocca (Ang.) De Campanis Commentarius. 4to. Romae, 1612. 
 *Reimanni (Geo. Chris.) De Campanis earumque Origine, vario Usu 
 
 Abusu, et Juribus. 4to. Isenaci, 1769. 
 Saponti (G. M.^ Notificazione per la solenne Benedizione della nuova 
 
 Campana da Collocarsi nella Metropolitans di 8. Lorenzo. Geneva, 
 
 1750. 
 
 Seligmanu (Got. Fr.) De Campana Urinatoria. Leipsise, 1677. 4to. 
 *Stockflet (Ar.) Dissertatio de Campanarum Usu. 4to. Altdorfii, 1665, 
 
 1666. 
 
 *Storius (G. M.) De Campanis Templorum. 4to. Leipsise, 1692. 
 Swertius (Fran.) 
 
 Thiers (G. B.) Des Cloches. 12mo. Paris, 1602, 1619. 
 Thiers (J. B.) Traite des Cloches. Paris, 1721. 
 *Walleri (Ar.) De Campanis et praecipuis earum Usibus. 8vo. Holmiae, 
 
 1694. 
 Willietti (Car.) Ragguaglio delle Campane di Viliglia. 4to. Roma, 
 
 1601. 
 Zech (F. S.) De Campanis et Instrumentis Musicis. 
 
 Without enumerating any Encyclopaedias (in most of which 
 may be found very able and interesting articles on the sub- 
 ject), in the following works the best treatises for all practical 
 purposes will be found : 
 
 Pirotechnia, del Vannuccio Biringuccio, nobile Senese, 1540, 1550, 1569, 
 1678. There is a French translation of it by Jasper Vincent, 1556 
 1572, 1627. The tenth chapter is about bells. Magius refers to it in 
 these words : " In ilia, perscriptum in Italico Sermone, et delineatum 
 quisque reperiet, quicquid ad artem ediscendam conducit, usque adeo, ut 
 et quo pacto, Campanse in turribus constituantur ac moveantur, edoceat, 
 optimeque figuris delineatis commonstret." 
 
 Ducange in Glossario, in vocibus -53s, 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 art and 
 mystery of bell-casting, &c., &c. 
 
 Puffendorf. De Campanarum Usu in obitu Parochiani publiee signifi- 
 cando, in ejus Observationibus. Jur. Univers., p. iv. No. 104. 
 
 B
 
 18 
 
 And now with regard to our English authors ; their pro- 
 ductions seem to be confined chiefly to the Art of Ringing y 
 as the following list will show : 
 
 Tintinalogia ; 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. 
 Campanalogia ; or, the Art of Ringing improved. 18mo. 1677. This 
 
 was by Fabian Steadman. 
 Campanalogia, improved by I. D. and C. M., London scholars. 18mo, 
 
 1702. 
 
 Ditto 2nd edition 18mo. 1705. 
 
 Ditto 3rd edition 18mo. 1733. 
 
 Ditto 4th edition 18mo. 1753. 
 
 Ditto 5th edition, by J. Monk 18mo. 1766. 
 
 The School of Recreation ; or, Gentleman's Tutor in various Exercises one 
 
 of which is Ringing. 1684. 
 Clavis Campatialogia, by Jones, Reeves, and Blackmore. 12mo. 1788. 
 
 Reprinted in 1796 and 1800. 
 
 The Ringer's True Guide, by S. Beaufoy. 12mo. 1804. 
 The Campanalogia ; or, Universal Instructor in the Art of Ringing, by 
 
 William Shipway. 12mo. 1816. 
 
 Elements of Campanalogia, by H. Hubbard. 12mo. 1845. 
 The Bell : its Origin, History, and Uses, by Rev. A. Gatty. 12mo. 1847. 
 Ditto, enlarged. 1848. 
 
 Blunt's Use and Abuse of Church Bells. 8vo. 1846. 
 Ellacombe's Practical Remarks on Belfries and Ringers. 8vo. 1850. 
 Ellacombe's Paper on Bells, with Illustrations, in the Report of Bristol 
 
 Architectural Society. 1850. 
 
 Croombe's Few Words on Bells and Bell-ringing. 8vo. 1851. 
 Woolf s Address on the Science of Campanology. Tract. 1851. 
 Plain Hints to Bell-ringers. No. 47, of Parochial Tracts. 1852 ? 
 The Art of Change Ringing, by B. Thackrah. 12mo. 1852. 
 
 To these may be added, as single poetical productions, 
 
 The Legend of the Limerick Bell Founder, published in the Dublin 
 
 University Magazine, Sept. 1847. 
 The Bell, by Schiller. 
 
 There is a curious collection of MSS. on the subject by the 
 late Mr. Osbora, among the Additional MSS., Nos. 19,368 and 
 19,373. 
 Theophilus, translated by Hendrie. 1847. Amongst his Treatises, in the
 
 19 
 
 85th cap., he minutely describes the founding of Bells. He is supposed 
 
 to have written circa 1200. 
 Hombergii. Responsio de superstitione Campanarum puhdbus, quibus 
 
 placentur Fulmina. Frankfort, 1677. 
 Feileri (J.) Turden Clocke. Leipsic. 
 Emdenii (J.) Clocken, New. 1634. 
 Spiers (R. P.) Mainrad. Tractatus Musicus Compositoris Practicus. 
 
 Auxburgh, 1746. 
 Orders of the Company of Ringers in Cheapside. 1603. MS. cxix. in All 
 
 Souls' Lib. Oxon. 
 
 Launay der Glockengiesser. Leipsic, 1834. 
 Hubbard's Elements of Campanology. Ipswich, 1854. 
 Quarterly Review, article Church Bells. Sept., 1854. 
 Several Peals on Bell's Penny Post. 18567. 
 
 Many Papers on Bells in the Musical Gazette, and Proceedings of the In- 
 stitute of British Architects. 1856 7. 
 Changes, Literary, Pictorial, and Musical, by W. F. Stephensori. Ripon, 
 
 1857. 
 
 Denison on Bells and Clocks, in his Lectures on Church Building. 1856. 
 Baker on Great Bell at Westminster. 1857. 
 Brown's Law of Church Bells. 1857. 
 Brown's History and Antiquity of Bells. 1856. 
 
 Corblet's Note sur une Cloche fondue par Morel de Lyon. Paris, 1859. 
 Lukis's Account of Church Bells. Lond., 1857. 
 Ellacombe's edition of Beaufoy's Ringers' True Guide. 1857. 
 Heinrick Otte, Glockenunde. Leipsic, 1858. 
 Words to Churchwardens about the Bells. 
 Words to Rural Deans. Devizes, 1858. 
 
 Hospianus de Templis, has a chapter on Bells. Folio. Geneva, 1602. 
 Durandus. De Ritibus Ecclesise. 
 Miller's Church Bells. Tract. 1843. 
 Plain Hints to Bell-ringers. Parochial Tract, No. 47. 
 Barbosa. Duo vota Consultiva de Campanis et de Ccemeteriis. 4to. 
 
 Circa., 1600. " Quaniis tantum libellus, tamen rarissimus." 
 Herrera (P. A.) Del Origen, 7 progresso del officio Durand. 
 Pygius (Albert.) Hist, de Pulsatione Campanarum in definitorum fre- 
 
 ventur.
 
 20 
 
 MESSRS. WARNERS have kindly supplied the following scale 
 of several Peals, showing the Note and Diameter of each 
 Bell, and the Weight (subject to slight variation.) 
 
 These tables will be found very useful to Clergymen and 
 Churchwardens who contemplate any new work in their 
 Belfries. 
 
 Other Founders have declined to furnish such a scale 
 for publication. 
 
 PEALS OF FOUR BELLS. 
 
 Nu 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 lb. 
 
 No 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 ib. 
 
 1. 
 
 27 
 
 E& 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 31 
 
 D 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 28 
 
 D 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 32 
 
 C $ 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 30 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 32 
 
 B& 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 36^ 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 32 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 
 A 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 36 
 
 B # 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 36.1 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 38J 
 
 G $ 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 40 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 45 
 
 n 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 PEALS OF FIVE BELLS. 
 
 No. Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 lb. 
 
 No. Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 lb. 
 
 1. 26 
 
 F 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 31 
 
 D 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 27 
 
 EB 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 32 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3. 28 
 
 D 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 30 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 36^ 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 32 
 
 B& 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 40 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 41 
 
 
 

 
 PEALS OF FIVE BELLS continued. 
 
 No 
 
 Diam, 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qr.s 
 
 . lb. 
 
 No. Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 11.. 
 
 1. 
 
 29 
 
 E 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 32 
 
 cjj: 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 31 
 
 D 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 32 
 
 c ft 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 36 
 
 A 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 38 
 
 Grff 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 36* 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 45 
 
 n 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 31 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 47 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 PEALS 
 
 OF SIX BELLS. 
 
 No 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 n 
 
 lb. 
 
 No 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 lb. 
 
 1. 
 
 28 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 32 
 
 eft 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 29 
 
 Dj 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 34 
 
 B 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 30 
 
 c ft 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 36^ 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 32 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 38^ 
 
 Gtt 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 B. 
 
 35 
 
 Aft 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 42^ 
 
 Fft 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 38 
 
 Gft 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 47 
 
 E 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 28 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 28 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 29 
 
 D 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 29 
 
 Dft 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 31 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 30^ 
 
 eft 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 33 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 32 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 &. 
 
 36 
 
 A 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 35 
 
 Aft 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 40 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 38 
 
 Gft 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 . 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 44 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 30 
 
 D 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 28 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 32 
 
 C 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 29 
 
 D 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 34 
 
 B & 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 31 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 36^ 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 33 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 40 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 36 
 
 A 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 45 
 
 F 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 40 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 57 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 44 
 
 1 
 

 
 22 
 
 PEALS OF EIGHT BELLS. 
 
 No. Ditun. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 Ib. 
 
 No. 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 iii. 
 
 1. 28 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 30 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2. 29 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 31 
 
 Djf 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 3. 30 
 
 D 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 33 
 
 C # 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 32 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 35* 
 
 B 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5. 35 
 
 B& 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 38 
 
 A 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6. 36 
 
 A 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 39* 
 
 G# 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. 39 
 
 G 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. 
 
 43 
 
 Ffl: 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 43 
 
 F 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 47 
 
 E 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 65 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt 
 
 84 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DONCASTER PEAL. 
 
 1. 29 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 31 
 
 Efj 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 2. 30 
 
 E 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 32 
 
 D 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3. 31* 
 
 D 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 34 
 
 C 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 4. 33 
 
 C 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 37 
 
 B & 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 5. 35* 
 
 BE 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 41 
 
 AS 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 6. 36* 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 43 
 
 G 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 7. 40 
 
 F 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. 
 
 48 
 
 F 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 8. 44 
 
 F 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 54 
 
 E& 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 68 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 111 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 PEALS OF TEN 
 
 BELLS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 
 
 Ib. 
 
 No. 
 
 Diam. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs 
 
 it.. 
 
 1. 
 
 Eft 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 E 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 D 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 c # 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 B 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 A 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 nf 
 
 G 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. 
 
 
 
 F 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 F # 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. 
 
 E 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. 
 
 D 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total weight Cwt. 
 
 130 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Total weight 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 176 
 
 3 
 

 
 23 
 
 SCALE OF SINGLE BELLS. 
 
 lorn. 
 
 Note. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 qrs. Ib. 
 
 Diam. Note. Cwt. 
 
 qrs. 11). 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 16 
 
 34 B 
 
 7 
 
 3 20 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 35 B 
 
 8 
 
 2 15 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 12 
 
 36 A; 
 
 : 9 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 8 
 
 37 A; 
 
 ! 9 
 
 1 20 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 38 G; 
 
 : 10 
 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 4 
 
 39 G 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 40 G 
 
 12 
 
 2 3 
 
 19 
 
 A # 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 41 G# 13 
 
 3 26 
 
 20 
 
 A# 
 
 1 
 
 3 19 
 
 42 F 13 
 
 2 1 
 
 21 
 
 A 
 
 2 
 
 1 22 
 
 43 F 
 
 14 
 
 1 16 
 
 22 
 
 G # 
 
 2 
 
 2 6 
 
 44 F 
 
 15 
 
 1 18 
 
 23 
 
 G 
 
 2 
 
 2 11 
 
 45 F# 15 
 
 3 14 
 
 24 
 
 F$ 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 46 E 
 
 17 
 
 3 4 
 
 25 
 
 F 
 
 3 
 
 2 3 
 
 47 E 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 E 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 48 F 
 
 21 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 Eg 
 
 4 
 
 3 8 
 
 49 E 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 29 
 
 E & 
 
 5 
 
 1 24 
 
 50 E 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 G$ 
 
 5 
 
 2 22 
 
 51 E 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 C 
 
 5 
 
 3 17 
 
 52 D# 25 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 B 
 
 6 
 
 1 10 
 
 53 D 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 C 
 
 7 
 
 2 5 
 
 54 E& 30 
 
 1
 
 Pf,ATE I. 
 
 [Soe Merconnus do Hnrmonicis Liber Qtinrtus. J 
 
 Ansa 
 
 Cerebrum vel Caput 
 
 Latus 
 
 Labium 
 
 Canons. 
 
 Haunch. 
 
 N.B. The Sound-Bow is the line of the thickest part, where the clapper 
 must strike. If the clapper strikes Jin inch too low, it will crack the 
 bell j if too high, it will not bring but the tone.
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Bell-wheel at Dunchideock, Devon, shewing the old half-wheel 
 beautifully moulded.
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 1 o 
 
 WHEEL. 
 
 1. Upright Spokes. 
 
 2. Transom or Long Rail. 
 
 3. Arms or Spokes. 
 
 4. Shrouding. 
 
 5. Sole of Wheel see Plan, Plato V. 
 
 6. Fillet see' Elevation, Plate V. 
 
 7. Head-stock. 
 
 8. Ground-truck. 
 
 9. Stay. 
 
 10. Catch, or Slider. 
 
 1 1. Timbers of Cage.
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 DETAILS.' 
 
 1. Brasses. 
 
 2. Gudgeons. 
 
 3. Straps. 
 
 4. Dogs or Gibs. 
 
 5. Coupling-plates. 
 
 6. Clapper, with mode of hanging. 
 
 7. Crown-staple inside the Bell. 
 
 8. Iron Hoop at end of Stock. 
 
 9. Fillet-strap and Screw-pin.
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 Elevation of Bell and 
 Stock. 
 
 Plan of Head-stock, looking down on the Bell
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 This shows the present method of hanging a Church Bell, with stock, stay, 
 slider, wheel, pulley and rope, either as a single bell or in peals.
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 1. Ball of Cast Iron. 
 2 and 3. Iron Checks. 
 
 4. Position of Hammer 
 
 or Ball at rest. 
 
 5. Ditto, when tied down 
 
 below, for chiming. 
 
 6. Pulley under the 
 
 Floor. 
 
 7. Pulleys fixed at dif- 
 
 ferent angles. 
 
 8. Nest of Pulleys of 
 
 Wood. 
 
 9. Fixed Bar, wood or 
 
 iron. 
 
 The Author's Contrivance for 
 Chiming side view. .