Chats on Old Copper and Brass

by Fred. W. Burgess

The Uses of Bells.

The older bells have seen varied service; they have been hung in church towers and in public places; they have sounded the note of alarm, and given the signal for historic assemblies; they have rung the death-knell of illustrious persons, and in rural England have summoned many generations of worshippers to Divine Service.

The bells, the loud clanging of which can be heard afar, are, however, the outcome of a gradual process of development. The evolution from the handbell to the turret bell was doubtless slow.

The simple handbell in its early stages was only a slight advance beyond the bells hung round the necks of the leaders of the flock, which were made by the village smith. Such primitive, and not always musical, bells were used from the earliest times to summon servants and workers in the field and tenderers of the flock. The practice dates from Biblical days, for it was an early Eastern custom for sheiks and patriarchs from their tent doors to summon their followers, or give the danger signal, by means of a bell.

Bible records tell of bells of gold suspended from the robes of priests, and of their use in temple worship. From that time onward they have been associated with religious ceremonials. In later times the early Christians employed bells of copper and brass and consecrated them to their use. Thus musical peals, rung collectively or individually, have sounded for all kinds of sacred rites. The bell—a mere handbell—was soon fixed over a doorway, or in some convenient place where it could with greater ease be rung by a cord. Then came the suggestion of larger bells, afterwards covered over, and finally hung in steeple or tower, like the campanile (a tower separated from the church) so often met with in Italy.

The church bell is said to have been introduced here by Paulinus, the Bishop of Mona, in A.D. 400. The next record of importance is the historical account of the Venerable Bede, who describes bells hung in towers—that was in A.D. 670. Some two hundred years after Bede's days a peal was rung for the first time in England, in the Abbey of Crowland. The pioneers of bell-ringing upon bells tuned in harmony were the ringers who produced such charming results with the bells of King's College, Cambridge.

The bells of churches were rung for ecclesiastical and for national and parochial purposes. There was the vesper bell for evensong, and there was the curfew bell which rang in obedience to the "lights out" enactments of Norman days (see Couvre de feu, [p. 113]).

Of the minor uses of bells there are many. In Tudor days small bells were familiar objects in hunting. They formed part of the equipment of the hawk or falcon. Of these we read in Shakespeare's works—of the "'larum bell and of sweet bells jangled out of tune." In Othello there is a record of the "snorting citizen with his bell."

FIG. 52.—BELL CAST BY JOHN PENNINGTON AT EXETER IN 1670.

FIG. 53.—GROUP OF BELL-METAL MORTARS.
(In the British Museum.)

Bellmen were the heralds of news in country towns, and the importance of their office was made clear by the "Oyez! Oyez!" by which they prefixed their tale. The ancient watchman clanged his bell and the light in the lantern slung at his waist flickered as he sounded the call. This is mentioned in an old ballad, the first verse of which reads:

"Time, master, calls your bellman to his task,

To see your doors and windows are all fast."

Numerous examples of curious bells are to be seen in our museums. In the Welsh Museum at Cardiff there is an old Celtic bell from Llangwynodl, shown side by side with an electrotype of the famous bell of St. Patrick. There is rather a sad note in the story of the fate of the old division bell of the Irish House of Commons, which, when the Parliament was abolished, was sold for use in a Dublin theatre as a call bell, eventually to be resold as old metal. That curio would at this juncture have been regarded as an historical relic of some value.

The restoration of bells sometimes leads to mistakes when it is found that the inscriptions upon them appear to indicate an older date than would be judged to be correct from their appearance. Of such restoration work an instance may be given of the peal of twelve bells recently placed in the tower of St. Mary's Church, which has become the cathedral of the new diocese of Chelmsford. The bells were dedicated in the presence of ringers from a large number of towns and villages in Essex, a county noted for its bell-towers and bells. The peal of ten replaces one cast in 1777, and the old inscriptions have been placed on the new bells. One reads:

"Tho' much against us may be said,

To speak for ourselves we are not afraid."

Perhaps one of the most pleasing thoughts associated with bells is that their earliest use has been perpetuated throughout the ages. The sheep bell hung round the neck of the bellwether in Eastern lands sounding so sweetly in the days of the Psalmist of old, finds its replica on the downlands of the Southern counties and on Salisbury Plain to-day, for there and in many other parts of rural England the tinkling jingle of the sheep bells may be heard.

Bells are not without their rivals, for gongs have been used in Eastern countries for years, and now they are popular elsewhere. They were originally a disc of beaten metal with upturned rim, although in some countries they took the place of drums in warfare, as well as playing a part in religious services. The circular gong is associated with China, Japan, and Java. The Burmese gong is of triangular form, and by way of contrast is made of polished metal, whereas those of the first-mentioned countries usually show hammer marks. Many of the old gongs were exceedingly musical, and when struck with a leather-covered wooden mallet were capable of producing a variety of sounds. Gongs old and new vary in size and, consequently, in depth of tone and volume of sound. Among the Eastern curios there are some highly decorative examples, especially among the smaller table gongs, the stands of which were often enriched by decorative ornament with inlays and enamels.