English Villages

by P. H. Ditchfield

CHURCH BELLS

Bell customs and village life—Antiquity of bells—Christening of bells—“Ancients”—Inscriptions—Dedications—Inscriptions of praise—Leonine verses—Curious inscriptions—Historical events recorded—Uses of bells—Passing bell—Pancake bell—Curfew—Guiding bells—Names of benefactors—Great bells—Sanctus bell—Sacring bell—Frequent ringing of bell—Change-ringing—Care of bells.

Bells play an important part in village life, and there are few more interesting branches of the study of village antiquities than bell-lore. Ringing customs throw much light upon the manners and doings of our ancestors. Bells rang to commemorate the great events in history, news of which was conveyed to the quiet village; they sounded forth the joys and sorrows of the parishioners in their generations, pealed merrily at their weddings, and mourned for them at their funerals. As the bell “Roland” of Ghent seemed endowed with a human voice, and was silenced for ever by Charles V. lest it should again rouse the citizens to arms, so these bells in our village steeples seem to speak with living tongues and tell the story of our village life.

Bells have great antiquity. Odoceus, Bishop of Llandaff, in 550 A.D., is said to have taken the bells away from his cathedral during a time of excommunication. Bede mentions them in the seventh century. In 680 Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth, imported some from Italy, and in the tenth century St. Dunstan hung many. Ireland probably had bells in the time of St. Patrick, who died in 493, and a bell that bears his name is preserved at Belfast. The earliest Saxon bells were not cast, but were made of plates of iron riveted together, and were probably used as hand-bells.

Bells were usually christened. Those of Crowland Abbey were named Pega, Bega, Tatwin, Turketyl, Betelin, Bartholomew, and Guthlac. A fire in 1091 destroyed this peal. Those of the priory of Little Dunmow, Essex, according to an old chartulary, were new cast and baptised in 1501.

“Prima in honore Sancti Michaelis Archangeli.”
“Secunda in honore Sancti Johannis Evangelisti.”
“Tertia in honore S. Johannis Baptisti.”
“Quarta in honore Assumptionis beatae Mariae.”
“Quinta in honore Sanctae Trinitatis et omnium sanctorum.”

The tenor bell at Welford, Berks, has the inscription, “Missi de celis habeo nomen Gabrielis 1596.”

Bells dating from before the year 1600 are called “ancients,” and it is a very pleasant discovery to find one of these in our church tower; and still more so if it be a pre-Reformation bell. Unfortunately a large number of “ancients” have been recast, owing chiefly to the craze for change-ringing which flourished in England between 1750 and 1830. The oldest bell in this country is said to be St. Chad’s, Claughton, which bears the date 1296. Pre-Reformation bells are very seldom dated.

Mediaeval bells have many curious inscriptions on them, which record the name of the donor, the bell-founder, together with heraldic and other devices. The inscriptions are often written in the first person, the bell being supposed to utter the sentiment, as it sends forth its sound. A study of the inscriptions on bells is full of interest. The earliest are simple dedications of the bell to our Lord, or to some saint. The principal inscriptions of this class are: “Jesus,” “Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judeorum,” “Sit nomen IHC benedictum,” “Sum Rosa Pulsata Mundi Maria Vocata,” “Sum Virgo Sancta Maria.” The invocation, “Ora pro nobis,” very frequently is inscribed on bells, followed by the name of some saint, and almost every saint in the Calendar is duly honoured in some bell inscription.

Bells were always rung on joyful occasions; hence inscriptions expressing thankfulness and praise were appropriate. Consequently we find such words as “Laus et Gloria Deo,” “Laus Deo Gratia Benefactoribus,” “Alleluja,” “Praise God,” and other similar inscriptions of praise.

Some old bells have Latin hexameter verses inscribed on them, composed by monks, which are called Leonine verses, from one Leoninus, a monk of Marseilles, who lived in the early part of the twelfth century. A few examples of these will suffice:—

“Est michi collatum ihc illud nomen amaetum.” “Protege Virgo pia quos convoco Sancta Maria.” “Voce mea viva depello cunta nocina.”

This refers to the belief that the ringing of bells drives away all demons and tempests, storms and thunders, and all other hurtful things. One bell proudly asserts:—

“Me melior vere non est campana sub ere.”

Inscriptions in English are often quaint and curious. Here is one from Somerset:—

“My treble voice Makes hearts rejoice.”

Another self-complacent bell asserts—

“If you have a judicious ear, You’ll own my voice is sweet and clear.”

Loyal inscriptions are often found, such as—

“For Church and King We always ring.” “I was made in hope to ring At the crownacion of our King.” “Ye people all that hear me ring Be faithful to your God and King.”

A bell that has been recast sometimes praises the merits of its new founder at the expense of its first maker, as at Badgworth, Gloucester:—

“Badgworth ringers they are mad, Because Rigbe made me bad; But Abel Rudhall you may see Hath made me better than Rigbe.”

Sometimes all the bells which compose a peal tell their various uses. Thus at Bakewell we find some verses on each bell:—

1. “When I begin our merry Din This Band I lead from discord free; And for the fame of human name, May every Leader copy Me.” 2. “Mankind, like us, too oft are found Possess’d of nought but empty sound.” 3. “When of departed Hours we toll the knell, Instruction take and spend the future well.” 4. “When men in Hymen’s Bands unite, Our merry peals produce delight; But when Death goes his dreary Rounds, We send forth sad and solemn sounds.” 5. “Thro’ grandsires and Tripples with pleasure men range, Till Death calls the Bob and brings on the Last Change.” 6. “When Vict’ry crowns the Public Weal With Glee we give the merry Peal.” 7. “Would men like us join and agree They’d live in tuneful Harmony.” 8. “Possess’d of deep sonorous Tone This Belfry King sits on his throne; And when the merry Bells go round, Adds to and mellows ev’ry Sound; So in a just and well pois’d State, Where all Degrees possess due Weight, One greater Pow’r one greater Tone Is ceded to improve their own.”

A Rutland bell has the following beautiful inscription:—

“Non clamor sed amor cantat in aure Dei.” (“Not noise but love sings in the ear of God.”)

Historical events are sometimes recorded, as at Ashover, Derbyshire, where a recasted bell states:—

“This old bell rung the downfall of Buonaparte and broke, April 1814.”

The uses of bells are often shown by their inscriptions. People were aroused by their sound each morning in many places, as at St. Ives, where a bell is inscribed—

“Arise and go about your business.”

The villagers were summoned to extinguish fires by ringing of bells. Thus Sherborne, Dorset, has a bell inscribed—

“Lord, quench this furious flame: Arise, run, help put out the same.”

Bell-ringing customs are very numerous.[[9]] The passing bell has many variants. In some places three times three strokes are sounded for a man, three times two for a woman, and three times one for a child. Out of the first-named of these practices probably arose the phrase, “Nine tailors make a man,” which is usually explained as more properly signifying “nine tellers make a man.” Then we have a pancake bell, which formerly summoned people to confession, and not to eat pancakes; a gleaning bell, an eight hours’ bell rung at 4 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m. The curfew bell survives in many places, which, as everyone knows, was in use long before William the Conqueror issued his edict. Peals are rung on “Oak Apple Day,” and on Guy Fawkes’ Day, “loud enough to call up poor Guy.” Church bells played a useful part in guiding the people homewards on dark winter evenings in the days when lands were uninclosed and forests and wild moors abounded, and charitable folk, like Richard Palmer, of Wokingham, left bequests to pay the sexton for his labour in ringing at suitable times when the sound of the bells might be of service to belated travellers. Names of benefactors often find a permanent memorial on the bells which they gave; as at Binstead, Hants, where a bell has the inscription—

“Doctor Nicholas gave five pound To help cast this peal tuneable and sound.”

And another bell in the same tower records the name of our famous Berkshire bell-founders, the Knight family. The inscription runs:—

“Samuel Knight made this ring In Binstead steeple for to ding.”

The story of our great bells, of “Great Toms,” “Big Bens,” “Great Peters,” need not be told here. They wake the echoes of our great cities, and are not heard among the hills and dales of rural England. Outside the church at the apex of the gable over the chancel arch there is sometimes a small bell-cote, wherein the sanctus or saunce bell once hung. This was rung during the service of High Mass when the Ter Sanctus was sung, in order that those who were engaged at their work might know when the canon of the Mass was about to begin, in order that they might kneel at the sound and pray to God. At Bosham Harbour the fishermen used to so join in the service of the sanctuary, and it is said that when George Herbert’s sanctus bell sounded for prayers, the ploughmen stopped from their work for a few moments and prayed. The sanctus bell differed from the sacring bell, which was a hand-bell rung inside the church at the elevation of the Host.

Old churchwardens’ accounts record the very frequent ringing of bells. In addition to the Great Festivals, Corpus Christi Day, Church feasts and ales, the occasions of royal visits, of episcopal visitations, victories, and many other great events, were always celebrated by the ringing of the church bells. In fact by the fondness of English folk for sounding their bells this country earned the title in the Middle Ages of “the ringing island.” Peal-ringing was indeed peculiar to England. It was not until the seventeenth century that change-ringing became general, and our old bells suffered much at the hands of the followers of the new fashion.

In recent years the study of our church bells has made great progress, and many volumes have been written upon the bells of various counties. Too long have our bells been left to the bats and birds, and the belfry is often the only portion of a church which is left uncared for. We are learning better now, and the bells which have sounded forth the joys and sorrows of our villagers for so many generations are receiving the attention they deserve.

[9] A collection of these will be found in my book on Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time.