It is remarkable that these bells were moulded in the great frost,
1783. C. and R. Dalton, Fownders, York.
An extremely curious inscription appears on a bell at Pucknowle, Dorsetshire, dated 1629. It reads without stop or space—
Hethatvillpvrchashonovrsgaynemvstancientlatherstilmayntayne.
“Lather” is an old English term meaning “to make a noise.” A bell at Lichfield, which was destroyed in 1652, bore the following:—
I am ye bell of Jesus, and Edward is our King,
Sir Thomas Heywood first caused me to ring.
Many inscriptions on bells are, or contain, allusions to the vigilance of monastic times. Such is one at Ashill, Somerset, which simply says—
I call to wake you all.
As pithy an inscription appears on the bell of S. Ives, which is rung early in the morning. It is—
Arise, and go about your business.
A Coventry bell, dated 1675, says—