42 



&u Account of tfjc Htng of Bells noto in tfje 

 ©ototr of tfjr Cijurd) of &ll Saints, Eoftg. 



By W. H. St. John Hope. 



E&L 



HE earliest records of the existence of Bells in All 

 Saints', Derby, is to be found in the first of two 

 volumes of the Churchwardens' Books of Orders, 

 now in private hands, commencing as early as 1465, where, in 

 the accounts of John Newton and John Clifton, Churchwardens 

 for the year 1510-11, occurs inter alia the following entry : — 

 " And to Ryngers of belles upon Corp s x' day .... iiij d ." 

 But, as the building of the present Tower was not commenced 

 until 1509, it is doubtful whether the five bells, which the 

 Church probably then possessed, are here referred to, unless 

 we may suppose that they were hung in a temporary wooden 

 building until the new steeple was ready for their reception. 



The first records of any of the existing bells are to be 

 found in the Churchwardens' Accounts which are extant from 

 1620, with occasional notices in the Books of Orders already 

 referred to. 



Before, however, entering into particulars, it will be better 

 to give a brief outline of the history of the present Ring of 

 ten Bells. 



When the Church first became possessed of a bell is unknown, 

 but the existing Tenor is certainly not later than the first half 

 of the fifteenth century. The remaining nine are all of the 

 seventeenth century. What was the number of the original 

 ring, or how first augmented, it is impossible to say ; but in 

 the year 1620, a new Treble was added to the existing five, 



