I 



The Church Bells of Holywood. 85 



The inscription on one bell and the shield and flanking letters 

 on the other are, in relation to their history, of the first 

 importance. Drawings of these, supplied by Dr Claperton, of 

 Lochmaben, without description however, appear in the Riddle 

 MS., but as there represented the inscription is imperfect and 

 the forms of the letters are not given with reliable accuracy. 

 The earliest mention of the bells is contained in Sir John 

 Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791, where it is said — 

 " The present church has two fine bells taken out of the old 

 building, one of which, by an inscription and date on it, appears 

 to have been consecrated by the Abbot John Wrich in the year 

 1154." This is the reading which has been accepted for upwards 

 of a hundred years. From the first, however, it seems to have 

 been felt to be unsatisfactory, as in an appendix to the Statistical 

 Account it is suggested with reference to the Abbot's name, 

 Wrich, that it might be a corruption of Wright. The date also 

 cannot readily be accepted, considering that the oldest dated bell 

 known to exist in England is marked 1296. 



In proceeding to decipher the inscription the first stage was to 

 ascertain whether any part of it had become broken or obliterated. 

 It was found to be perfect. The letters may be described as late 

 Lombardic capitals, and the words are separated by spaces, but 

 without punctuation. The inscription, which is prefixed by a 

 Maltese cross, extends quite round the bell, and for want of space 

 probably some of the words are much contracted. To such con- 

 tractions and peculiarities which some of the letters exhibit is due 

 any difficulties in ascertaining the meaning of the inscription. 

 Of the Abbot's surname the second letter is peculiar, being small 

 old English, and the difierence of character as compared with the 

 other letters interfere with a ready recognition of its meaning. 

 It is a well-formed and distinct enough " e." The third letter at 

 first sight appears to resemble the initial " I," but on closer 

 examination it is found to difi"er in being a little longer, and in 

 having a cleft top. Other peculiarities occurring in the formation 

 of the letters do not raise any difficulty. The inscription runs — 



+ I WELCH ABBAS SACr[iNEM0Re] ME FIERI FECIT A D [mILLESIMO] 



QUi[n]ge[ntesim]o V. (I. Welch Abbot of Holywod caused me 

 to be made in the year of Our Lord [One thousand] Five Hundred 

 and Five.) 



The shield and flanking letters on the long-waisted bell I at 

 first thought might be the bell-founders stamp and initials of his 



