A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



The eighth of this group of nine bells is the 

 other bell at Barton Hartshorn. The cross and 

 lettering are very similar to those on the treble 

 previously mentioned, which may be due merely 

 to contemporary style. The two sets are figured 

 on plate VI of Church Bells of Bucks, where the 

 'C' on the treble so closely matches the ' E" on 

 the tenor, that taken by themselves they would 

 probably be considered to belong to the same 

 set. The patterns of the heads and canons of 

 the two bells, however, differ so much as to 

 point (irrespective of the lettering) to different 

 founders, but not necessarily different foundries. 

 The inscription is : 



+ IHESVPIEFLOSMARIE 



From the absence of any stop or increase of 

 space between the words, this bell seems closely 

 to correspond in date to the treble at Little 

 Linford, and though it may be evidence to the 

 contrary, it is more likely to show that these 

 two bells are the earliest of this group. 



The last bell in this restricted radius is the 

 single at Foscott, which is blank, so beyond the 

 opinion that it undoubtedly belongs to the I4th 

 century, and is a well-cast bell, nothing more 

 can be said about it. A very careful comparison 

 of head and canons might possibly show a family 

 likeness to some other bell. 



Besides the above nine bells there was for- 

 merly a bell evidently of the I4th century at 

 Caversfield (unfortunately melted in 1876), in- 

 scribed in a pretty little set of Lombardic 

 capitals and cross to match, together with the 

 impression of a coin : 



+ O IN + HOHORE (fie) + BEATI + 

 LAVRENCII 



So far as can be judged by a rubbing (kindly 

 lent by Mr. H. B. Walters, F.S.A.), the saunce 

 at Idbury, Oxon (5^ miles N. by W. of 

 Burford), is inscribed with the same cross and 

 lettering : 



+ AVE S PLENA I GRACIA 



The discovery of this bell has caused the writer 

 to alter the opinion expressed in Church Bells 

 of Bucks, that the Caversfield bell was cast in 

 London. It seems more likely that the two are 

 of ' local ' origin. Idbury is about 23 miles 

 west of Caversfield, so perhaps their founder 

 lived in Oxfordshire, somewhere about Chipping 

 Norton, or one of the villages to the south-east 

 of that town. 



There are three bells in Buckinghamshire, the 

 seconds at Little Missenden, Ravenstone, and Stoke 

 Hammond respectively, which are believed to be 

 by John Rofford, Ruffbrd, or Rughford, who 

 was appointed royal bell-founder in 1367, and 

 was therefore probably working in London. 

 Bells by the same founder are found in Bedford- 



shire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Leices- 

 tershire, and at Christchurch, Hants, where 

 there are two bearing unusually long inscrip- 

 tions, each consisting of two rhyming hexa- 

 meters. There is also a bell of this make 

 at Magdalen College School, Wainfleet, Lin- 

 colnshire, to which it must have been brought 

 second-hand, as the school was not founded till 

 1484. John Rofford was dead before 1390 ; 

 and was followed by a William Rufford, who is 

 believed to be the founder of the tenor at Hard- 

 mead, and of the second at Beachampton, which 

 latter was pronounced by the late Mr. J. C. L. 

 Stahlschmidt to be ' clearly a Midland counties' 

 bell ' ; otherwise William Rufford was thought 

 to be a London founder. In 1888 Mr. Stahl- 

 schmidt discovered that in the Patent Roll of 

 21 Richard II (1398) a William Belmaker of 

 Toddington, Bedfordshire, is mentioned, but he 

 hesitated to say whether this indicated an actual 

 bell-founder by trade, or a descendant of one re- 

 taining the trade name as a surname. 7 In 1 906 

 Mr. Fred. G. Gurney, 8 while making researches 

 into the history of the Ruffords of Northall in 

 Edlesborough (Buckinghamshire), traced the pedi- 

 gree back to ' William Rufford, of Tudyngton 

 belmaker,' who is mentioned in a licence dated 

 8 October 1390, by which Thomas Bullok 

 of Edlesborough might enfeoff the parsons of 

 ' Tudyngton and Edelesburgh ' and others with 

 lands there, in trust to grant them to Thomas 

 Rufford his son-in-law, son of William above > 

 and to his wife Katherine, daughter of Thomas 

 Bullok. 9 It is very probable that William the 

 Bellmaker of Toddington is identical with 

 William Rufford, and the existence of a bell 

 foundry at Toddington seems to be placed be- 

 yond doubt. 



William Rufford was still living in 1415, for 

 another William, possibly his son, is called 

 'junior' at that date. The family took their 

 name from Rufford, in Chalgrove parish, co. 

 Oxon, where Thomas Rufford at his death in 

 1420 held 63 acres of the heirs of Dru (Drogo) 

 Barentyn as of the manor of ' Chalgrave ' 10 in 

 Oxfordshire, as well as land in chief at Edles- 

 borough in Buckinghamshire. Mr. Gurney 

 further mentions finding an Andrew Roffard of 

 an earlier date than John, who may have be- 

 longed to the same family. He was one of 

 many rioters to arrest whom commissioners were 

 appointed on 20 May 1348, on complaint of 

 the Black Prince, for having assaulted his ser- 

 vants, detained his horses and carts, and carried 

 away his goods at Thame. 11 



7 Cb. Belli of Bucks. 18. 



8 Kindly communicated by letter to the writer. 

 ' Cal. Pat. 1388-92, p. 305. 



10 Inq. p.m. taken at Oxford, 8 Hen. V. By a 

 coincidence there is a village of 'Chalgrave' only 

 i mile from Toddington in Beds. 



11 Cal. Pat. 1348-50, p. 156. 



