INDUSTRIES 



Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, 

 Middlesex, Oxfordshire, and Sussex. 



The treble at Fulmer (Bucks) has the 

 invocation form of inscription entirely in a 

 small-sized set of black-letter smalls, without 

 capital or any stamp, and ending with a 

 small-sized capital W, under which are the 

 initials 'is' in the black-letter set. This is 

 probably one of Saunders's first productions 

 at the Reading foundry, the W referring to 

 White. 



The former tenor at Drayton (Berks), now 

 unfortunately melted, had the invocation 

 form of inscription in a large florid set of 

 quasi-Lombardic capitals (to which the D 

 on the Ewelme bell previously ascribed to 

 White, possibly belongs), with an S-like stop 

 between each word, followed by a stamp 

 showing the arms of the episcopal see of 

 Winchester (Fig. 7) and Saunders's initials. 



FIG. 7. STAMP SHOWING ARMS OF THE SEE OF 

 WINCHESTER. 



This stamp naturally suggests that Saunders 

 obtained it from a foundry in that city or 

 elsewhere in the diocese, very likely learning 

 his work there, but I have not succeeded in 

 tracing the foundry. He also 

 introduced a large set of black- 

 letter smalls, and a rebus shield 

 which evidently reads Winton. 

 There are initials on it, unfor- 

 tunately imperfect in the examples 

 I have met with, but which may 

 be DR,OK. The stop (Fig. 8) 

 makes its appearance about the 

 same time. 



Other bells apparently by 

 Saunders in Berkshire, are at 

 Hurley and Tidmarsh. In Church 

 Bells of Bucks I have carefully 



FIG. 8. 



STOP INTRO- 



DUCED BY 

 SAUNDERS. 



enumerated all the bells belonging 

 to this group which were known 

 to me, and since its publica- 

 tion Mr. H. B. Walters has discovered three 

 more, namely, at Souldern and Shipton 



on Cherwell (Oxon.), and Shipston on Stour 

 (Wore.). 



The books of the Founders' Company 

 (London) for the year 1554-5 contain entries 

 of the payment of fines for the admission of 

 John Saunders, stranger, and Gilbert Smythe, 

 his servant. 



In 1557-8 Saunders was admitted to the 

 ' livery ' of the Gild, his entrance fine of 

 xiijs. iiijd. being recorded. He died in 

 Reading, intestate, in 1558-9, and in the list 

 of the Founders' Company for 1559 Gylbert 

 Smythe's name is entered as a ' journeyman 

 stranger.' 



No London-made bells by Saunders have 

 been recognized, and Mr. Stahlschmidt 

 thought it very likely that the freedom of the . 

 Founders' Gild was only obtained by him 

 for the convenience of binding apprentices. 

 It seems quite possible, however, that Saun- 

 ders in 1556 may have succeeded Austen 

 Bracker in the important London business, 

 which can be traced more or less perfectly 

 through (to mention only the principal 

 names) Henry Jordan, John Danyell, Robert 

 Crowch, John Walgrave, and back to William 

 Dawe, or ' William Founder ' ; and that Gil- 

 bert Smythe may have been his manager in 

 London, and William Welles, to be mentioned 

 again directly, his manager at Reading. 



What happened to this ancient business on 

 the death of Saunders is not obvious. Among 

 the archives of the Corporation of Reading is 

 an undated manuscript book entitled ' The 

 Booke of the Names and Ordinnances of the 

 Cutlers and Bellfounders Companye.' It 

 contains lists of several other trades besides 

 the two mentioned ; and records some 

 ' perticuler orders ' regulating some of them. 

 It gives the names of three bellfounders 

 (having presumably separate businesses) exist- 

 ing at the same time in the town, namely, 

 William Welles, William Knighte, and Vin- 

 cent Gorowaye. Mr. Tyssen * considered 

 the date of this book to be about 1565, but 

 Mr. Stahlschmidt a considered it somewhat 

 earlier, for, in the books of the Founders' 

 Company of London, he found under the 

 year 1518, the name of ' Winsent Galaway,' 

 while a William Knight was Under Warden 

 of the Company in that year, Upper Warden 

 in 1528, and Master of the Guild in 1530-31. 



Probably all these three bellfounders learnt 

 the business in the old Reading foundry, and 

 eventually each perhaps set up for himself 

 independently. William Knight (or possibly 

 his son) certainly owned a large independent 



1 Sells of Sussex, 20, footnote. 

 * Bells of Surrey, 94. 



417 



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