By C; E. Ponting, F.S.A. 



47 



" p d . to William Sheppard for quartering the men that paved ye Church, being 

 R fortnight's tyme." 



shows that workmen were again brought from outside. 



The inscriptions on the bells are given by the Rev. W. 0. Lukis 1 

 as follows : — 



" Mere, 6. 



" 1. 2. W. 0. : T. T. : C. W. : T. P. : Anno Domini, 1G65. 



"3. Anno Domini. 1660. W. B. : W. H. : C. W. : D. I*L. 



"4. Messieurs Phillips and Mitchell. Churchwardens. J. Kingston, Founder, 

 Bridgewater, 1828. 



"5. £U\\x jHarta i^arte ^uccurre Pujtetma ^otite. 2 



"6. Mr. Giles Forward and Mr. Giles Jupe, C h W ds 1747. William Cockey, 

 Bellfounder." 



There were, as we have seen, four bells in 1220, but these — as 

 might have been expected — have been replaced or re-cast. There 

 is an inventory which mentions five bells in good repair in 1635. 

 The first and second of the present peal were cast in 1665 by F. 

 Purdue, of Salisbury, when the peal was made up to six ; and the 

 third in 1660, by John Sett, of Salisbury. There are no entries 

 in the churchwardens' book from 1646 till 1672, so that these 

 items do not appear. The tenor bell was re-cast by William 

 Cockey, of Frome, in 1747. He was paid 20.5. per cwt. for re-casting 

 2±eui. lqr. 4/fo. of old metal and 13s. per lb. for Icwt. lqr. 3/£. of 

 new added metal, and a new clapper, 39//;*. Mr. Giles Jupe — one 

 of the churchwardens — was paid 19*. for bringing it from Frome. 

 The fourth bell had 241b. of iron added to its clapper in 1593, the 

 result being to crack it, and it was re-cast at Yeovil, being hauled 

 there by one Granett, of Knoyle. In 1616 it was again re-cast by 

 Mr. Wallys, together with the little bell (in the sanctus bell-cot) , at 

 a cost of £12, with an additional £9 5s. for lcivt. 2qr$. 17 lbs, of 

 added metal. There is also an entry : — 



" ffor entertayninge Mr. Wallys the bell founder att tymes. 3 8 ." 



In 1828 the fourth bell was again re-cast, at Bridgwater, by 

 J. Kingston. 



1 Wilts Arch. Mag., vol. iv., p. 158. 

 " 2 This bears two shields— one charged with a Bend dexter ; the other wilh 

 Cross Keys between a mitre, pastoral staff, si chalice, and another figure." 



