By John Harding. 



117 



was not granted by him. The Clerk of the Works, noth with- 

 standing, was afterwards instructed to make an estimate of the 

 weight and valne of the whole of them, of which the following is a 

 copy :— 



"1766. April. Dimensions of the bells taken by Edmund Lush [Clerk of 

 the Works] and Robert Wells, founder in Albourne, in order to come to the 

 weight : — 











Cwt. 



qrs. 



lbs. 



Cwt. 



qrs. lbs 



X 



up 



X 



1st bell 



7 , 



. 1 , 



, 0 



7 



1 „ o 









2nd — 



7 



, 3 



, 0 













3rd — 



11 



, 3 



, o 







X 



up 



X 



4th — 



15 



, o 



, o 



15 „ 



0 „ 0 









5th — 



20 



, o 



, o 







X 



up 



X 



6th — 



24 



„ 2 



, 0 



24 „ 



2 „ 0 









7th — 



30 



„ 0 



„ 0 













8th — 



38 



„ o 



, 0 















154 



„ 1 



» o 



46 „ 



3 „ 0 



" Mr. Robt. Wells values the Bells at \0d. per lb. and is the most he will give 

 for them in place if taken in exchange, and 9d. per lb. for the whole if no new 

 Bells are cast." 



From this report it will be seen that only three of the bells were 

 in the bell-chamber, viz., the 1st, 4th, and 6th, all the others, being 

 cracked, had been lowered to the ground-floor. 



Another application to the Bishop (Hume) " for permission to 

 sell the useless bells," was made in 1777, the profits therefrom 

 arising 



"To be appropriated to the proposed improvement or future improvement in 

 repairs of the Church." 



Bishop Hume was at that time engaged in removing the seats 

 and fittings from the nave of the Cathedral, in undoing Sir 

 Christopher Wren's work in the choir, and forming closets, or rather 

 boxes, with galleries over, at the back of the stalls, approached by 

 staircases in the choir aisles. The petition of the Chapter which 

 gave promise of additional funds to be used " for the improvements 

 of the Church" met with a favourable reception from the Bishop, 

 and the faculty was granted. After this no time was lost in dis- 

 posing of the five bells which were on the Belfry floor, where they 

 had lain awaiting their fate for eleven or twelve years. 



