By the Rev. W. C. Lukis. 



59 



Several changes also have taken place in the mode of attaching the 

 clapper, which I will only allude to now. There are models upon 

 the table, explanatory of three of these modes, one being the 

 ancient, and another the modern method. 1 



6. Expenses of bells, &c. There are many entries to be found 

 in parish account books which throw considerable light upon the 

 history of bells and bell-founders; and among other things, the 

 value of bell metal, old and new, with the cost, of casting bells, 

 per cwt., is accurately given. In 1457 bell metal was charged 

 £5 Os. 8d. ; and the price of casting was 20s. Id. From the 

 churchwardens' accounts of St. Margaret's, Westminster, we find 

 that in the year 1592, bell metal was worth £2 16s. the cwt. 

 From that of Steeple Ashton, in this county, we learn, that in 1616, 

 it was worth £5 12s. In the year 1630, the accounts of St. Thomas's 

 church, in this city, tell us that it maintained the same value, and 

 that the cost of casting was 14s. the cwt. In 1663, we find from 

 the same accounts that the value had risen to £6 6s. ; and that old 

 bell metal fetched £4 5s. In 1680, the Dean and Chapter of 

 Salisbury agreed to pay Clement Tosier after the rate of 20s. per 

 cwt. for casting two bells, and to allow and pay him after the rate 

 of £5 3s. 6d. per cwt. of extra metal. In 1716, the vestry of 

 St. Thomas's church agreed with Mr. Abraham Rudhall, of Glou- 

 cester, that he should have £7 for casting the second bell, and Is. 

 per lb. for any additional metal. In 1769, the parish of St. Mary, 

 Marlborough, agreed to give Mr. Robert Wells, of Aldbourne, 

 £6 10s. per cwt. for a new third bell, and were to receive £4 13s. 

 per cwt. for the old metal. And now the price varies from £6 10s. 

 to £6 15s.; but if frames, carriage, hanging, journey, &c, are 

 included, the cost is about £7 per cwt. ; and old metal realizes 

 about £4 4s. 



7. Ancient bells. In the Archdeaconry of Wilts there are one 

 hundred and seven churches, of which I have examined the bells 

 of sixty-two, with an aggregate of two hundred and ninety-three 



1 An excellent article upon the subject, by the Rev. H. T. Ellacombe, has 

 recently appeared in Willis's Current Notes. 



i 2 



