60 On Church Bells. 



bells, and of this number only ten are clearly of a date prior to 1500, 

 thirteen are of the 16th century, and one hundred and twenty-six 

 belong to the 17th century. Out of five hundred and nineteen 

 bells in this county, twenty-nine belong to a period prior to 1500, 

 twenty- three to the 16th, two hundred and fifteen to the 17th, one 

 hundred and seventy-two to the 18th, and fifty-nine to the 19th 

 century ; and twenty-one have no date or inscription. And this 

 rarity of bells of the 15th century is not confined to Wiltshire 

 only ; although the proportion of bells of that date in other counties 

 may be greater. E.g. ; in the Framland Hundred, county of 

 Leicester, which contains thirty-eight churches, and one hundred 

 and twenty-seven bells, there are as many as twenty-three of a 

 pre-Reformation period. 1 The cause of this rarity throughout Eng- 

 land I will explain presently. 



In the earliest bells, only the name of the Saint is given, without 

 any further inscription; and we find simply, " San eta Anna" at 

 Cholderton, "Sancte George" at Pewsey, and "Gabriel" at Mad- 

 dington. I think there can be no doubt that the second bell at 

 Winterbourne Gunner and the fourth bell at Pewsey were cast by 

 the same hand. 



There is a bell (the second) at Potterne, which appears to be very 

 ancient, the letters upon it being of early character and forming 

 no words that I could decypher. Of alphabet bells (i.e. where, 

 instead of a legend, they bear some of the letters of the alphabet), 

 which are said to be of considerable antiquity, I know only one in 

 Wiltshire ; and curiously enough it derives a still greater interest 

 from being in Bemerton church, and called by Isaac Walton "Mr. 

 Herbert's Saint's bell." 



The following is a list of Wiltshire bells of pre-Reformation date : 



Sixth and eighth at Aldbourne. 



Fifth Ogbourne St. Andrew. 



Second Cherhill. 



Fifth Collingbourne Ducis. 



Fourth Pewsey. 



1 Ecclesiologist, Vol. IV. 



