26 
A Belgian or Dutch bell (fig. 4), which formerly hung in the 
tower of St. Crux, is now in the Hall of the Museum, it 
bears a matter-of-fact inscription :— 
“ x Ic Ben Ghegoten Int Jaer Ons Heeren 
MCCCCCXXIII.” 
In English it reads, “ I was cast in the year of our Lord 1523. 
This bell is destined for the new Church at Bishopthorpe. 
Fig. 4. 
There were in York previous to the suppression of the 
monasteries—The Cathedral, 41 Parish Churches, 17 Chapels, 
16 Hospitals, and 9 Abbeys or Monasteries, making a total of 
84 religious houses, each of which was provided with a bell or 
bells for the purpose of calling to or assisting in the celebration 
of religious rites. 
The bells belonging to the demolished religious houses in 
York would be gradually disposed of, and after allowing for all 
the vicissitudes they would undergo, and the accidents they 
would be liable to, there may still be some doing duty in the 
towers of churches scattered throughout the land. 
