------=_NextPart_000_0049_01C5801D.91EF1960 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I wonder how many bellfounders operated that side of their business as a sideline. I know the Wells of Aldbourne and James Burrough of Devizes were both general braziers and coppersmiths. The Cockeys of Frome and Warminste= r were also pewterers, which may have been a useful source of subsidised tin. [I think that this is best answered on a case-by-case basis, and the best i= ndicator (other than excavation of the foundry site) is the number of known= bells by the foundry. For instance, it is probably fair to say that bellfo= unding was the main business of the Smith family of York. Their bells survi= ve in considerable numbers, and are found throughout Yorkshire and beyond. = In other cases, bells will have been a sideline to other work (often castin= g domestic vessels), and consequently the number of known bells will be con= siderably smaller. Where the foundry sites survive and have been excavated,= this can provide valuable information on the output of the foundry. For ex= ample, the site of the Byrdall foundry in Exeter has been excavated, and th= is demonstrated that bellfounding was sideline to domestic vessel productio= n, notwithstanding the fact that the Bydralls were the last in the line of = Exeter medieval founders, and had their foundry stamps (e.g. the 'i(bell)t'= stamp on Exeter Cathedral 4th). It is of course also possible to consider the question from the other angle= , and look for other objects produced by the foundry. Where domestic vessel= s were the main products, relatively few are likely to survive due to their= susceptibility to reuse as scrap when no longer required. In other cases (= e.g. the Bridgwater founders) brassfounding was their main line of business= , and surviving brass items could be sought - I believe that several chande= liers by Bridgwater founders who also cast bells are known to survive.] David ------=_NextPart_000_0049_01C5801D.91EF1960 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable