<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1250"><!-- Network content -->
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As I think I told Michael Baron, or should have
done, the attribution to Rufford was suggested by no less a person then
Ranald Clouston himself, and whilst he would have been the last to claim
infallibility, his opinions are not to be set aside lightly. Clearly, he
had seen lettering like that on the Eastry bell which was attributed to Rufford,
and that was his qualified conclusion - I say qualified as he went so far as to
say ?John Rufford.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It would be interesting to know the original
provenance of the bell, and Michael may do well to enquire into the building
minutes accounts books of the old school, from whence the bell came.
Certainly "secondhand" school bells are known elsewhere, but this is one of
the more remarkable. It is a beautiful little casting, sadly cracked
horizontally in the waist, with some of its canons off and its cast-in staple
stump still in. I don't think it's French, it is unlike any medieval French
bell I have seen. Even if it is not by Rufford it could be a wanderer from the
medieval Worcester foundry.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Congratulations to Eastry on embarking on their
present grand scheme of restoration and augmentation: will the little medieval
bell this time be treated to the restoration it surely
deserves?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DLC </FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=davidbryant@WXpkz5AyqD2dpKqAUox0mISJvQD5CyS4rQT2ULX-JUAQVHTd4bsG00Pg1nCD5nHJvQFCeUSht6LgYFbOGYFWjMLnGD1VYqA.yahoo.invalid
href="mailto:davidbryant@jmuFM4ZDnbGw_8TDNlb3QKxMWErqzGsYTH91cMCwd_pBneh7qw1XMh7DibkuYy4e9q5FWbjOS4dCA1gCR4vq6gk.yahoo.invalid">David Bryant</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com">bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, March 15, 2007 8:06
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Bell Historians] FW: Unusual
initial cross</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">-----Original
Message-----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> michael
baron [mailto:mike.<WBR>baron@tiscali.<WBR>co.uk] <BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">15 March
2007</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">00:29</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> <A
href="mailto:webmaster@dCQtACbIZXyfoGMYP5LDiPc9Bl2ysXQziCs5dCORzGURHBYIOO7Il1IGrYOziVYIvtgCj00tNvFwJWiOR9uXsQhD5p9boLvDoQ.yahoo.invalid">webmaster@bellhisto<WBR>rians.org.<WBR>uk</A><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Unusual initial
cross</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I am researching the origin of a
local, medieval (probably 14th Century) bell by looking for similarities in
the bell's inscription with published details of the inscriptions on other
bells.</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Up to now, I have trawled through
some 14 different 'Church Bells of (</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">County</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">X</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">)' books, without
finding a match for the initial cross in the inscription on our bell. Our
initial cross is in the form of a heraldic 'cross formee' or 'cross pattee',
but most like a military German Iron Cross. While this shape is common in 14th
Century bell inscriptions and in mint marks on 14th Century English 'Edwards'
coinage, where the version of the cross on our bell differs from all similar
crosses I have seen so far, is that the flat ends of all four of the cross's
arms have a row of three balls or circles beween the cross ends & the
perimeter of the cross's rectangular stamp. This makes a total of 12 circles,
or balls, which could conceivably represent the 12 apostles. The only other
representation of a cross surrounded by 12 balls that I have seen, is the
Cross of Toulouse, France. In this case, the form of the cross is similar,
though not as pronounced as the German Iron Cross, but the ends of the arms
are not flat, as in our bell inscription, but are pointed (more like an arrow
head). Please note, that the three balls at each end of our cross's
four arms, are not arranged in a triangular configuration, as is usual in a
cross botonnee, or trefoil cross. Between each ball and the flat ends of the
cross, there is a hint of a thin 'stalk' joining each ball to the flat cross
ends. This may just be the result of a fine bell founding groove, to allow the
molten bell metal to run from the cross into the hemispherical 'balls'. Is it
possible that we have a French bell and not an English bell, as thought
previously. Following our initial cross, the rest of the bells inscription
reads 'AVE MARIA GRACIA' in Lombardic Capitals on individual letter stamps,
with 'Royal Head' word stops between the AVE & MARIA and between the MARIA
& GRACIA. Both the 'G' and the 'R' in GRACIA were cast upside-down. There
are three moulding wires both above and below the inscription on our bell. The
bell weighs 70 lbs and the 'mouth' is about 14.5 inches in
diameter.</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I have been in contact with both
the Rev. David Cawley (who, with Ranald Clouston, saw our bell in the
1960s) and with Dr. John Eisel , but remain unconvinced by a diagnosis made
some 40 years ago, that our bell was founded by one of the Ruffords of
Toddington, Bedfordshire. My scepticism is the result of noting that all the
published illustrations I have seen of the initial crosses on surviving
Rufford bells are totally different to that on our bell, while the Lombardic
letterings on Rufford bells are far cruder than the fine lettering on our
bell.</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I would be most grateful if any of
your bell historians can throw light on the origin of our bell, and in
particular, on our most unusual initial cross.</SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dr. J. Michael Baron, Eastry,
</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Kent</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">.</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV><BR>
<P><FONT size=2>--<BR>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>Checked by
AVG Free Edition.<BR>Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.11/722 -
Release Date: 14/03/2007 15:38<BR></FONT></P>
<P></P></DIV><!--End group email --></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>