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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Hi James</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Your enquiry to the "Ringing World" about
the bell has been passed on to the Bell Historians list, and I've undertaken to
reply - though others may have things to add as well. I have made a bit of a
study of the early bells by the Taylors of and (since 1840) Loughborough and I
have access to the main reference books. List members have asked that I copy my
reply to the group as well as direct to you.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Your bell is described in Fred Sharpe's
book on <EM>The Church bells of Oxfordshire</EM> as follows: </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV><FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>BANBURY, Christ Church. A
northern tower containing one bell, 19 1/4 inches in diameter, hung for
chiming. The bell has five narrow mouldings below the shoulder [not visible in
the four photographs accompanying your enquiry] similar to those favoured by
the Aldbourne foundry, and ornamented canons [the "ornate knotwork bracket on
the top" in your description]; above the sound-bow is the
inscription:-</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>
ROBERT TAYLOR FECIT LOUGHBOROUGH 1853</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>The founder was Robert Edward Taylor, a
lesser known member of the Taylor family, and a son of John
Taylor.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>In a footnote, Sharpe adds: "A bell of
this size was supplied to Mr. William Taylor, of Oxford, by the Loughborough
foundry in 1853, and weighed 1 cwt 1 qr 18 lbs."</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>I should perhaps explain that the history
of the Taylor foundry in the period 1820 to 1855 is fairly complex, as described
in chapters 2-4 of <EM>Master of my art: The Taylor bellfoundries 1784-1987</EM>
by Trevor Jennings (1987). This book is still in print and obtainable, I
believe, both from the Bellfoundry Museum at Loughborough and direct from the
author. In short, the Taylors moved from St.Neots (in old Huntingdonshire) to
Oxford in about 1821 where William Taylor carried on founding until 1854. In the
meantime, however, the firm had operated a separate foundry at Buckland Brewer
in Devon and temporary foundries elsewhere, and John Taylor finally settled in
Loughborough in 1839. Loughborough became the main foundry and the brothers
(William at Oxford and John at Loughborugh) grew increasingly separate as
William suffered from commercial and mental difficulties in later life.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Robert Edward Taylor was born in 1830 but
died young in 1856 and therefore played only a brief and fairly minor role in
the business. He would have been 22 or 23 when the Banbury bell was cast.
Several junior members of the family placed their names on bells at various
stages in the history of the foundry, and your bell is of some interest as being
one of these. It looks as though it was cast at Loughborough but supplied to the
church through William Taylor at Oxford.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>I cannot comment on the value of the
bell</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>I hope this information is of
interest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Chris Pickford<BR>Tel: 01384 393000 or
(mobile) 07811 453525<BR>E-mail: <A
href="mailto:c.j.pickford@gGi_kvpu7uQH9_zy3ZLW-j-qyPLYCa_YRI0zUqRmHkLILzRTTU87viO-_YaPjrvNYXfRmlrHJbdi3kBt07Gaz4Ap.yahoo.invalid">c.j.pickford@gGi_kvpu7uQH9_zy3ZLW-j-qyPLYCa_YRI0zUqRmHkLILzRTTU87viO-_YaPjrvNYXfRmlrHJbdi3kBt07Gaz4Ap.yahoo.invalid</A> or
(interchangeably) <A
href="mailto:c.j.pickford.t21@DkvCPcL0DZGQEKOMWjncDU6_9rAojLtRmMOY_reIixF-wTji6NDnDSgtBJuZQtFo_GQf6nYCqZKd0_V5hL-UoMTADWvTomkHY6g.yahoo.invalid">c.j.pickford.t21@btinternet.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>