[Bell Historians] A wake for the bells?

[La Greenall]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com 
> [mailto:bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Anne Willis
> 
> La Greenall
> 
> Maybe the bells
> weren't called 'she' or 'her' (as they often were in our local
> churchwardens' accounts) until after this ceremony had been performed.
> 
> 
> A bell at Salisbury St Martin changed sex if the accounts are to be
> believed.  Among their accounts for 1581 are entries for the 
> re-casting of a
> bell by John Wallis.
> 
> 	It. For unhanging of him [the bell]		xviij d
> 	for drawing him to the bellfounders		xj d
> 	for carying the bell to church		xvij d
> 	for getting of her up and hanging of hir	iiis vj d
> 
> Anne

Thanks Ann. Maybe it came back minus its clapper and baldricks? Or maybe
it was recast because of a crack; this crack would have made its voice
very rough (like a man's) but when it came back it no doubt sang as
sweetly as a maiden!

But seriously, this seems an interesting point to me; I suspect you are
probably correct in thinking that a ceremony of some sort was needed to
give a new bell an identity, character, spirit or soul, whatever, of its
own.

Lawrence.

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