FW: Unusual initial cross

[Richard Offen]

Dr Baron deserves 11/10 for persistence!   He's been trying to find 
out more about this small bell for some time and has contacted a 
great may people for help.

For those interested, the bell is the small sanctus bell at Eastry, 
Kent, which is currently hung (very poorly) as a model in the ringing 
room.   Further details can be found on the following page of Mr 
Love's excellent guide to the bells of Kent:

http://kent.lovesguide.com/eastry.htm

Richard



> -----Original Message-----
> From: michael baron [mailto:mike.baron at ...] 
> Sent: 15 March 2007 00:29
> To: webmaster at ...
> Subject: Unusual initial cross
> 
>  
> 
> 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.
> 
>  
> 
> Up to now, I have trawled through some 14 different 'Church Bells 
of (County
> X)' 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.
> 
>  
> 
> 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.
> 
>  
> 
> 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. 
> 
>  
> 
> Dr. J. Michael Baron, Eastry, Kent.
> 
> 
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> 15:38
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