Banbury bell

[Chris Pickford]

Hi James

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.

Your bell is described in Fred Sharpe's book on The Church bells of Oxfordshire as follows: 
  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:-
          ROBERT TAYLOR FECIT LOUGHBOROUGH 1853
  The founder was Robert Edward Taylor, a lesser known member of the Taylor family, and a son of John Taylor.

  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."
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 Master of my art: The Taylor bellfoundries 1784-1987 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. 

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.

I cannot comment on the value of the bell

I hope this information is of interest.

Chris Pickford
Tel: 01384 393000 or (mobile) 07811 453525
E-mail: c.j.pickford at U8jtcDICl79bMTN3cjoPJ5o1a1Bzh-4z9W-e4KnPu38XWogTjwG_ar9d2XCkHXJM9BhqBbGYXhFGGGXSwJdX.yahoo.invalid or (interchangeably) c.j.pickford.t21 at btinternet.com
           
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