[Bell Historians] Ships Bell

[Stuart Flockton]

I've just sent the following message to the original enquirer, pointing
out that it seems likely to me that the bell came from a
long-established brassfounder in Rainhill.

Stuart Flockton
---------------------------------------

> > My friend, a San Francisco Bay ship captain, has just
> > come into possession of a bell.  In big letters across
> > the side it says it is from (a ship -- we believe it
> > is a tanker) The British Chancellor.
> > On top of the bell, on either side of the hanger, in
> > small block letters, it says 'RAINHILL'.
.
.
> > Rainhill, which now appears to
> > be a suburb of Liverpool.  We can't find any reference
> > to a bell foundry there, or another brass foundry,
> > though it seems a likely place for a manufacturer,
> > such as Utley's, for ships.


I see that you mention "Utley's" in your email, I would hazard a guess
that it's quite likely that they were the source of the bell.

<http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=139-ro&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18>
covers records from the firm of John Roby, later Thomas Utley (Rainhill)
Ltd., who, it records, for the period up to 1941 at least, made "port
lights, windows, bells and other ships' equipment from brass".

<http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/archive/displayGuide.aspx?sid=60&mode=html&sorStr=&serStr=&pgeInt=&catStr=>
records that the Merseyside Maritime Museum has the business records of
Roby & Utley (Rainhill), Brass Founders, 1829-1977, and
<http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=B10597>
gives the location of "1829-1966: minutes and share records, enquiries,
quotations and bills, legal papers, plans, catalogues, misc corresp and
papers", which covers the likely date of the manufacture of the bell.