[Bell Historians] Armada bells

[Chris Pickford]

Dating of bells was pretty rare before 1590/1600, and Robert Mot was one of only a few founders whose bells of this period have dates. John Dier of Hitchin was another, and the Watts family of Leicester started dating their bells at about this time. There may be others, but you won't find many bells - extant or since recast - with actual dates much before 1590.

So, survival rates apart, from what we know of bellfounders and the practice of dating bells there aren't likely to be many bells bearing the date of the Armada, 1588. A little searching in George Dawson's NBR lists would show if any others survive.

More broadly, I'm inclined to feel that it's a coincidence of date. From searches in Churchwardens accounts coupled with work on listing bells (past and present) in various areas, I don't think there is any evidence of an upsurge in bellfounding activity in that year.

CP
           
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ringingworld.co.uk/pipermail/bell-historians/attachments/20081130/3edfd853/attachment.html>