Previous Bells at Canewdon.

[Brian Meldon]

For those who are interested in listings of bells  that are no longer in existence or have been re-cast I have recently discovered a hand written account of the bell (and other) inscriptions at St. Nicholas Canewdon dating from about 1716. As well as the 3 surviving bells it lists the inscriptions on the two that did not survive past the 18c as follows:

2nd: 
`Miles Graye Made Me 1636'  
This bell was cracked, taken to Whitechapel and recast in 1724 and from the Richard Phelps' invoice it is stated that the old bell was 4 ¼ cwt. (The clapper was sold separately to the Canewdon blacksmith a few months later.)

4th: 
`Iohn Hackman' 
`Iohn and Christopher Hodson made me 1678'
`Richard Neal Mathew Plumber Churchwardens'
This bell was cracked and taken back to Whitechapel as part payment for the replacement cast by Thomas Mears (1st) in 1791. Only an approximate weight of '10 cwt a little more or a little less' is given on the documents. Probably as they had no way of weighing the bell on site.
John Hackman initials also appear in the church on a massive roof beam replaced in 1698.

Brian Meldon