[Bell Historians] Belgian bells (was Steel bells)

[Chris Pickford]

There is a Charles Carr plate on the fittings at the Lye, but this probably relates to a later stage rather than the original installation (probably in 1907). Stokes, interestingly, did rehang the eight at nearby Halesowen in 1884 - adding to the likelihood that he may have done the Lye too. 

The history of the original job at The Lye os far from straightforward, and a lot of uncertainty remains. The date of the bells has often been given as 1881, but in fact they are undated. The Van Aerschodt records seem to indicate that they were cast in 1883. The spire was added in 1885 and the bells installed some time afterwards, but so far the date of installation remains unclear. They were definitely there by December 1886 (the first ringing reported in the Bell News) but could have been hung some time earlier.

The connection between The Lye and Bishops Wood is through the Rev. David Robertson, who was Vicar of the Lye from 1866 to 1875 and later incumbent of Hartlebury (in which parish Bishops Wood was a daughter church) from 1880 to 1911. Robertson’s wife ordered a small Van Aerschodt chime for Bishops Wood in 1884. The Ltye bells seem to have been given by Sir J. Ferguson, Governor of Bombay, but Robertson may have advised his old parish

Any further illumination on this rather puzzling installation would be appreciated. I am well aware that I haven't fully solved the mysteries. It looks as though the Stokes lead is worth pursuing, anyway - so thanks for that, Matthew. I have yet to do a thorough trawl in the local newspapers, a job I've put off as I have been hoping that some clearer indication of the date might come to light in order to contain the length of search required!

CP           
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