[Bell Historians] Blackbourne / Penshurst

[Chris Pickford]

There were Blackbourn (NB no final e - CJND would have reprimanded you!) descendants living in Luton in the 1970s - Thomas Blackbourn (by them working as a bicycle repairer) was a member of the band there in the 1920s - and there were some records. So far as I know, Neil Skelton arranged to photocopy some of the material and Geoff Armitage took photos. The family were still at a Luton address during my time in Bedfordshire, but I never attempted to contact them. I had understood from Geoff, I think, that the family were rather wary of the outside interest in the material. I certainly hope that the stuff didn't just get chucked out when the older generation passed on, although it's a case where that could easily have happened. 

I have copies of a few extracts from the Blackbourn records, though, and they seldom give weights. Certainly no weights at all are given in the entries in my file - even for new bells. A check with Neil might be worthwhile, though, as he may have a copy of the Penshurst invoice.

As to the weights, these could be recorded in the Whitechapel daybooks if the old bells were taken either for retuning or simply so that the new bells could be matched to them (as sometimes happened with M&S jobs at that time). If so, then the weights of bells received tend to be noted at the end of the main daybook entries for the month in which they came into the foundry - and not in the main daybook entry for the work (and new bells) invoiced out.

CP           
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