Toby Norris I

[Richard Smith]

I've been trying to organise my notes on Cambridge towers 
and come up with a slight concern about the attribution of 
two bells.  They are the tenor of three at All Saints and 
the single bell at Little St Mary, cast in 1606 and 1608 
respectively.  They both have the inscription "non sono 
animabus mortuorum sed auribus viventium" (with various u/v 
variations).  The 1617 tenor at Meldreth -- surely a 
candidate for the world's most rung bell -- also has that 
inscription, as does the 1613 tenor of three at Swayfield, 
Lincs.

Raven's Cambridgeshire (for the three Cambs bells) or 
North's Lincolnshire (for the Lincs bell), John 
Ketteringham's Lincolnshire Bells & Bellfounder [p.290-1], 
and George Dawson's NBR spreadsheets all attribute these 
bells to Toby Norris I.  This attribution is plausible in 
that the dates fit, Stamford is not too far from Cambridge, 
and there is unassailable evidence that his son, Thomas, 
produced bells for Cambridge.

However, I'm concerned that this attribution is based on a 
circular argument.  In each case, the argument seems to be 
that the inscription is a favourite inscription of his and 
the others offered as evidence that it is a favourite.  But 
is there any other evidence to tie any of them to Norris? 
For example, are there any bells out there with "Tobie 
Norris me fecit" appended to that inscription?  And does 
anyone have a database of inscriptions that would enable 
them to check for any instances of that inscription by 
founders other than Toby Norris?

RAS