These books are comprehensive catalogues of the bells in Church of England Churches, together with other bells of interest in the relevant area. For each church, as much archive material as could be found is included.
The churches of the county are listed in alphabetical order with inscriptions, founders marks and diameters, and where known, the weights of the bells. Brief details of the mode of hanging are given.
Much information has been derived from the business archives of Messrs Taylor and Co. and the Whitechapel Bellfoundry and I am most grateful to them for permission to publish that data.
Copies may be obtained from the publisher, George Dawson, via the email link on the main page.
The updates for the above books can be downloaded for free by clicking on the links below.
Time in Rutland - The authors of this work have agreed that this site can host Addenda.
Towers & Bells of Devon - The late John Scott kindly agreed to the publication of the Addenda data-sheets to this work, and James Clarke will continue to do the same.
Other publications available as CD's
Bell Towers and Bell Hanging, an appeal to Architects
In 1914 Sir Arthur P Heywood published this definitive work on good practice in bell hanging. It sets out good practice in the design of modern towers, bell hanging, and clearly shows the errors which uninformed architects and bell-hangers were using. Even today some of these fallacious ideas are perpetrated with disastrous results for those left to ring the bells.
The book has long been out of print, and copies are extremely difficult to find; to help this situation a CD has been produced which has the book scanned as a .pdf file.
The Church Bells of Huntingdonshire, by Rev. T. M. N. Owen
This book was originally published in 1899. Copies are extremely hard to find, so the book has been scanned and and a CD made available.
The Church Bells of Norfolk, by John L'Estrange
Again this 1874 publication is rare, and so has been scanned.
An Account of Church Bells, by Rev W. C. Lukis, M. A.
This book published in 1857 was one of the first books to be published giving details of the inscriptions on English church bells, particularly in Wiltshire.
The Bell; Its Origin, History & Uses, by Rev Alfred Gatty, Vicar of Ecclesfield, M. A.
This book was originally published in 1848, was one of the very first books devoted to the bell published in England.
The 6 Chapters deal with:
The Origins and Antiquity of the Bell
Church Bells and their Baptism—Mode of Casting Bells
Associations connected with Bells—Statistics of celebrated Bells
Chimes—Carillons—and Peal Ringing
Various Uses of Church Bells
Various Modern Uses of Small Bells
Curiosities of the Belfry, by J Potter Briscoe, Chief Librarian of Nottingham Public Library.
In 1883 the chief Librarian of the Nottingham Public Library published this small volume of 156 pages. It is a collection of odds and ends of all things campanological, dedicated to Thomas North, author of many county books on Church Bells in the Midlands.
Aldercar to Duffield
