PARISH CHURCH OF WEAVERHAM 'L. ,v 333

" On and on without a pause they bounded still, <h mmu All night from Tower to Tower they sprang, they sprang

from hill to hill. ... ^{1 r}~~'

Till broad and fierce the star caine forth on Ely's stately

fane,

And town and hamlet rose in arms o'er all the boundless plain,

Till Belvoir's lordly tcrraccs the sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on, o'er the wide Vale of Trent,

Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned on Gaunt's embattled

pile,

And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the Burghers of

Carlisle."

the bells

The bells, six in number, which the tower contains are a very musical peal and by the entries in the records we can see how for centuries they have sent forth their messages of joy and sorrow to the outside world, and in this way have played a very important part in the life of the parish. They were rung besides Sundays and church festivals, on all days of thanksgiving and of national rejoicing, widi muffled peals for days of mourning, showing in their way how the church has always been bound up in the life of the nation.

In 1718 they were evidendy out of order, for there was a movement to have them " melted down and cast into fire." This was happily averted, other advice being sought, with the result that five of them were sent to the famous foundry of Abraham Rudhall at Gloucester, and rc-cast. The records show how they were taken by road to Shrewsbury, and thencc by river to Gloucester, coming back the same way. The original contract between Rudhall and our wardens was among die papers discovered by me and a most precise document it is in its condition and " covenant." Later the tenor and treble were sent to Chew Stoke, Somerset, and re-cast by Thomas and James Bilbie. In 1873 the fourth and fifth were cracked and were re-cast by Mears and Staijibank