Hendon, St Mary
Johannes Melo - 1577
Bell |
Weight |
Diameter |
Nominal |
Note |
Founder |
Cast |
Canon |
Hanging |
1 |
1-0-27 |
16.07" |
1766 Hz |
A |
Giovanni Melo (Italy) |
1577 |
Unhung |
About the Bell
1 Bell, 1-0-27 in A
This is the 15th oldest bell in the group of dated foreign bells in England.
The bell's life begins in the year 1577 when a certain Johannes Melo cast the bell in Veroli, Italy.
It was then transported to the Tiber Island in Rome to the basilica of San Giovanni Calibita. It served as the sanctus bell and would have been a very sacred object to the church. The bell must have traveled partly by boat as Tiber island sits in the center of a river.
So had did the bell arrive in England?
St. Clair Baddeley, a historian and author also wrote many travel guides for Italy including Sicily and Venice. While in Italy, the church in the Tiber Island was due to be remodeled and the bells was also to be scrapped. Baddeley's quick thinking led to the bell being rescued and he brought in back with him in 1900. He donated it to St Saviour's church, Hendon where it provided as the Sanctus bell.
An article was written by Baddeley regarding his bell and he questioned whether bells of foreign origin have ever been cataloged. He list the hight of it as 1ft. 4.5" and a circumfrance of 4ft. 2.5" (16.07").
He also explains the two ornaments on the bell which we will discuss later.
When the bell was stood down in 1926 as the Sanctus bell at Hendon, it was taken into the hands of a local who bought the bell and used it as a garden ornament.
It was listed online to be sold and was described to be cast in 1893 in June 2022.
A Cheshire based man who researches and collects ancient ecclesiastical pieces saw this listing and he states that the profile of the bell and the late inscribed in the inscription band led him to believe this was much older and important than that and he was right.
He began to preserve the bell by washing it with mild soapy water and a brush. James also spent many hours looking through resources to uncover the history the bell hold. I myself also helped in ways to uncover parts too by looking through some old books, especially Church Bells of England by H. B. Walters.
The bell itself is a great example of a long waisted bell, bells made in britain of this profile would suggest that they would have been cast around the 10th - 13th centuries. Sussex examples of this can be found at Hardham, Warminghurst and Coombes. Most of these churches are by rivers which suggests the most likely mode of transport it was carried on.
Johannes Melo appears to have been a rather neat and well knowledge bell founder for his inscriptions are clean, the moulding wires are very straight and tidy and 2 ornaments on the bell are beatifully carved.
It would have been wax moulded and either made on a lathe of with a long waisted strikle.
The wax moulded letters are stuck onto grounds and arranged on the model including the initial cross. The arrow stops don't appear to have their own grounds and were just stuck onto the model as they are.
The length of the inscription along the inscription band required it to be on two lines similar to most bells by John Hull.
Apon the top of the bell is a peg which would not have had canons attached to it. On the top of it on each side, you can a small bit of metal which would have been the chimneys for the canon mould.
The moulding wire arrangement is 2:2:2:2.
The bell also possesses it's original clapper which is hung on a crown staple. It is like Sullington in appearence and it is attached to the staple just by the end of the clapper being curved round similar to Fulking.
Points of wear inside the bell suggest the bell has been quarter turned in previous years.
This is the 15th oldest bell in the group of dated foreign bells in England.
The bell's life begins in the year 1577 when a certain Johannes Melo cast the bell in Veroli, Italy.
It was then transported to the Tiber Island in Rome to the basilica of San Giovanni Calibita. It served as the sanctus bell and would have been a very sacred object to the church. The bell must have traveled partly by boat as Tiber island sits in the center of a river.
So had did the bell arrive in England?
St. Clair Baddeley, a historian and author also wrote many travel guides for Italy including Sicily and Venice. While in Italy, the church in the Tiber Island was due to be remodeled and the bells was also to be scrapped. Baddeley's quick thinking led to the bell being rescued and he brought in back with him in 1900. He donated it to St Saviour's church, Hendon where it provided as the Sanctus bell.
An article was written by Baddeley regarding his bell and he questioned whether bells of foreign origin have ever been cataloged. He list the hight of it as 1ft. 4.5" and a circumfrance of 4ft. 2.5" (16.07").
He also explains the two ornaments on the bell which we will discuss later.
When the bell was stood down in 1926 as the Sanctus bell at Hendon, it was taken into the hands of a local who bought the bell and used it as a garden ornament.
It was listed online to be sold and was described to be cast in 1893 in June 2022.
A Cheshire based man who researches and collects ancient ecclesiastical pieces saw this listing and he states that the profile of the bell and the late inscribed in the inscription band led him to believe this was much older and important than that and he was right.
He began to preserve the bell by washing it with mild soapy water and a brush. James also spent many hours looking through resources to uncover the history the bell hold. I myself also helped in ways to uncover parts too by looking through some old books, especially Church Bells of England by H. B. Walters.
The bell itself is a great example of a long waisted bell, bells made in britain of this profile would suggest that they would have been cast around the 10th - 13th centuries. Sussex examples of this can be found at Hardham, Warminghurst and Coombes. Most of these churches are by rivers which suggests the most likely mode of transport it was carried on.
Johannes Melo appears to have been a rather neat and well knowledge bell founder for his inscriptions are clean, the moulding wires are very straight and tidy and 2 ornaments on the bell are beatifully carved.
It would have been wax moulded and either made on a lathe of with a long waisted strikle.
The wax moulded letters are stuck onto grounds and arranged on the model including the initial cross. The arrow stops don't appear to have their own grounds and were just stuck onto the model as they are.
The length of the inscription along the inscription band required it to be on two lines similar to most bells by John Hull.
Apon the top of the bell is a peg which would not have had canons attached to it. On the top of it on each side, you can a small bit of metal which would have been the chimneys for the canon mould.
The moulding wire arrangement is 2:2:2:2.
The bell also possesses it's original clapper which is hung on a crown staple. It is like Sullington in appearence and it is attached to the staple just by the end of the clapper being curved round similar to Fulking.
Points of wear inside the bell suggest the bell has been quarter turned in previous years.
The Ornaments:
Apon the bell is a shield which features a melon below 2 stars. This is most likely his trademark or makers shield and on the other side of the bell is a ornament that pictures a figure of Christ laying wounded in a coffin. This is known as The Extreme humility.
Both of these are on the top half of the waist
Both of these are on the top half of the waist
Recording of the bell:
Partials
Hum - 412.5Hz - Ab-11
Prime - 747.5Hz - F#+17
Tierce - 1032.5Hz - C-22
Quint - 1196Hz - D+31
Nominal - 1766Hz - A+6
Prime - 747.5Hz - F#+17
Tierce - 1032.5Hz - C-22
Quint - 1196Hz - D+31
Nominal - 1766Hz - A+6
| cut_italian_bell.mp3 |
Inscriptions:
*Underlined text is inscriptions within the inscription band*
1 |
+ MENTEM SANCTAM SPONTANEAM HONOREM DEO ET PATRIE LIBERATIONEM><A>D<M<D>LXXVII > IOANNES MELO VERVLANVS ⋒ ⍯ |
Latin Translation:
1: + MENTEM SANCTAM SPONTANEAM HONOREM DEO A D MDLXXVII ET PATRIE LIBERATIONEM IOANNES MELO VERVLANVS A D M D LXXVII -
The holy mind's spontaneous honor and liberation to God and to the country, In the year of the Lord 1577 John Melo Veroli.
⋒ = Fig. JOM,a
⍯= Fig. JOM,b
1: + MENTEM SANCTAM SPONTANEAM HONOREM DEO A D MDLXXVII ET PATRIE LIBERATIONEM IOANNES MELO VERVLANVS A D M D LXXVII -
The holy mind's spontaneous honor and liberation to God and to the country, In the year of the Lord 1577 John Melo Veroli.
⋒ = Fig. JOM,a
⍯= Fig. JOM,b
References
Data on the Bell: Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers
Canon: Personal data collected
Data on the Bell: Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers
Canon: Personal data collected
