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 A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE though it does not necessarily refer to his work, it shows a contemporary custom con- nected with his trade : Itfn. payed for halowyng of the grete bel namyd Harry. . . vjs. viijd. And over that Sir William Symyz. Richard Clech. And maistrez Smyth beyng god faders And god moder at the consecracyon of the same bell. And beryng al other costes to the ffufrygan. In 1510-11 the same accounts have : Itm. payd for trussing of the ij d bell to Hasylwoodes man. . . xijd. This would refer to John Hasylwood, the son and apparently successor to William. It is doubtful whether there are any bells which can be assigned to him or whether the next group, besides the bells in Warwickshire, Hampshire and Somerset already referred to, are not the work of John's successor, John White, possibly at first as manager for John Hasylwood. White's name appears from 1515 (vide Sussex Bells, and that is not necessarily his first appearance) to 1539. His earliest appearance that I know of is in the Church- wardens' Accounts of St. Lawrence's, Reading, for 1516-17 : It. for tylling of the grete bell at the knyll of Whit the belfownders wif. . . xijd. The preceding item Inprimis for ryngyng of the grete bell for the knyll of Raphe White of Okynglim. . . xijd. though proving nothing, suggests that John White may have migrated with the foundry from Wokingham to Reading. There are several bells which seem to be by John White : and I suggest, though with considerable hesitation, that W, either singly or in combination on bells having Wokingham- Reading stamps except where W.H. are both in Hasylwood's capitals always stands for John White. A bell at Hoggeston (Bucks) and one at Caldecote (Cambs.), both have a string of stamps, chiefly already known as belonging to this foundry ; the former has H W in the Wokingham crowned capitals, the latter only the W. A bell at Ewelme (Oxon.) has a meaningless (so far as I can guess) string of black-letter smalls, preceded by a capital D, both of which sets of letterings came into use in this foundry from about this time, and in the middle of the inscription are the letters (wrong side up) K I W, the two former in W. Hasylwood's letters, the last a large plain letter. A bell at March Baldon (Oxon.) has the cross and last seven letters of the Wokingham crowned set, alternated in a sportive manner in two lines, the upper of which is completed by Hasylwood's cross, a circular stamp not occurring to my knowledge elsewhere, and the later lion's head. The tenor at Boveney (Bucks) bears the first seven letters of the alphabet in Hasylwood's capitals, without initial cross or other ornament. And a bell at Bloxham (Oxon.) has in the Wokingham crowned capitals, or their sixteenth century reproductions, and the large black-letter smalls already mentioned as on a bell at Ewelme : SANCTA MARIA HORAPRONOBIS W. Sancta ends as well as begins with a capital and the last three words are run together, and an aspirate prefixed. The W is followed by the later lion's head. The above group seem to be the works of John White. The following entry * in the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Lawrence, Reading, for 1520-21, shows him in a different ' line ' : It. paid to White the Belfounder for' arrerag 1 of the glasse for the new wyndows in the quere in full payment for the same wyndows. xiijs. iiijd. John White had a son of the same name, who continued paying the ' yeres rent of the tenantes in the South side of the newe ftrete ' regularly until 1547-8 : and in 1553 a bell- founder of this name, ' of Brystowe,' recast three bells belonging to the church of Weston under Penyard in Herefordshire, 3 which parish is divided from that of Bridstow by the parish of Ross. In 1539 John Saunders took over the foundry. He was probably not a Reading man, but came there expressly ; and seems to have been in some way connected with Winchester and London. There are a few bells which bear his initials, and which it may be taken for granted are his work, but there are other bells connected with these by lettering or other stamps, most of which are almost certainly by him, while one or two might be by an unknown founder (else- where), whose stamps Saunders subsequently acquired ; others again might possibly be by their next owner. They occur in Berkshire, 1 Various other documentary evidences of this founder are quoted in Church Bells of Sucks, pp. 46, 64, 65, 66. > Exch. K.R. Ch. Goods Heref. 7 Edw. VI. A No. 2. 416