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their name in the following way. In the year 1793, the clock of Great St. Mary's, Cambridge, was taken down, and the University agreed to put up another of an improved construction, arranged to strike the quarters on four bells. The celebrated Dr. Crotch was at that time a pupil of Dr. Randall, the Regius Professor of Music, and it is said to have been his idea to take a phrase in the fifth bar of the opening symphony of Handel's air, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," and expand it by variation into this musical chime, which is now sounded from many towers throughout the country, the best known of which is the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.

In the clock chamber of Mayfield Church may still be seen the cumbrous machinery and big wooden drum, studded with iron knobs ; part of an ancient system of chimes, worn out, and long disused, although an old inhabitant of the village, who died a few years ago, aged 93, could remember them in something like working order. She thought they were last used about the year 1809. The idea first entertained by the Jubilee Committee was to have these restored; and with a view to that they were examined by three celebrated firms -Bennett, of Cheapside, Benson, of Ludgate Hill, and Gillett, of Croydon. Two of these firms stated that a restoration was hopeless, and advised the Committee to waste no money on them, but allow them to remain in position as a curious relic of antiquity. The other firm merely stated they would rather have nothing to do with them.

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Until the year 1887, the church clock was an old thirty-hour one, with only one hand, of which one of the dials may be seen inside the church on the west wall. It bore the date 1737, but this probably only marked structural alterations to a still older one of the year 1657. The agreement as to this between the clockmaker and churchwardens is among the papers in the church chest, and runs as follows:"Thomas Punnett his bond about ye Clock for 7 years. "Know all men heerby that I Thomas Punnett of Cranebrook in the County of Kente clockmaker am held and ffirmely bound unto Samuell Jeames and Clement Read of Mayfeild in the County of Sussex, Churchwardens of the said Parish of Mayfeild ffor this presente yeare of our Lorde God 1667 ffor and in the behalfe of the said parish in the summe of Twenty Poundes of good and lawfull English money to be paid unto the said Parrish of Mayfeild or the Churchwardens of the same thatt heerafter shall or may have occasion to see the condition of theise presents fullfilld and performed unto which payment well and truely to be made and donne, I the said Tho: Punnett doe bind myselfe my heirs and administrators ffirmely by theise presentes sealed with my seale dated this thirtieth day of the moneth of June 1657.

"The condition of this obligacion is such thatt whereas the above bonded Thomas Punnett hath made and sett up in the parish Church of

Mayfeild one clock and two dyalles the one at the outside of the said steeple southward the other within the said Parish Church for which said clock and dyalles with all the appurtenances thereof the said Tho: Punnett hath received and doth heerby acknowledge the receipte of the just and ffull summe of elleaven poundes and tenn shillings in ffull payment and sattisfaction for the said clock and dyalls of William Wesson one of the precedent Churchwardens who did agree with him for the said clock and one of the dyalles ffor tenn pounds and of Clement Read one of the present Churchwardens thirtie shillings paid for the dyall in the Church: if therefore the said Thomas Punnett shall by himselfe his heires or administrators suffitiantly keepe and maintaine of his or theire propre cost and charge the said clock and dyalles soe thatt they doe goe well for the space of seven years next after the date heerof (excepting summe violent accident doe occasion its hurte) then this obligacion to be voyd or else to remaine in fforce."

"Sealed and delivered in

the presence of

GEORGE NASH

FRANCIS COURTHOPP

THO. PUNNETT.

Some steep wooden stairs lead from the clock chamber up to the bells.

The period at which Mayfield first boasted a peal of bells is not known. The first notice of them in the registers occurs in an account of a thunder-storm in 1621 (see page 96) when the tower was struck, and much injured, " and some of the bells rent out of their forks." The oldest existing bell has on it "F.G. 1602"-the date of its re-casting, as is shown by accounts among the Parish papers.

Item spent at the taking downe of the little bell
Item spent at the hanging of her up againe

£ s. d.

.

0 1 4 020

Item payd to the bell-founder Gyles for casting of the said bell and for metall

500

Item payd to Richard Burges for one Bawderiche for the said bell

020

Item paid to John Turner for mending of the yrons of that bell and for new needles

.

009

Item payd to John Wenboorne for mending the claper of
the littel bell twice and for needles and broddes
Item payd to him for layeng the eye of the claper of the
said bell and shelting of him

020

020

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Item payd to John Smith for carryeng the bell to Lewes
and for bringing of him back againe
Item payd to him for one daye for himself and his man for
the hanging of her up at XVId. a daye a peece

Item payd to Mr. Meade at Lewes for the wayeng of the said
bell twice

0 10 0

028

. 0 4 6

(It will be noticed that the bell is impartially called "him" and "her.")

A family of Eldridge from Chertsey were bell-founders in the seventeenth century, and had a large business in Sussex during the whole of this period. About ninety of their bells still remain at different churches throughout the county. Richard Eldridge was the first founder of that name, and his bells date from 1592 to 1623. They are generally inscribed "Our Hope in the Lord. R.E." and the date. There was afterwards a Brian Eldridge. A bell at Isfield dated 1618 is the earliest known made by him, and there are more than fifty bells of his in Sussex. The largest in the whole county by Brian Eldridge is Mayfield tenor, dated 1630, which must weigh nearly a ton. The name of William Eldridge appears on a bell at Bolney, dated 1660. Brian and William together have their names on bells in several places, then William's name alone on a number of bells down to the year 1704.

The bond between Brian Eldridge and the churchwardens of Mayfield is in the parish chest. It is dated 7th of September, 1630, "BETWEEN Bryan Eldridge of Chertsey in Surrey, Bell founder, and Richard William Herst, and William Pankherst, Church-wardens

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"The condition of this obligation is that the above bound Bryan Eldridge, his executors, administrators, assigns, or any of them, doe from the day of this date keep the tenor bell of the Parish Church of Mayfield above named sound and tuneable to the rest of the Bells there for one whole yeere and a day, or if it shall happen the said bell to breake, or bee not sound and tuneable as aforesaid duering all the said terme, then if the said Bryan Eldridge his executors, administrators or assignes or any of them shall and doe newcast the said bell and make the same sound and tuneable to the rest of the said bells within two monthes next after warninge to him given by the Churchwardens of the Parishe aforesaid for the tyme being, and delivered unto him at his furnace in Lewes, it being taken downe carried and reecarried and hung up at the costes and charges of the Churchwardens and parishioners of the Parish aforesaid, then this presente obligacion to bee voyde and of none effect or els to stand remayne and abide in full power strength and vertue."

John Waylett, a few years later, was an itinerant founder. There are more than forty of his bells in Sussex, all cast, probably, in their own or in neighbouring parishes. In 1723 he re-cast the peal at East Hoathley. In 1774 he cast five bells at Laughton. From thence he proceeded to Lewes to re-cast the bells at St. John's, and, while he had his temporary furnace there, he re-cast the old treble of

the peal of five at Mayfield, and made the new treble, which was then added to the peal, making it one of six.

Among the churchwardens' accounts we find :—

For Beere to the Ringers when the Bell-founder was here
When the bell was weighed.

When the bell was loaded

For carrying ye bell to Lewes and back again
When ye bell was waid and hung up

For beare to the officers and severall others a hanging up ye bell
For beare to ye ringers when ye bell was hong

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The inscriptions on these two bells are: "The gift of John Baker, Esqre., 1724, J.W. Fecit." 2. "John Waylett made me 1724. R.F. J.M. C.W." (These initials stand for R. Fry and J. Moone, Churchwardens.) The inscriptions on the other bells are: 3. "T.G, 1602." 4. "Briannus Eldredge me fecit. W.W.R.W. 1629." 5. "Peter Baker D.D. Vicar. R. Phelps made me 1712. Mr. John Sands, John Merchant, Churchwardens." This bell was re-cast in 1899. The old inscription remains, with the addition: "Recast 1899. J. H. R. Kirby, Vicar, E. Coppard, J. B. Powell, Churchwardens." 6. "Gloria Deo in excelsis, Brianus Eldridge me fecit. R.W. 1630."

At the time the fifth bell was re-cast, the other bells were re-tuned. The old timbers, which had become unsafe, were removed, and steel girders substituted: the bells were then re-hung, so as to give room for two more, to complete a peal of eight, if desired at any future time.

CHAPTER VII.

THE parish registers of Mayfield date from the year 1570. Few churches possess old registers commencing much earlier than this, as they were unknown throughout Europe before the end of the fifteenth century, and in England were first kept by a royal injunction of Henry VIII. There certainly were monastic registers long before, as every religious establishment had its chronicle, but these did not. deal with the births, deaths, and marriages of the parish generally. The same act which placed the Bible in the English language in our churches enjoined the keeping of parish registers. Stow, the historian, describing this event, says :—

"This month of September 1538, Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seale, Vice-gerent to the King's Highness, sent forth injunctions to all Bishops and Curates through the realme, charging them to see that in everie parish church the Byble, of the largest volume, printed in English were placed for all men to reade in, and that a book of register were also provided, and kept in everie parish church, wherein shall be written everie wedding, chrystening, and burying, within the same Parish for ever.”

The earliest Mayfield register is a very ancient-looking book, made of paper and bound in vellum. Some of the old register books are made of parchment, but this, the oldest of all, is of paper, and ends in the year 1663. It seems to have been fairly regularly kept, except during the Commonwealth, when for several years, the Rev. John Maynard being vicar, it is very faulty. (His own reasons for this are given on page 99.)

Mr. W. Courthope of the College of Arms, when examining the registers in the year 1840, says in a letter to the vicar :—

"The register is most dreadfully imperfect. Hundreds of entries must be omitted, even in the years when they do appear; and in many cases the entire year is defective. This is the more unaccountable as there are correct returns for many of the defective years at Lewes, from which I have many extracts not to be found in the register. This must have proceeded from the clergyman not making the entries at the time, and

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