Bellfounding

Bellfounding is the casting of bells in a foundry for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings. The process in East Asia dates to about 2000 BCE and in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century. In early times, when a town produced a bell it was a momentous occasion in which the whole community would participate. Archaeological excavations of churchyards in Britain have revealed furnaces, which suggests that bells were often cast on site in pits dug in the building grounds. In some instances bells were cast directly in the church. Before the nineteenth century, bellfounders tended to be itinerant, travelling from church to church to cast bells on site. More centralized foundries were established on foundation of railways. There are however examples of foundries producing bells prior to this, such as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and John Taylor & Co of Loughborough.

Bells intended to be rung are usually made by casting bell metal (a high-copper bronze alloy) of a size appropriate for the pitch the bell is intended to produce. Fine tuning of metal bells is achieved on a lathe where a precise amount of material is removed from the inside of the bell in order to produce a true tone with correct harmonics. Bells are used often to play a chime sequence and so must be well tuned in order to produce a correct scale of musical notes.

Bellfounding has been important throughout the history of ancient civilizations. Eastern bells, known for their tremendous size, were some of the earliest bells, cast many centuries before the European Iron Age. The earliest bells were made of pottery, developing later into the casting of metal bells. Archaeological evidence of bellfounding appears in Neolithic China. The earliest metal bells, with one found in the Taosi site, and four in the Erlitou site, are dated to about 2000 BCE. Portable bells came to Britain with the spread of Celtic Christianity, and most of those still remaining share an association with Scotland, Wales and Ireland.Bells are traditionally cast in foundries for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings. A practitioner of the craft is called a bellfounder or bellmaker.

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