Bilbie family (bell founders and clock makers)

The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century.

Their importance to the local economy and in local history is commemorated by Bilbie Road in Chew Stoke and in the village sign.

The Bilbie family produced more than 1,350 bells, which are hung in churches all over the West Country. The oldest bell, cast in 1698, is still giving good service in St Andrews Church.

Supplies of the tin and copper used to make bell metal were probably obtained from brass foundries in Kelston and Bristol. The metal was melted in a wood burning furnace to over 1,500 °C (2,732 °F) and then poured into a mould made from loam, or foundry mud, from the River Chew.

Legend suggests the Bilbies were wild looking men with long hair who could scarcely read or write, who would never cast a bell except when it was a full moon, midnight, and conditions were perfectly still. It is suggested that the reason Chew Stoke has amazingly criss-cross roads is because a sort of bypass was constructed so that silence in making bells would not be disturbed by travellers on horseback or by carriages passing the foundry.

Church bells the Bilbies produced include:

All Saints Long Ashton two Bilbie bells

Easton In Gordano St Georges church has three Bilbie bells.

Edward Bilbie is thought to have learnt the clockmaking trade from Edward Webb, who died in 1694. Bilbie started casting bells in 1698, and it is highly probable that he was making clocks by this time.

Around this time Bristol was one of the most important centres for clock making outside London. This was in part due to the strong brass founding industry which had developed in response to a healthy export demand and the abundant supply of the raw materials copper and zinc in the west. In the late 17th century the clock making industry thrived in the Chew Valley of Somerset thanks to Thomas Veale, Edward Webb and Edward Bilbie, whose clock making was conducted alongside their bell-founding work. Such a concentrated effort resulted in a distinctive local style of lantern clock.

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Wikipedia