Broken bellwheels in the steeple
The earliest record we have of bells at Little Packington dates from 1552, when 'three belles in the steple' were recorded by Edward VI's commissioners. Perhaps these old bells were melted down as symbols of superstition. The modern bells date from the reign of queen Elizabeth, and were cast by the Newcombe family. Nine Leicester bellfounders with the surname Newcombe are recorded between 1506 and 1622. The following details are taken from Tilley and Walters: Church Bells of Warwickshire, 1910, with additions from H B Walters: The Church Bells of England (Frowde for OUP, 1912). |
 An early bell with long body |
Saint Anne
The 22 inch treble bell is by Thomas Newcombe II (fl. 1562-1580), or possibly Thomas Newcombe I (fl. 1506-20). The maker's stamps are very much worn.
Inscribed: (stop) S|AN|NA| (shield)
Lettering similar to Mancetter fourth, and Budbrooke.
This bell is now at Halford church, South Warwickshire.
In the Name of God
The 24.5 inch second bell is probably by Edward Newcombe & Hugh Watts I in partnership, around 1595 - possibly commemorating a marriage uniting these bellfounding families.
Inscribed: 'IN THE NAME OF GOD' (reversed).
Lettering mixed; the E, H, I as on Haseley second, the others as Olney (Bucks) and South Luffenham (Rutland).
ABCTEFGHIK
The 28.75 inch tenor bell is by the Newcombe family, around 1595. The maker's stamps are very much worn.
Inscribed:
(shield)(cross)(king) KIHGFETCBA[in mirror reversal] (stop).
The Brasyer bellfounding shield (from a stamp passed down to the Newcombes) and King's head are as at Stoneleigh. The stop is the same as that used on the treble. There are similar bells at Higham Ferrers (old fourth), Overbury, Worcs and Old Weston, Hunts.
This bell is now at Halford.
Walters (page 329) discusses 'alphabet bells' and says it is supposed that some symbolism may have been attached to the use of the alphabet, and in some [medieval] rituals it was customary at the dedication of a church for the bishop to write on the pavement two alphabets, one in Greek, the other in Latin, perhaps with reference to our Lord's stooping and writing on the ground (John viii. 6). He cites Maskell, Monum. Ritualia, i. p.208 (Oxford, 1882), who said the alphabet was intended to symbolise the elements of doctrine. Alphabet bells can be found from the fourteenth century through to 1719 (Tysoe, Warwickshire). In some cases the use of jumbled letters, numbers and devices are more probably the result of ignorance on the part of the bell-founder.
Perhaps to the illiterate, these strange symbols carried a numinous power.
Alternatively, at a time of doctrinal turmoil, it could have been safer to create an uncontroversial inscription.
A jumbled alphabet might also reflect the work of an illiterate journeyman bellfounder - and a casting on-site rather than in the home foundry.
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