Carlisle Cathedral boasts a peal of 12 bells, but it hasn’t always been this way.

When the diocese of Carlisle was founded in 1133, the Augustinian Priory Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity became a Cathedral.

The bell tower of Carlisle Cathedral

Mentions in the “Lanercost Chronicler” state that there were bells in the Cathedral in 1292 but in the late 1300′s it seems the central spire blew down following a storm, damaging the tower and north transept.  It is thought that the original bells would have been destroyed at this time.

A new tower was built when William de Strickland was Bishop, between 1400 – 1419 and in it, placed ‘four great bells’.  One of these was cast around 1401 to the tune of ‘g’ and still exists as the ‘Passing Bell’.  It bears the inscription;

+IHC+IN:VOCE:SUM:MUNDA:MARIA:SONANDO:SECUNDA which translates as;  ‘I, Maria, with pure accents ring, second in the chiming ring’.

These four bells are considered to have survived the English Reformation as they are mentioned in the 1552 inventory.

In 1608 a fifth ‘b’ was, cast by George Lees and Edmund Wright, with the inscription; ‘ Jesus be our speed George Lees Edmund Wright Bel Founders Will Orbel LM 1608′.

Improvements

During the Commonwealth period of 1649 – 1660, improvements were made to the belfry, bell wheels repaired and the ring augmented.  It is thought that the other three bells from the early 1400′s may have been used in the casting of four new bells and writings in Architectural Illustrations, History and Description of Carlisle Cathedral By Robert William Billings in 1830 describe the bells as follows;

Carlisle Cathedral's 1658 bell awaiting tower repairs in 1803

• The first bell note f shewn in the longitudinal section is inscribed in capitals as follows ‘I warne you how your time doth pass away serve God therefore whil life doth last and sayglorie inaxcelsis Deo anno Domini 1657 John and William Langshaw workmen’.   The hammer of the clock strikes on the rim of this bell
• The second ‘g’ Bishop Strickland’s bell has the following in richly ornamented Lombardic capitals In voce sum munda maria sonando secunda NPC and underneath the initials J B
• The third, a sharp, was cracked while ringing during the rejoicings for peace after the battle of Waterloo and was removed to the back of the altar when the belfry was re timbered.  It has the following passage on its rim ‘This ringe was made six tuneable bells at the charge of the Lord Howard and other gentree of the county and citie and officers of the garrisson by the advice of Majer Jeremiah Tolhurst governor of the garrisson 1658′.
• The fourth ‘b’ is inscribed as follows ‘Jesus be our speed George Lees Edmund Wright Bel Founders Will Orbel LM 1608′.
• The fifth ‘c’ has on it ‘Geor Fleming DD Decanus Gloria in Altissi mis Deo 1728′.
• The sixth bell ‘d’ has not any sentence on it but is simply inscribed with the initials WJL and the date 1659

Bonnie Prince Charlie

By the time of the Restoration, Carlisle Cathedral had ‘six tuneable bells’ and a system of chiming was also installed.

One of the features of ringing at this time was the Sermon Bell, rung to call Dissenters to listen to the sermon.

The second bell was found to be cracked in 1728 and this was recast by Edward Sellar of York.

This ring of six bells would have sounded to welcome Bonnie Prince Charlie when he entered Carlisle in 1745, following the capture of the city by the Jacobites.

The  Duke of Cumberland’s forces took the Castle and Carlisle city only three weeks later in December, demanding surrender of the Cathedral bells.  However, his demands were not met and as a result, it is said that he banned the ringing of the bells as a complete peal for 100 years.

In 1747 a new chiming apparatus was installed and played the tune ‘St. David’s’ each day at 8.00am, noon and 4pm.

Neglected

Some of the bells were ‘clocked’ for services, but the tower became unsafe and the bells and belfry were left neglected for almost 100 years, until the mid 19th century.  A note in Architectural Illustrations, History and Description of Carlisle Cathedral by Robert William Billings, states;

‘…from the supposition that the ringing of the bells shook the tower it was resolved not to ring them any more.  Small cords were then attached to the tongues over pulleys and conveyed through the groining to the floor of the tower and one person can now comfortably make the whole give a faint sound’.

In 1845, the 4th bell, which dated from 1659 was found to be cracked and was recast by C & G Mears. Several years later in the 1850′s, Dean Tait appealed for money to restore the bells, but nothing further was done.

It appears that the bells remained in this condition until the early 1900′s, as records indicate that Queen Victoria wrote to ask if the Duke of Cumberland’s ban has been the reason why the bells had not been rung for her Diamond Jubliee in 1897, and a later report in 1915 describes three of the bells with no wheels or ropes and the other three being ‘clocked’ only.

Restoration

Writings by The Rev. H Whitehead in the 1880′s relates the history of the bells and suggests that there should be a ring of eight in the tower, adding that ‘there is ample room for a dozen or more’.

The Very Rev. Hastings Rashdall, Dean of Carlisle from 1917 to 1924 showed a keen interest in restoring the bells and when he died his widow offered to have them rehung and two new trebles added in his memory.

In 1925, Whitechapel foundry refitted and tuned the existing bells and added two new bells to complete the octave.  New chiming apparatus was put in place, programmed to sound the opening changes of Grandsire Triples.

Since 1925, the bells have been rung regularly on the anniversary of Dean Rashdall’s birth, the 24th June.

Millennium

Eight bells being cast by five different founders and dating between the 15th and 20th century, resulted in poor tonal quality, so much so that they earned the doubtful reputation of being the ‘worst Cathedral bells in England’.

Plans to improve the situation came to fruition with a Millennium grant, which combined with a legacy and other funds, allowed the bells to be taken to Taylor’s Bell foundry in Loughborough in the spring of 1999.

The five oldest bells, now being ‘listed’, returned to the tower to be hung dead for use as chiming and clock bells;

• Clock bell (ex Tenor) 1657
• Passing bell (Maria) 1401
• Chiming bells (ex 3, 4 & 5) 1659, 1728 & 1608

Ten new bells were named after northern saints, baptised on the 1st August 1999 by the Very Reverend Graeme Knowles, Dean of Carlisle.

The following week, the bells were raised to the belfry and on the 3rd October 1999, the new ring was dedicated by the Right Reverend Ian Harland, Bishop of Carlisle.

Two treble bells were added in November 2000 and a sharp second bell joined this ring in July 2005.

Carlisle Cathedral now has a ring of twelve bells (thirteen including the sharp second), with a peal tuned to the key of E flat. The dedicated band of ringers now believe that Carlisle Cathedral has the best bells in the country!

Further information

Carlisle Cathedral – Official website
Ailred’s first song - BBC feature with pictures of Carlisle Cathedral’s latest bell installed in 2005
Carlisle Diocesan Guild of Church bell Ringers
CCCBR - Central Council for Church bell Ringers
John Taylor & Co – Bellfounders, bellhangers and carillion builders of Loughborough

A series of demonstrations and workshops highlighting techniques and materials used to create essential and decorative textiles through the ages, is to take place later this year.

The work of textile artist Elizabeth Smith, who will be at the Museum on May 8

The series of events are to be held at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, throughout the summer and early autumn.

The Museum is owned by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Museum Manager Fiona Rosher said: “Knitting and textiles form a significant aspect of the cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales. The hand knitting industry was once an important part of the Dales’ economy, second only to lead mining”.

Events are based upon the traditional knitting and textile skills once used in everyday life.

Visitors will have the opportunity to visit the museum, explore the displayed collections, learn traditional skills and use them to create their own contemporary pieces.

The textiles events at the Museum are:

• Spinning demonstrations in the Museum reception on 3 May, 7 June, 5 July, 2 August, 6 September and 4 October between 2pm and 4pm.
• Weaving demonstrations by Dilys McCaffrey in the Museum reception on 17 April and 14 August from 1pm to 4pm.
• A creative knitting workshop led by textile artist Elizabeth Smith, who is inspired by seaweed and moss, on 8 May between 10am and 4pm. The session costs £35, which includes all materials and refreshments.
• Felt artist Wendy Chan will be creating beautiful jewellery from 10am to 3.30pm on 12 June as part of the Open Studios programme of events. The cost of the day is £15 plus materials.
• Two weekend workshops on 21/22 May and 16/17 July on the theme ‘Sheep to Scarf’. Frances Coates will be demonstrating a variety of processes from raw fleece to finished creations including dyeing, carding, spinning, knitting and felting between10am – 4pm. She will give talks at 11am and 2pm.
• The history of knitting in the Dales will be explained and demonstrated by Kate Trusson between 1pm and 4pm on 5 June and 2 October.

For more information and to book a place please phone 01969 666210

The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) spring conference will feature an impressive line-up of speakers at the Victoria and Albert Museum in March.

Visitors will learn about the context of heritage crafts in the 21st century and get an insider look into the working practices of traditional craftspeople active in the UK today.

The Heritage Crafts Association is holding it's first conference during March 2011

The event will feature a mixture of talks and presentations from academics and practitioners, including a keynote speech by Professor Tanya Harrod author of the prize-winning book The Crafts in Britain in the Twentieth Century.

Also appearing will be Alex Langlands.  Alex is an archaeologist and historian and is possibly best known as a presenter of the BBC TWO television programme Edwardian Farm.

Joining Alex and Tanya in the show timetable will be Sophie Hussain.  She was the stained glass tutor from Monty Don’s Mastercrafts series.

Showcase your craft skills

As part of the event an extra long lunch hour is being scheduled during which you can showcase some of your work.

The event organisers are inviting you to bring in a piece of your craft for an Instant Gallery.

You can even put a notice about how it was made beside it, or stay with your artefact and explain to others at the conference how it was made, and the tools and materials you used to make it.

First HCA conference

This is the first conference organised by the HCA and the first to put the spotlight on a range of traditional crafts currently practiced in the UK.

Crafts from boat building to Savile Row tailoring will be covered.

The Spring Conference will be a learning and networking opportunity.

For more details, or to book a ticket, go to www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/events.

More information
Venue: Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Date: Saturday 19 March 2011, 10am – 4pm
Tickets: £30 (£25 for Friends of the HCA)
To book: Go to www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/events
More info: info@heritagecrafts.org.uk

We were asked to find out about this strange embroidery on an old purse, using metal wire.

Goldwork on velvet

This picture was sent to us by the lady with the Durex knitting needles and she asked us to find out more about the strange type of embroidery which seems to use coiled metal.

Embroidery using metal threads is referred to as Goldwork and at first glance looks like metallic bead work.  Most metal threads are available in silver and sometimes copper as well as gold with some available in colors.
Goldwork is always surface embroidery or couching, where the gold threads are held onto the surface of the fabric by a second thread, usually of fine silk.  In this case, coloured thread has been used through coiled metal, making the finished work look as though pink and blue beads have been used.

The history of goldwork seems to date back at least 2000 years and can be traced back to Asia. Widley used in furnishings and clothing of nobility and royalty in Europe, goldwork reached its zenith in the middle ages when a style called Opus Anglicanum was developed in England which was used extensively in church vestments and hangings.

Goldwork tends to be reserved only for special use due to the costs of the materials and the fact that items worked in goldwork cannot be readily laundered.  It is not thought to be a widely practiced skill today.

We think the wire used in this case is Buillion or Purl, which is a very long, hollow spring, which can be stretched slightly.

It appears on initial inspection, that the work on this purse may not actually belong to the item originally, as the velvet has been hand stitched to the front of the purse.

If anybody can shed more light on this piece just let us know using the comments section below.

More information

The Goldwork Guild – Find out more about goldwork

We recently came across this brand of Durex knitting needles and just had to share it.

The needles were passed to us by one of our readers who found them when sorting through some items at a car boot sale.

Are these for practicing safe knitting?

These double ended knitting needles are designed for knitting socks or anything cylindrical.  Generally purchased in packs of four, it looks as though these ones have never been used.

Most knitting needles today are made of a metal alloy but these particular ones appear to made from a coloured plastic.

The Durex brand of knitting needles (knitting pins) and crochet hooks, seems to show up on a few heritage knitting sites but we know little about the company and the era that these needles date from.

If anybody can help with this information just let us know via the comments section below.

More information

UK Hand Knitting Association - learn more about hand knitting

Traditional crafts and heritage industries now have a champion in the form of the Heritage Crafts Association.

Officially launched today,  the Association has been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months to raise the profile of traditional manufacturing.

Also launched today is the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) Friends’ Scheme.  This will allow supporters to take a more active role in the organisation in return for a small membership fee.

Professor EJT Collins, editor of ‘Crafts in the English Countryside‘, is one of the patrons of the HCA.  His report was the first publication for over 80 years to examine the state of the traditional crafts and trades in the English countryside.

Other patrons include

• Sir Mark Jones KBE – Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
• Alex Langlands – archaeologist and star of ‘The Victorian Farm’ and ‘Tales from the Green Valley’
• Roy Brigden – Keeper of the Museum of English Rural Life

The HCA is a non-profit organisation registered also as a UK charity.

Social interaction

Robin Wood, the HCA Chair, has also set up a blog which already contains over 70 posts. It is hoped that this will be updated regularly with the latest opinions and observations about the traditional crafts sector and the work of the HCA.

You can keep up to date with news from the  HCA by following updates on Twitter.

Since the installation of the ‘Cursing Stone’ in Carlisle it has become the focus for many things going wrong or for events of biblical magnitude in the local area.

Installed as part of the Millennium Gallery underneath Castle Way, the granite art work has been blamed for the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, the Carlisle floods and many other local tragedies.

Cursing Stone in Carlisle

The artwork  was made by Andy Altman and  designed by artist Gordon Young.

It sits at the end of an 80 metre path which bears the names of all the Reiver families.

Gordon was born in Carlisle and is from an ancient Reiver family.

It features just over 300 words from a 1,069 word curse which dates back to the 16th Century,  a curse made against robbers, blackmailers and highwaymen who blighted the area 500 years ago.

This text comes from what is said to be one of the worlds longest curses.

The curse was first invoked by the Archbishop of Glasgow, Gavin Dunbar, in 1525 against cross border families, known as the “reivers”, who lived by stealing cattle, rape and pillage.

It is known as the ‘Monition of Cursing’.

Priests in all of the parishes of the border lands were required to read out the curse.

During 2005 Carlisle City Council discussed the removal of the stone to outside the City boundary or even to destroy it.

It is not clear how much the stone weighs as reports vary from between 7-tons and 14-tonnes.

Further information

Cartmel is a small village in South Cumbria, with it’s own racecourse, a large school and in places narrow winding streets in South Cumbria.

St Michael the Archangel battling his way through the jaws of the dragon.

The Priory at Cartmel was founded over 800 years ago by William Marshall, Baron of Cartmel, and Earl of Pembroke.

Amongst the wooden pews and warm welcome from the vicar and volunteers are a number of pieces of Art by the international sculptor Josefina de Vasconcellos.

Daughter of a diplomat, she lived with her adopted sons and husband in Little Langdale for many years. She was awarded an MBE in 1985.

Josefina died in 2005 at 100, leaving behind fine examples of her work throughout the world.

A number of her works are on display within Cartmel Priory.

More of her works can be found within Cumbria in the following places.

Ambleside
Workington
Carlisle
St Bees
Greystoke
Haverigg
Rydal
Maryport
Kendal
Keswick

Josefina studied at the London Polytechnic, the Royal Academy Schools, in Paris under Antoine Bourdelle, and in Florence. 

Age 20, she gained her first large commission, to create many items including an alter in the Church of St Valerie at Varengeville, Normandy.

She was also a  gifted musician, composer, poet, dancer and inventor.

Heavily influenced by her experiences of two World Wars she is responsible for many works of remembrance.

At St Bees’ School a work called The Hand was commissioned in 1955.

A very tactile statue - They fled by night - Mary and Joseph and the Holy Child. Cartmel Priory.

They fled by night – Mary and Joseph and the Holy Child, is an ideal sculpture for children, or those with limited sight or mobility to engage with.   Being only a few feet high and made of solid resin bronze you can pass your hands over the work easily without risk of damage.

The latest work featured in The Priory is The Young Martyr.

The Young Martyr

Within the base of a solid stone plinth is a lighted candle in a red glass holder. Topping the sculpture is a head behind solid bars. 

On one of the sides are words carved into the stone. They are the names of the Martyrs of Cartmel from 1537

As part of the BBC Cumbria Telling Lives series Linda, a retired Civil Servant,  tells here story of meeting Josefina in 1990 and the resulting sculpture.