Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells.

History

There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century. The family business was founded by Abraham Rudhall (1657–1736) who developed a method of tuning bells by

turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...

on a

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

rather than the traditional ''chipping'' method with a chisel. One of the earliest

ring of bells A "ring of bells" is the name bell ringers give to a set of bells hung for English full circle ringing. The term "peal of bells" is often used, though peal also refers to a change ringing performance of more than about 5,000 changes. By r ...

he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be described as the greatest bell-founder of his age. The business was continued by his eldest son, also called Abraham (1680–1735), his son Abel (1714–60), and three of Abel's sons, Thomas (?1740–83), Charles (1746–1815) and John (1760–1835). In 1815 John Rudhall was declared bankrupt and the bell foundry bought by Mears & Stainbank who owned the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

. The business formally closed in 1828 but bells bearing John's name have been found with dates up to 1835. ()

Selected bells

Five bells cast in 1702 by Abraham Rudhall I hang in St James the Great, West Hanney, Oxfordshire. A sixth was recast in 1856. In 1706 and 1707 Abraham Rudhall I cast three of the bells of Great Malvern Priory. In 1710 Abraham Rudhall I cast six bells for SS Michael and Wulfhad's church in

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England; it is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of the county town of Stafford, 7 miles (11 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent and 15 miles (24 km) north of Rugeley. As a notable c ...

. In 2012 the four heaviest bells, including the tenor, were re-hung in the church but the other two were replaced by new bells cast by the

. The two redundant bells were moved to St Michael's Tower, Gloucester, near to where they were cast. Three of the bells of St Mary Magdalene, Adlestrop were cast by Abraham Rudhall I in 1711. Six of the bells in the Church of St Leonard, Middleton,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

were cast by Abraham Rudhall I in 1714. Five of the bells of St Michael and All Angels, Great Torrington were cast by Abraham Rudhal I in 1716. Six of the bells in

Pershore Abbey Pershore Abbey, at Pershore in Worcestershire, was a Benedictine abbey with Anglo-Saxon origins and is now an Church of England, Anglican parish church, the Church of the Holy Cross. History Foundation The foundation of the minster at Pershore ...

were cast in 1729 by Abraham Rudhall II: a seventh (also 1727) was recast in 1897. Six bells by Abel Rudhall (cast in 1738 and 1753) hang in

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...

. Eight

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

bells (tenor: in F) at

Old North Church The Old North Church (officially Christ Church in the City of Boston) is an Episcopal mission church located in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The church, which was built in 1723, is the oldest standing church building ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

were cast by Abel Rudhall in 1744 and hung in 1745. One bell has the inscription: "We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America, A.R. 1744." All eight bells from the Church of St Anne, Shandon, an iconic symbol of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland, were cast by Abel Rudhall in 1750, although they were recast twice in 1865 and 1906. Four bells of

Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral () is a Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival three-spire Church of Ireland cathedral in Cork (city), Cork city, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Lee and dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patr ...

, Cork, including the tenor, remain from the ring of eight cast by Abel Rudhall in 1751. Five bells cast by Abel Rudhall in 1757 still hang in

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

. Bells cast in 1762 by Thomas Rudhall hang in St George's, Kelmscott, Oxfordshire.

References

{{Bells Bell foundries of the United Kingdom Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom 1684 establishments in England 1828 disestablishments Companies based in Gloucester Industrial history of Gloucestershire