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Miles Graye

April 18, 2024

Miles Graye was a dynasty of English bell-founders who had foundries in Colchester and Saffron Walden in Essex during the 17th-century. It is believed that the family cast over 415 bells, many of which remain today.[1]

In John Speed's map of Colchester from 1610 Head Gate is shown in the lower left corner, and Miles Graye's bell-foundry was in Head Street nearby

There were three generations of bell founders of that name who cast in their two foundries but who were also journeymen craftsmen who travelled East Anglia making bells in the fields and churchyards and who practised their craft from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to James II. A Miles Graye is recorded as being a householder in Colchester in 1567, and it was his son who became the famous bell-founder, Miles Graye I.[2]

Miles Graye I (c1575-1649) edit

Miles Graye I has been described as 'the prince of bell-founders' and began his career as an apprentice at a foundry in Colchester which belonged to a Richard Bowler. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it was probably in about 1575.[1] His first recorded bell was cast for St Andrew's church in Bulmer in Essex in 1600.[3] The first reference to him as a bell-founder in The Church Bells of Essex is 'by no means creditable to him'. In 1598 Miles was examined by the bailiffs at the Colchester Quarter Sessions and made a voluntary confession accepting that "he is the father of the child with which Alice Mullynges is pregnant", he presumably having met the young woman at the house of Richard Bowler, and who may well have been a domestic servant there.[1] However, Miles did the decent thing and shortly after he married her. His will states that Miles Graye I had four children living at the time of his death: Miles II, James, Ann and Mary. His wife Alice must have died some time previously as he leaves most of his property to 'Dorothy my loving wife'. His will was first written in 1643 and in it he described himself as 'being weak in body and crazed with age, but yet in perfect mind and memory'. His foundry was at Head Street in Colchester. He died in 1649 and it is possible that he endured some financial difficulty in his last year arising from the Siege of Colchester of 1648 during the Civil War when his will of 1649 records that some of his property including his bell-foundry in Head Street[1] was destroyed by fire.[2]

Miles Graye II (c1599-1666) edit

Miles Graye II married Jane Banishe of Stratford in 1622,[4] and the Saffron Walden parish registers record the baptismal entries of several children of "Miles Gray and of Jane his wife", namely Jacob, 26 November 1630; Jane, 17 January 1632 ; Jane, 19 June 1633 ; Marie, 5 August 1638 ; and Robert, 19 February 1639. The burials of two daughters are also recorded — Jane, 19 February 1631, and Mary, 12 August 1643.[4]

Miles Graye II and his family lived at Saffron Walden for much of the period between 1630 and 1643 when his father Miles Graye I was employing him between the years 1629-1642 as his agent in the counties of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.[2][4] It is recorded that Miles Graye II had a foundry in Saffron Walden[1] as there are records of bells being carried there by cart from St Katherine's church in Ickleford in Hertfordshire in 1637:

First payd to Gray of Saffron Walden, bellfounder, for running and casting fower of the Bells belonging to the Church of Ickleford aforesayd, 13 li.

Item payd to James Jackson for carriage of some of the sayd bells by cart to Saffron Walden and for recarriage of them, 20s. Item for carriage of the other of the sayd bells theither and for recarriage of them by this accomptant's owne carte and horses, 20s.


Item to — Gray for mending a bell clapper, 3s.

Item to a messenger to go to Saffron Walden. 2s 6d.[5][6]

The foundry was obviously not far from the church as the cost of carrying bells to and from Saffron Walden Church is very low. No bells are recorded as having been cast by Miles Graye II after 1642 and he appears to have left the business at that time, possibly due to the Civil War, although some have argued that he may have had a disagreement with Miles Graye I, possibly over his father's new wife, as he and his sisters received only a shilling each in their father's will.[1] It is believed that Miles II died in 1666.[2]

Miles Graye III (1628-1686) edit

The third bell-founding Miles Graye, the son of Miles II and Jane, was born at Colchester in 1628 and it was he who carried on the bell-founding business after the death of his grandfather Miles Graye I in 1649. He worked mainly in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire and continued to cast bells until his death in 1686.[2]

Miles II and Jane also had a son Christopher Graye, born in 1626 and who also became a bell-founder, but he did not work in Colchester or cast any Essex bells. Ann, daughter of Miles Graye I also married a bell-founder, John Darbie, who is known to have cast 161 bells in Suffolk.[2]

Notable bells cast by Miles Graye edit

 
A late 16th-century bell by Miles Graye - formerly at St Mary's church in Stoughton in Sussex but now at the Weald and Downland Living Museum

Due to augmentations and recastings only three complete rings of Miles Graye bells remain they are; the ring of five bells at St Mary Virgin Great Leighs, Essex cast in 1634 by Miles I Graye,[7] the ring of three bells at Hauxton, Cambridgeshire cast in 1666 by Miles III Graye,[8] and the ring of four bells at West Hanningfield, Essex cat in 1676 by Miles III Graye.[9]

However a number of rings exist where Miles Graye cast the majority of the bells including Bramford,[10] Ipswich St Margaret,[11] Broxted,[12] Acton,[13] Bassingbourne,[14] Swaffham,[15] Little Horkesley,[16] and Gestingthorpe.[17]

Bells larger than 42'' in diameter cast by the Miles Graye family
Tower No. of bell Weight Diameter Cast Founder
Lavenham, Suffolk, S Peter & S Paul 8 of 8 21-0-7 (1070 kg) in D♭ 52.00" 1625 Miles I Graye
Hadleigh, Suffolk, S Mary 8 of 8 22-1-17 (1138 kg) in D 52.00" 1680 Miles III Graye
Stowmarket, Suffolk, S Peter & S Mary 8 of 8 20-0-27 (1028 kg) in D 51.50" 1622 Miles I Graye
Ipswich, Suffolk, S Mary le Tower Sanctus 21-1-15 (1086 kg) in E♭ 51.50" 1610 Miles I Graye
Sible Hedingham, Essex, S Peter 8 of 8 18¼ cwt (~930 kg) in E 48.00" 1616 Miles I Graye
Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, S Mary V 8 of 8 16-0-14 (819 kg) in E♭ 47.00" 1653 Miles III Graye
Swaffham, Norfolk, S Peter & S Paul 8 of 8 15-2-23 (798 kg) in E 46.50" 1634 Miles I Graye
Braughing, Hertfordshire, S Mary V 8 of 8 19 cwt (~970 kg) in E 46.50" 1631 Miles I Graye
Feering, Essex, All Saints 8 of 8 18 cwt (~910 kg) in F 46.00" 1624 Miles I Graye
Felsham, Suffolk, S Peter 6 of 6 15½ cwt (~790 kg) in F 45.00" 1639 Miles II Graye
Little Bentley, Essex, S Mary 5 of 5 15¼ cwt (~770 kg) in F 44.38" 1626 Miles I Graye
Kelvedon, Essex, S Mary V 7 of 8 14-1-3 (725 kg) in F 44.25" 1615 Miles I Graye
Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, S Peter 6 of 6 18 cwt (~910 kg) in E 43.94" 1638 Miles I Graye
Ipswich, Suffolk, S Margaret 8 of 8 14-0-11 (716 kg) in F 43.56" 1630 Miles I Graye
Great Bardfield, Essex, S Mary V 8 of 8 15 cwt (~760 kg) in F♯ 43.50" 1602 Miles I Graye
Layer de la Haye, Essex, S John Bapt 6 of 6 10-3-22 (556 kg) in F 43.38" 1622 Miles I Graye
Sudbury, Suffolk, S Peter 9 of 10 14-1-25 (735 kg) in F♯ 43.25" 1641 Miles I Graye
Great Hormead, Hertfordshire, S Nicholas 6 of 6 12 cwt (~610 kg) in F♯ 43.00" 1623 Miles I Graye
Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, S Peter & S Paul 6 of 6 12-0-9 (614 kg) in F♯ 42.75" 1650 Miles III Graye
Helions Bumpstead, Essex, S Andrew 8 of 8 12-2-9 (639 kg) in F 42.63" 1641 Miles II Graye
Braughing, Hertfordshire, S Mary V 7 of 8 12¾ cwt (~650 kg) in F♯ 42.50" 1653 Miles III Graye
Swaffham, Norfolk, S Peter & S Paul 7 of 8 12-0-10 (614 kg) in F♯ 42.25" 1634 Miles I Graye
Feering, Essex, All Saints 7 of 8 12½ cwt (~640 kg) in G 42.00" 1624 Miles I Graye

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Karen Bowman, Essex Boys, Amberley Publishing (2013) - Google Books
  2. ^ a b c d e f Joy Pugh, 'Miles Graye Made Me…', Saffron Walden Historical Journal, No 6 Autumn 2003
  3. ^ Freda Nicholls, 'Four Colchester Bell Founders' - Colchester Archaeological Group, Annual Bulletin Vol. 41 2000-2001, pgs. 41-42
  4. ^ a b c Miles Graye of Colchester - Colchester Archaeological Trust
  5. ^ The Home Counties' Magazine (vol. iv. (1902), pp. 98-100
  6. ^ G. Montagu Benton, Miles Graye of Colchester (1925) Archaeological Notes - The Colchester Archaeological Trust, pp. 69-71
  7. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

April 18, 2024
miles, graye, dynasty, english, bell, founders, foundries, colchester, saffron, walden, essex, during, 17th, century, believed, that, family, cast, over, bells, many, which, remain, today, john, speed, colchester, from, 1610, head, gate, shown, lower, left, co. Miles Graye was a dynasty of English bell founders who had foundries in Colchester and Saffron Walden in Essex during the 17th century It is believed that the family cast over 415 bells many of which remain today 1 In John Speed s map of Colchester from 1610 Head Gate is shown in the lower left corner and Miles Graye s bell foundry was in Head Street nearby There were three generations of bell founders of that name who cast in their two foundries but who were also journeymen craftsmen who travelled East Anglia making bells in the fields and churchyards and who practised their craft from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to James II A Miles Graye is recorded as being a householder in Colchester in 1567 and it was his son who became the famous bell founder Miles Graye I 2 Contents 1 Miles Graye I c1575 1649 2 Miles Graye II c1599 1666 3 Miles Graye III 1628 1686 4 Notable bells cast by Miles Graye 5 ReferencesMiles Graye I c1575 1649 editMiles Graye I has been described as the prince of bell founders and began his career as an apprentice at a foundry in Colchester which belonged to a Richard Bowler The exact date of his birth is not known but it was probably in about 1575 1 His first recorded bell was cast for St Andrew s church in Bulmer in Essex in 1600 3 The first reference to him as a bell founder in The Church Bells of Essex is by no means creditable to him In 1598 Miles was examined by the bailiffs at the Colchester Quarter Sessions and made a voluntary confession accepting that he is the father of the child with which Alice Mullynges is pregnant he presumably having met the young woman at the house of Richard Bowler and who may well have been a domestic servant there 1 However Miles did the decent thing and shortly after he married her His will states that Miles Graye I had four children living at the time of his death Miles II James Ann and Mary His wife Alice must have died some time previously as he leaves most of his property to Dorothy my loving wife His will was first written in 1643 and in it he described himself as being weak in body and crazed with age but yet in perfect mind and memory His foundry was at Head Street in Colchester He died in 1649 and it is possible that he endured some financial difficulty in his last year arising from the Siege of Colchester of 1648 during the Civil War when his will of 1649 records that some of his property including his bell foundry in Head Street 1 was destroyed by fire 2 Miles Graye II c1599 1666 editMiles Graye II married Jane Banishe of Stratford in 1622 4 and the Saffron Walden parish registers record the baptismal entries of several children of Miles Gray and of Jane his wife namely Jacob 26 November 1630 Jane 17 January 1632 Jane 19 June 1633 Marie 5 August 1638 and Robert 19 February 1639 The burials of two daughters are also recorded Jane 19 February 1631 and Mary 12 August 1643 4 Miles Graye II and his family lived at Saffron Walden for much of the period between 1630 and 1643 when his father Miles Graye I was employing him between the years 1629 1642 as his agent in the counties of Hertfordshire Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire 2 4 It is recorded that Miles Graye II had a foundry in Saffron Walden 1 as there are records of bells being carried there by cart from St Katherine s church in Ickleford in Hertfordshire in 1637 First payd to Gray of Saffron Walden bellfounder for running and casting fower of the Bells belonging to the Church of Ickleford aforesayd 13 li Item payd to James Jackson for carriage of some of the sayd bells by cart to Saffron Walden and for recarriage of them 20s Item for carriage of the other of the sayd bells theither and for recarriage of them by this accomptant s owne carte and horses 20s Item to Gray for mending a bell clapper 3s Item to a messenger to go to Saffron Walden 2s 6d 5 6 The foundry was obviously not far from the church as the cost of carrying bells to and from Saffron Walden Church is very low No bells are recorded as having been cast by Miles Graye II after 1642 and he appears to have left the business at that time possibly due to the Civil War although some have argued that he may have had a disagreement with Miles Graye I possibly over his father s new wife as he and his sisters received only a shilling each in their father s will 1 It is believed that Miles II died in 1666 2 Miles Graye III 1628 1686 editThe third bell founding Miles Graye the son of Miles II and Jane was born at Colchester in 1628 and it was he who carried on the bell founding business after the death of his grandfather Miles Graye I in 1649 He worked mainly in Cambridgeshire Bedfordshire Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire and continued to cast bells until his death in 1686 2 Miles II and Jane also had a son Christopher Graye born in 1626 and who also became a bell founder but he did not work in Colchester or cast any Essex bells Ann daughter of Miles Graye I also married a bell founder John Darbie who is known to have cast 161 bells in Suffolk 2 Notable bells cast by Miles Graye edit nbsp A late 16th century bell by Miles Graye formerly at St Mary s church in Stoughton in Sussex but now at the Weald and Downland Living Museum Due to augmentations and recastings only three complete rings of Miles Graye bells remain they are the ring of five bells at St Mary Virgin Great Leighs Essex cast in 1634 by Miles I Graye 7 the ring of three bells at Hauxton Cambridgeshire cast in 1666 by Miles III Graye 8 and the ring of four bells at West Hanningfield Essex cat in 1676 by Miles III Graye 9 However a number of rings exist where Miles Graye cast the majority of the bells including Bramford 10 Ipswich St Margaret 11 Broxted 12 Acton 13 Bassingbourne 14 Swaffham 15 Little Horkesley 16 and Gestingthorpe 17 Bells larger than 42 in diameter cast by the Miles Graye family Tower No of bell Weight Diameter Cast Founder Lavenham Suffolk S Peter amp S Paul 8 of 8 21 0 7 1070 kg in D 52 00 1625 Miles I Graye Hadleigh Suffolk S Mary 8 of 8 22 1 17 1138 kg in D 52 00 1680 Miles III Graye Stowmarket Suffolk S Peter amp S Mary 8 of 8 20 0 27 1028 kg in D 51 50 1622 Miles I Graye Ipswich Suffolk S Mary le Tower Sanctus 21 1 15 1086 kg in E 51 50 1610 Miles I Graye Sible Hedingham Essex S Peter 8 of 8 18 cwt 930 kg in E 48 00 1616 Miles I Graye Gamlingay Cambridgeshire S Mary V 8 of 8 16 0 14 819 kg in E 47 00 1653 Miles III Graye Swaffham Norfolk S Peter amp S Paul 8 of 8 15 2 23 798 kg in E 46 50 1634 Miles I Graye Braughing Hertfordshire S Mary V 8 of 8 19 cwt 970 kg in E 46 50 1631 Miles I Graye Feering Essex All Saints 8 of 8 18 cwt 910 kg in F 46 00 1624 Miles I Graye Felsham Suffolk S Peter 6 of 6 15 cwt 790 kg in F 45 00 1639 Miles II Graye Little Bentley Essex S Mary 5 of 5 15 cwt 770 kg in F 44 38 1626 Miles I Graye Kelvedon Essex S Mary V 7 of 8 14 1 3 725 kg in F 44 25 1615 Miles I Graye Monks Eleigh Suffolk S Peter 6 of 6 18 cwt 910 kg in E 43 94 1638 Miles I Graye Ipswich Suffolk S Margaret 8 of 8 14 0 11 716 kg in F 43 56 1630 Miles I Graye Great Bardfield Essex S Mary V 8 of 8 15 cwt 760 kg in F 43 50 1602 Miles I Graye Layer de la Haye Essex S John Bapt 6 of 6 10 3 22 556 kg in F 43 38 1622 Miles I Graye Sudbury Suffolk S Peter 9 of 10 14 1 25 735 kg in F 43 25 1641 Miles I Graye Great Hormead Hertfordshire S Nicholas 6 of 6 12 cwt 610 kg in F 43 00 1623 Miles I Graye Bassingbourn Cambridgeshire S Peter amp S Paul 6 of 6 12 0 9 614 kg in F 42 75 1650 Miles III Graye Helions Bumpstead Essex S Andrew 8 of 8 12 2 9 639 kg in F 42 63 1641 Miles II Graye Braughing Hertfordshire S Mary V 7 of 8 12 cwt 650 kg in F 42 50 1653 Miles III Graye Swaffham Norfolk S Peter amp S Paul 7 of 8 12 0 10 614 kg in F 42 25 1634 Miles I Graye Feering Essex All Saints 7 of 8 12 cwt 640 kg in G 42 00 1624 Miles I GrayeReferences edit a b c d e f Karen Bowman Essex Boys Amberley Publishing 2013 Google Books a b c d e f Joy Pugh Miles Graye Made Me Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 6 Autumn 2003 Freda Nicholls Four Colchester Bell Founders Colchester Archaeological Group Annual Bulletin Vol 41 2000 2001 pgs 41 42 a b c Miles Graye of Colchester Colchester Archaeological Trust The Home Counties Magazine vol iv 1902 pp 98 100 G Montagu Benton Miles Graye of Colchester 1925 Archaeological Notes The Colchester Archaeological Trust pp 69 71 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 19 April 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miles Graye amp oldid 1158256409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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