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| Brushford Church - ChurchCrawler [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
"The following are the rules, orders and regulations found in the belfry at Brushford, Somerset.
Let awful silence first proclaimed be !
Next let us praise the Holy Trinity.
Then homage pay unto our valiant King,
And with a blessing raise the pleasant ring.
Hark ! now the chirping treble rings it clear,
And covering Tom comes rolling in the rear.
Now up and set, let us consult and see
What laws are best to keep sobriety.
Then all consent to make this joint decree
Let him who swears, or in an angry mood
Quarrels or strikes (although he draws no blood),
Or wears his hat, or spurs, or turns a bell,
Or by unskilful handling mars a peal,
Pay down sixpence for each crime !
(This caution shall not be effaced with time).
But if the Sexton's these defaults should be,
From him demand a double penalty.
Whoever does his Parson disrespect,
Or Warden's order wilfully neglect
By one and all be held in foul disgrace
And ever banished this harmonious place.
Now round let's go with pleasure to the ear
And pierce with pleasing sounds the yielding air,
And when the bells are up, then let us sing
God save the Church, and bless Great George the King.
Next let us praise the Holy Trinity.
Then homage pay unto our valiant King,
And with a blessing raise the pleasant ring.
Hark ! now the chirping treble rings it clear,
And covering Tom comes rolling in the rear.
Now up and set, let us consult and see
What laws are best to keep sobriety.
Then all consent to make this joint decree
Let him who swears, or in an angry mood
Quarrels or strikes (although he draws no blood),
Or wears his hat, or spurs, or turns a bell,
Or by unskilful handling mars a peal,
Pay down sixpence for each crime !
(This caution shall not be effaced with time).
But if the Sexton's these defaults should be,
From him demand a double penalty.
Whoever does his Parson disrespect,
Or Warden's order wilfully neglect
By one and all be held in foul disgrace
And ever banished this harmonious place.
Now round let's go with pleasure to the ear
And pierce with pleasing sounds the yielding air,
And when the bells are up, then let us sing
God save the Church, and bless Great George the King.
A.D. 1803. June 7th. Robert Gooding, Churchwarden
.
The spelling in the original of the following notice is a little " mixed.""
The spelling in the original of the following notice is a little " mixed.""
Hewett 1900
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