Ship’s Bell

[acaron41120]

On the subject of the ship’s bell, was it normally located just aft of the main mast on the upper deck?

[druxey]

What country, era, type of ship?

[acaron41120]

16th century British merchant. 

[Dr PR]

Allen,

 

I researched the ship's bell position a while back. It varied from ship to ship, but up until a couple of centuries ago it was almost always somewhere near the stern. I have seen several examples where it was on the after mast. Sometimes it was in a belfry on deck, either before or after the mast. The belfry often was part of  the bitts or pin rail at the base of the mast, or in the railing at the forward edge of the quarterdeck.

 

Beginning in the 1700s or early 1800s they started moving the bell to the bow. Again, it could be mounted to the fore mast, on bitts or in a belfry. Or it was in the railing on the aft side of the foc's'le.

 

I found that the bell is often omitted from drawings of deck fittings.

 

Wherever you mount the bell be careful that it will not foul any of the rigging. This can be a problem with mast mounted bells.

Edited August 8 by Dr PR

[cotrecerf]

Hi Phil,

thanks for your input which leads me directly to ask: Were bell(s) mounted on 18th century Royal Navy armed cutters (at all) and if so, where mounted around 1760s?

On the cutters up to the early 1800s shown in this here built gallery I have not identifed any bell. Were they not a neccessity at least for ocean going vessels of this size for indicating the resp. noon?

 

greetings

 

Joachim

[Dr PR]

Joachim,

 

I am not familiar with the Royal Navy cutters so I can't answer your question directly.

 

Wolfram zu Mondfeld's Historic Ship Models (page 158) has a short section on ship's bells. The belfry was often a pretty elaborate thing that added to the decorations on larger ships. But it was more modest on the smaller vessels.

 

Mondfeld says the English were probably the first to use bells, and cites a reference for the second rate Rainbow of 1650. He says merchant ships carried a single bell near the stern until the early 1700s when it was moved to the forecastle. Warships had the bell somewhere on the forecastle.

[cotrecerf]

Phil,

thanks again for the hints to have a look to. Maybe that cutters were seen too unimportant at that time to record something pertaining to bells. I will see what I can find further in that question.

 

Joachim