Hertfordshire Bellfounders

This thoroughly researched book on church bells cast in Hertfordshire, England, brings to life the men who cast them and includes a nearly exhaustive catalog of their work. It includes biographical details of the founders—from the shadowy figures of John Clarke and John Grene in the late 1500s to John Dier, an excellent worker who was hanged for murder in 1603. Casting techniques of the different periods are explained, maps of the locations of each caster’s work are provided, and more than 50 photographs of the relevant churches are included.