This is the bell in the front yard of the Community Church of East Gloucester on Chapel Street. I visited the Church last Sunday, but before that I had no idea it existed. I found the bell interesting, and when I did some research on it, I found it very interesting. Blake Bell Co. dates back to the 1800’s and William Blake was an apprentice of Paul Revere.
“William Blake was an apprentice of Paul Revere. William Blake was involved with, and owned, several metal casting companies in private & with partners from 1820 to 1890.
In this historic time period, firms opened & closed based on the individual financer decision to fund, to continue funding, or to withdraw funding, in order to participate in another financial endeavor. If a financial partner withdrew, it was necessary for the principal owner, usually the craftsman, to locate another individual as a source of funding. A change in the funding partner typically required a name change. (Today, this funding is accomplished by the stock market.)
In 1823, Paul Revere III, Wm. Blake & John Sullivan founded the Boston & Braintree Co. The bells cast are not dated. This same year, the foundry’s name was changed to Boston Copper Co. The Boston Copper Co. closed in 1830. Boston Copper Co. bells are dated.
In 1830-1868, Wm. Blake partnered with Henry N. Hooper, & Richardson forming the Hooper, Blake & Richardson Company located in Boston, casting bells.
In 1859 to 1890, Wm. Blake & Henry Hooper formed another bell foundry: Henry N. Hooper & Co., also known as Hooper & Co. in Boston. Hooper bells dated 1859 are located at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Lynn, Mass., and Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont.
W. Blake & Company located at Allen Streets in Boston, Massachusetts was in operation from 1820 to 1890. At that time, he operated under the names of W. Blake & Co. and Blake Bell Co. In 1825, Blake cast the first set of chimes by an American foundry. (Previously, all chimes were cast in Europe.) Two chimes were cast: one of eight bells and one of eleven bells. The largest bell weighed 3,000 pounds.
In 1881, the Blake, Lamb & Co. at Brighton & Allen Streets in Waterbury, Connecticut was in operation. Little is recorded of this company.”
Source: https://americanbell.org/aba-forum/topic/blake-bell-company/
E.J. Lefavour
Good Morning Gloucester 
love the history of the bell, thank you E.J.
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I thought it was pretty cool, glad you did too. How are you?
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It was great to meet you on Sunday, E.J.! Let me share with you my favorite part of our bell: There’s a spelling mistake. The bell was miscast. If you zoom in you can see that the second line reads, “O COME LET US WORSHP”. They forgot the “i” in worship.
I figure we got a good deal on it back in the day.
We jokingly say that it was on purpose. For more than one hundred and fifty years our church has kept the ‘i’ out of worship — it’s not about us; it’s all about Jesus. That’s our attempt to pretend it’s purposeful. 🙂
Tim Bushfield, Lead Pastor
Community Church of East Gloucester
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Hi Tim,
Of course I noticed the missing I in worship, and wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or the funny way things were spelled at one time. I love your take that it purposely leaves the “I” out of worship, as it is all about Jesus, which may have been the intent all along. I really enjoyed discovering Community Church, and look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
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Another great article thank you E.j.
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Great history and great shot too EJ thanks for sharing it! 🙂 Dave & Kim 🙂 God Bless you and Mom team GMG!
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Hi EJ and everyone. I was born and raised in St George Island, Alaska and our church St George The Great Martyr has 6 bells that were cast by the William Blake Co of Boston Massachusetts. The bells have a distinctive sound that appeal to everyone that hears them. I just thought I would pass this anecdotal information on to you. They are probably as remote as you can get for bells cast by William Blake and Company.
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