Historian Arthur Nicholls recounts the history of the old town bell . . .

AS WE look around Kendal we find many objects that appear to be historically insignificant.

The importance of the Cauld Stone outside the Town Hall can easily be missed, as it is a mere shadow of its former self. It was once the base of the old Market Cross that originally stood in what is now busy Stricklandgate.

It was moved to the Market Place and, eventually, the only fragment left was relocated to its present humble position.

Another relic of old times is the old town bell, which can be seen in a window in Kendal Museum. It was first at the Butter Market under St George’s Chapel, opposite the Moot Hall, (the original Town Hall), where the War Memorial stands.

Its first use was to call the people to hear public proclamations from the market cross, and it was used later on Sundays to call people to worship in the adjacent St George’s Chapel.

The bell was rung at 10am on Saturdays to declare the weekly market open and no sales were allowed until that time. Once the ringing ceased, the Bellman went round collecting the market tolls from the traders.

The bell had another important use. It was the town’s fire alarm bell and, in the early 19th century, called volunteer firemen to the fire station in Finkle Street.

The ringing of the fire bell also attracted vast crowds, who followed the fire engines, some of them eager to help in pumping the manual engines and in organising a chain of buckets to bring water to replenish the tanks.

In January 1839, there was a potentially disastrous fire in Hargeaves’ warehouse at Canal Head.

At about 3am, the 19-year-old daugher of Hargreaves’ clerk, William Smith, discovered it, roused the crews of two fly-boats there and ran barefoot, still in her nightdress, across Miller Bridge and up Kent Lane into Market Place, where she rang the fire bell furiously.

Men dragged out a wagon from the warehouse containing more than a ton of gunpowder with fire falling around them. They were all naked and their feet were horribly mangled by the stones and gravel. Such bravery!

When the new Town Hall was opened in Highgate the bell of its clock was used as the town fire bell but people complained it could only be heard in some parts of the town if the wind was blowing in the right direction – and the alarm was confused with the clock striking the hours.

The old fire bell had become redundant but remained in place, causing problems. A man from Capplerigg rode at full tilt into the town and, spotting the old bell, rang it furiously.

When he was told it was no longer in use, he rode to the Town Hall and rang the alarm there, causing a serious delay in calling out the fire brigade.

There were calls for the bell to be removed but it remained in place where, as it was so low, people knocked their heads on it.

The bell of the clock tower at the Town Hall was put at the fire station, then behind Stricklandgate House.

The old fire bell was moved eventually to the museum.