Michael Lee born 1933 has spent 20 years researching and writing a number
of historical documents. The first and largest is on the life and works of Henry
Penn bellfounder at Chacombe, Ecton and Peterborough in Northamptonshire from
1685-1729
The photograph shows Mike with the late Dean Randolph Wise
with one of the bells on the lifting gear during the removal of the largest
ring of 5 bells in the world. Henry Penn cast bells for 100 known Churches and
great houses. The most difficult of these installations was here at Peterborough
Cathedral in 1709 where the largest of ten bells weighed 1.5 tons.
John Watts
Stamford clockmaker
Michael could not resist the challenge of finding why
ancient wooden framed church clocks he was finding were signed IW. A
investigation ran in parallel with research into Henry
Penn. The village church at Nassington in Northamptonshire has a
clock signed and dated IW1695. This proved to be John Watts a
contemporary of Henry Penn. John was a Stamford clockmaker who
worked between the years 1661-1707 making many turret clocks in a 50 mile radius
of the Town.
