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Holbrook bells and bellfoundries
George Holbrook was perhaps the third major bellfounder in America,
after Aaron Hobart and Paul Revere.
This page provides some information about Holbrook's work and Holbrook bells, organized as follows:
Extant bells by George Holbrook
This section presents links to Webpages which mention bells cast by George Holbrook
and his descendants.
They are listed in approximate chronological order, and grouped according to the changes in
the name, the location and/or the proprietorship of the business.
(There are gaps in the dates because the chronology given here is based
mainly on the inscriptions of dated surviving Holbrook bells.)
Actual inscriptions are shown in boldface type when known.
Major George Holbrook, Brookfield, Massachusetts, 1797-1810
Born in 1767, George Holbrook was apprenticed to Paul Revere to learn the machinist's
and clockmaker's trades.
Presumably he returned to Revere's employ after earning his rank in
the Revolutionary War, because it was not until 1797 that he set up an establishment of his own,
in this town.
(At the age Holbrook would have been when Revere cast his first bell, in 1792,
his apprenticeship would long since have been completed.)
- (A few bells survive from this period; none are on the Web yet.)
Major George Holbrook, Medway, Massachusetts, 1816-1820
Holbrook left Brookfield after financial reverses, setling in East Medway after winning a
contract to cast a bell for the new meeting house there in 1816.
- (A few bells survive from this period; none are on the Web yet.)
George H. Holbrook, Medway, Massachusetts, 1820-1828
Major Holbrook's son, George Handel Holbrook (later Col. Holbrook),
took over the bellfoundry business from his father in 1820,
and carried it on until shortly before his death in 1875.
- GEO H HOLBROOK MEDWAY MASS 1822,
Chepachet Meeting House and
Free Will Baptist Church, Chepachet, RI.
The Website of the church and meetinghouse has an entire well-illustrated page
devoted to the history of this bell,
with an extensive history of the Holbrooks' bellfounding activities.
There is another page with lists of known Holbrook bells (extant and otherwise).
- By George Handel Holbrook, Medway, Mass. 1828.,
First Congregational Church,
North Attleborough, MA
- 1828 (two bells),
Mission San Gabriel
Arcangel, CA (follow the tour for more views)
- cast in 1831 by George H. Holbrook in Medway.,
Federated
Church, Orleans, MA.
- George H. Holbrook, 1832,
Church
on the Common, Brattleboro, MA.
- George H. Holbrook, 1833,
Brown University,
Providence, RI.
George H. Holbrook, East Medway, Massachusetts, 1834-1856
East Medway was part of the town of Medway.
It's not clear why the Holbrook foundry began using
the name East Medway instead of simply Medway on its bells.
George H. Holbrook & Son, East Medway, Massachusetts, 1865-1875
- (A few bells survive from this period; none are on the Web yet.)
Upon the death of George H. Holbrook, he was succeeded in the bell business by his
grandson, Edwin Handel Holbrook, who had been involved with it since 1868.
E.H.Holbrook sold this firm in 1880, and went into other work.
East Medway was incorporated into the town of Millis in 1885.
The town
Town Website formerly had a
history
of the Holbrook factories and bells, but it seems to have disappeared (perhaps by accident).
General historical links
These Weblinks lead to pages which put Holbrook's bellfounding
into the context of the rest of his life.
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This page was created 2002/09/01 and last revised on 2007/03/04.
Please send comments or questions to
csz_stl@swbell.net
