Dundonald Bell

Cast bronze tower bell formerly used in Dundonald Parish Church. It is dedicated to St Giles, dated 1495, and bears the 'xt' mark of an otherwise unidentified Scottish bell founder. A handful of other bells by this maker survive, mostly in churches in the Lothians.   This cast bronze church bell was used at Dundonald Parish Church in Ayrshire until 1841. It was transferred after 1843 to Dundonald Free Kirk, where it hung for 40 years. Beneath a band of moulded decoration on the shoulder is a Latin inscription which reads 'Saint Giles, pray for us, in the year of our Lord 1495'. St Giles was the patron saint of blacksmiths and a number of British pre-Reformation bells are dedicated to him.