Set of Four Miniature Antique Carved Treen Bells,Turned From 17th Century Oak, from Chilvers Cotton Church, Warwickshire, With Literary Links to The Renowned Author, George Eliot

A finely evocative set of four miniature carved treen bells, each turned from 17th‑century oak taken from the belfry of Chilvers Coton Church, Nuneaton, Warwickshire. These small commemorative bells belong to the long tradition of “relic” treen—objects fashioned from historic timbers to preserve both fabric and memory of a building.

Each bell is lathe‑turned with a domed knop and stepped foot, the surfaces now mellowed to a rich, warm patina. To the front of two is a gilt and black label reading:

“CHILVERS COTON CHURCH NUNEATON MODEL OF A BELL MADE FROM OLD OAK OF BELFRY”

Chilvers Coton Church holds particular literary significance: George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) grew up in the Nuneaton area and is known to have worshipped at Chilvers Coton. The church and its environs are widely accepted as one of the inspirations for “Milby” in Scenes of Clerical Life and for other early fictional settings. These bells, therefore, sit at a fascinating intersection of ecclesiastical history, vernacular treen, and Victorian literary culture.

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans (1819–1880), one of the foremost English novelists of the Victorian era. She adopted a male pseudonym to ensure her work was taken seriously at a time when women writers were frequently dismissed or pigeonholed into light romantic fiction.

She was born at South Farm, Arbury, Warwickshire, and baptised at Chilvers Coton Church — hence the connection with these bells. The Warwickshire countryside and communities of her childhood provided the setting and moral texture for much of her early fiction, most directly in *Scenes of Clerical Life* (1858), where Chilvers Coton appears as Shepperton.

Her major novels include Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72) — widely regarded as one of the greatest novels in the English language — and Daniel Deronda (1876).

She was also a formidable intellectual: a translator of Strauss and Feuerbach, a journal editor, and a central figure in Victorian philosophical and literary life. Her long relationship with the philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes, who was unable to divorce his estranged wife, placed her outside respectable society for much of her adult life — a social ostracism she bore with considerable dignity.

She died in 1880, shortly after finally marrying John Walter Cross.

Surviving as a complete set of four, with their original labels substantially intact, they present beautifully as a grouped display—on a desk, in a library, or alongside a collection of church or George Eliot–related material. A quietly rare and characterful ensemble.

Provenance: Origin - Chilvers Coton Church, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England

Material: 17th‑century oak from the church belfry, later turned into commemorative miniature bells

Condition:

Overall: Very good, sound and stable, with honest age and handling.

Wood: Rich, warm patina with minor surface marks, small knocks and wear consistent with age and use; no structural cracks compromising stability.

Labels: Original printed/gilt labels present to each bell; some rubbing, small losses and toning, but text remains legible and visually strong.

Bases/edges: Light wear and minor scuffing from decades of display.

No over‑restoration: We have not polished or refinished these beyond a light, dry surface clean to preserve the original surface and character.

Ready to display, with the gentle wear and colour one expects—and wants—from genuine period treen.

Dimensions: (Each bell, approximately)

Height: approx. 5 cm (approx. 2 in)

Diameter at base: approx. 4.5 cm (approx. 1¾ in)