{"product_id":"set-of-four-antique-treen-bells-chilvers-coton-church-oak-george-eliot","title":"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","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEach 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:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“CHILVERS COTON CHURCH\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNUNEATON\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eMODEL OF A BELL\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eMADE FROM OLD OAK OF BELFRY”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChilvers 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 \u003cem\u003eScenes of Clerical Life\u003c\/em\u003e and for other early fictional settings. These bells, therefore, sit at a fascinating intersection of ecclesiastical history, vernacular treen, and Victorian literary culture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeorge 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer 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).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe died in 1880, shortly after finally marrying John Walter Cross.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurviving 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan\u003eOrigin - Chilvers Coton Church, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e 17th‑century oak from the church belfry, later turned into commemorative miniature bells\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverall:\u003c\/strong\u003e Very good, sound and stable, with honest age and handling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWood:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rich, warm patina with minor surface marks, small knocks and wear consistent with age and use; no structural cracks compromising stability.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLabels:\u003c\/strong\u003e Original printed\/gilt labels present to each bell; some rubbing, small losses and toning, but text remains legible and visually strong.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBases\/edges:\u003c\/strong\u003e Light wear and minor scuffing from decades of display.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo over‑restoration:\u003c\/strong\u003e We have not polished or refinished these beyond a light, dry surface clean to preserve the original surface and character.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReady to display, with the gentle wear and colour one expects—and wants—from genuine period treen.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(Each bell, approximately)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e approx. 5 cm (approx. 2 in)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDiameter at base:\u003c\/strong\u003e approx. 4.5 cm (approx. 1¾ in) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53930406904150,"sku":"HAF7360","price":265.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0782\/7462\/5878\/files\/1.jpg?v=1779275017","url":"https:\/\/holtantiquefurniture.com\/products\/set-of-four-antique-treen-bells-chilvers-coton-church-oak-george-eliot","provider":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}