An approach to the bells of Banyeres de Mariola


Sergio Gómez and Soler

This article is only intended to serve as a summary of the presentation of the work that the members of the COLLA DE CAMPANERS D'ONTINYENT carry out from 1999 in Banyeres de Mariola (Alcoyano) and which aims to catalog each of the bells that exist in this town, an inventory task that wants to report on the state, characteristics, inconveniences and possible harm that these basic pieces may suffer for our cultural and artistic as well as sentimental and religious heritage, so much so that we don't even realize that we have them right here on the edge, above, half forgotten in the towers.
The process is advanced and there are very few bells left to study. Right Now, a good part of the bronzes are already cataloged and waiting to be entered in the database that the Guild of Valencian Ringers prepares for the Ministry of Culture, Education and Science of the Generalitat Valenciana.
We will offer them now, and as an example of the reality of work, some comments on four of the Banyeres de Mariola bells, those belonging to the main temple, dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy and Saint George. We will dwell on these bells which, not being part of the newest group, are less interesting than other older ones. We will also focus on the Room that keeps them, without making too much mention of the situation of the rest of the bell tower and the interesting bells of the clock that make up the small "carillon", and which are in the upper room, a question we will leave for another time.
The study was based on the materials collected by Rafael Ballester i Gandia and Sergi Gómez i Soler, and is accompanied by the photographs of Rafael Domènech, from the visits made on 19 of together and the 26 September 1999. And it should be noted, and thank conveniently and sincerely, invaluable help, especially for recovery from coughs, and the recollection of legends and varied stories, that Mr. José María Ferre Ferre has offered us, born on 1901 and connoisseur of the old melodies warning and conjuring fears that from the old bell tower, and with the ancient and lost bells of the main tower, they regulated the passage of time and life, and that they have already stopped being the daily beat of the town.
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BELL OF SAN JORDI

The bell dedicated to the patron saint of Banyeres de Mariola, Saint George, it is not the largest of the tower but the second largest. In this case it is the third of the existing ones. Theoretically it was cast by Joan Baptista Roses d'Atzeneta d'Albaida, but the date fixed epigraphically must be distrusted, what is the 1951, because, by his features, it seems to us rather one of the already announced "falsifications" that, to confirm, would give him a very important testimonial value. Despite the samples, we cannot fully guarantee that it is an older bell that has been repurposed, better than not recycled, that this is what the proposed "falsifications" consist of. The barroera form of finishing that we have already announced may be responsible for some of the denouncing features.
It is located in the direction of Mestral, has measures of 101 cm of mouth, 88 cm height of the bronze, 11 cm of edge and an approximate weight of 645 kg.
Repeat the features of the previous bells with respect to handles, inconvenient touch and sow mechanisms, painted up to the wood insulating the friction between metals.
The battle is not his own, is fallen, but it stings well as it is too short. It has no safety wiring and is dangerously loose: it does not have a loop hook. As with the previous bell, it should be included in the General Inventory of Movable Goods.
It is excessively dirty, too much and everything. And at first glance be much older, for the state of conservation, and more if we compare it with the rest of the bells, some earlier but none old enough to justify this status; and by the shape of the bell itself. Besides, the dubious epigraphy is poorly attached, feta, if not in a hurry, with zero care and interest.
We meet in the Volta some grape leaves, i to Dalt, in front, the inscription "TO SU PATRÓN SAINT JORGE MÀRTIR" with a vegetal garland below.
In the middle there is, to the outside band, a cross supported by two angels, and on the left a large and beautiful custody. in front is the founder's triangular mark: "JUAN BTA ROSES SOLER // BELLS FOUNDATION // ADZANETA DE ALBAIDA/VALENCIA”. And on the left a Marian symbol (the letter m).
In the Mid-foot we find four triangles with leaves and four large interspersed roses, Roses house brand. below, we read "BAÑERES AÑO 1951".
The re-use of bells that may seem rare to us now, it was regular enough after the Civil War. Far from the idea spread by the victors of the destruction of the bells by the vanquished to make shrapnel out of them, little by little, more data are appearing that ensure the existence of a round business: the descent of the towers of the best bells (not necessarily the biggest ones) that were sold, scratches, cleaned and resold with new epigraphy to distant towns. One of the most interesting cases is found in Ontinyent (the Albaida Valley). The Antonia Gran bell, of the Hermitage of the Conception, it was cast according to the epigraphy on 1948, and it is considered to have a sufficiently previous bell both in terms of shape, typographical errors (serious), in col•locació (unthinkable in every way, and if not, look at the epigraphy of the Puríssima de Banyeres bell) of a Spanish republican shield, possibly corresponding to the First Republic. And this bell is the work of the same author as the one dedicated to Sant Jordi in Banyeres de Mariola.

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