=Bells in the Central Tower=.--The tower is the abiding-place of the present "Great Tom of Lincoln"; but before describing him and his companions, we must give an account of his predecessors of the same name in the north-west tower, as well as of the former occupants of his present abode. We find that in 1311 a question arose respecting new ropes for the two bells lately hung in the new tower. These were not the first bells possessed by the minster, as there is a record in the works of Giraldus Cambrensis of "_duas campanas grandas atque sonoras_" given by Geoffrey Plantagenet, who held the temporalities of the see from 1173 to 1182. The number was afterwards increased to six, although it is not known when. They were called the "Lady Bells," and were rung for the minster service. The largest Lady Bell was tolled forty times at the shutting of the church doors every night, after which the searchers of the church partook of bread and beer provided for them under the watching chamber in the east transept; they then walked round and searched the church. When the Lady Bells were taken down in 1834, four were found to be dated 1593, one 1633, and one 1737. The original "Great Tom" was hung in the north-west tower. It is not known how it was acquired; some say it was a gift, others say it was stolen from the Abbey of Beauchief, Derbyshire, or from Peterborough. The origin of its name, too, has been a subject of dispute. Stukeley considered it possible that it had been consecrated to St. Thomas of Canterbury. Others think it took its name from that of the old bell of Christ Church, Oxford, which bore the curious inscription, _In Thomae laude, resono Bim Bom sine fraude_. It should be remembered that Oxford was in the diocese of Lincoln in olden days, and that several Bishops of Lincoln were chancellors of Oxford. Wherever the first "Great Tom" came from, it was recast in the minster yard by two bell founders from Nottingham and Leicester early in the seventeenth century, when the weight was increased from 8743 pounds to 9894-½ pounds. "The bell was cast and hung upp and upon Sonday the xxvij of this month [January 1611] ronge owte and all safe and well." It was tolled until 1802, when it was found that this process shook the tower too much. The following extract from the _Stamford Mercury_ of the 6th August 1802, is given by North in his "Church Bells of Lincolnshire":--"Great Tom o' Lincoln is to be rung no more! The full swing of four tons and a half is found to injure the tower where he hangs. He has therefore been chained and rivetted down; so that instead of the full mouthful he has been used to send forth, he is enjoined in future merely to wag his tongue." Towards the end of the year 1827 experienced ears detected that something was wrong, and by Christmas it became plainly evident that the bell was cracked. It was finally decided to have it recast in a larger size. For this purpose it was broken to pieces with its own clapper, and sent to