Bilbie family
The Bilbie family was a multigenerational West Country English bell-founding and clockmaking dynasty active from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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History
The Bilbie family’s recorded industrial history begins in the late seventeenth century at Chew Stoke in Somerset. Edward Bilbie I cast the family’s earliest identified bell in 1698 for St Andrew’s Church, Chew Stoke. He also worked as a clockmaker, probably learning that trade from Edward Webb, a leading local practitioner who died in 1694. The Chew Valley benefited from its proximity to Bristol, an important regional centre for brass founding and clock production, as well as from access to copper, zinc, and tin supplies used in metalworking. Edward I produced 67 bells between 1698 and 1723. After his death in 1724, his eldest son Edward Bilbie II inherited the family tradition but died in 1726, leaving the principal expansion of the business to his younger brother Thomas. Thomas Bilbie took over the bell and clockmaking operations in 1725, completed inherited commissions, and extended the company’s geographical reach. One of his notable projects was the enlargement and recasting of the Great Bell at Yeovil. Between 1725 and 1768, he was responsible for approximately 350 bells in churches across several counties and at least one Welsh commission. Thomas established a second foundry at Cullompton in Devon. He had obtained a church-bell commission there in 1742 and opened the West of England Church Bellfoundry in 1746. The Cullompton site gave the family better access to Devon and areas farther west and south. Thomas’s son Thomas Bilbie II became a major producer at the Devon branch, casting 237 bells between 1754 and 1780. Thomas Castleman Bilbie later continued the Cullompton operation and cast 198 bells between 1781 and 1814. The Chew Stoke business was also divided among family members. Abraham Bilbie operated the foundry for a period after his father, producing 35 bells, including rings of six for South Wraxall, Winscombe, and Portishead. William Bilbie managed the Chew Stoke foundry from 1775 to 1790 and produced 79 bells. Other relatives pursued clockmaking. John Bilbie of Axbridge operated a workshop making longcase clocks, while Edward Bilbie IV was known for longcase clocks with engraved decoration in the centre of the dial. Bilbie clockmaking developed alongside bell founding and reflected the specialized regional style of the Chew Valley. The family made relatively inexpensive thirty-hour longcase movements in plain oak cases as well as more sophisticated eight-day movements. Some clocks included supplementary indications, such as high-tide information relevant to Bristol’s docks. Their lantern clocks and longcase clocks are now valued as examples of West Country horology. By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the family faced stronger competition and difficulty adapting its operations. The Chew Stoke foundry’s output fell to 25 bells between 1791 and 1811 under Thomas Webb Bilbie and James Fear Bilbie. The Cullompton branch survived longer, with production continuing into the second decade of the nineteenth century. In total, the family is credited with more than 1,350 bells, many of which remain installed in churches across south-west England and nearby regions. The family’s historical importance is commemorated locally in Chew Stoke through Bilbie Road and the village sign.
- 1814
Later Cullompton production
[1]Thomas Castleman Bilbie’s recorded Cullompton bell production extended into 1814.
- 1791
Chew Stoke output declines
[1]The Chew Stoke branch entered a period of sharply reduced bell production under later family members.
- 1775
William Bilbie manages Chew Stoke
[1]William Bilbie took charge of the Chew Stoke foundry, remaining associated with it through 1790.
- 1746
Cullompton foundry established
[1]Thomas Bilbie founded the West of England Church Bellfoundry at Cullompton to serve markets beyond Somerset.
- 1742
Cullompton commission
[1]Thomas Bilbie secured a contract to cast bells for the church at Cullompton, Devon.
- 1725
Thomas Bilbie takes over
[1]Thomas Bilbie assumed control of the connected bell and clockmaking businesses and began expanding their regional reach.
- 1724
Death of Edward Bilbie I
[1]Edward Bilbie I died after establishing the family’s bell-founding and clockmaking presence in Chew Stoke.
- 1698
First recorded Bilbie bell
[1]Edward Bilbie I cast the earliest identified Bilbie bell for St Andrew’s Church in Chew Stoke.
Products and positioning
A regional craft dynasty known for durable church bells, distinctive West Country clocks, and multigenerational expertise in metal casting and horology.
Bell founding · 1698
Church bells
The family’s principal output was cast church bells made from bell metal, generally a copper-tin alloy. More than 1,350 Bilbie bells are associated with churches across the West Country, including major and parish churches in Somerset, Devon, Bristol, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Wales. Production required mould making, furnace work, casting, finishing, and tuning.
Clockmaking
Lantern clocks
Bilbie clockmakers participated in the distinctive West Country tradition of lantern-clock production. These weight-driven mechanical clocks were made alongside bell founding and reflected the regional metalworking expertise available in the Chew Valley and Bristol area.
Clockmaking · 1724
Longcase clocks
The family made longcase clocks ranging from economical thirty-hour movements in modest oak cases to higher-quality eight-day movements installed in better cabinet cases. Some examples incorporated additional indications, including tide information associated with Bristol docks.
Clockmaking
Decorated clock dials
Edward Bilbie IV was associated with longcase clocks featuring engraved decoration in the centre of the dial. These clocks represent the family’s more ornamental horological work.
Brand decisions
1746
Open a second foundry at CullomptonStrategyBackground
Heavy church bells were difficult and expensive to transport from Chew Stoke, while commissions were increasingly available in Devon and farther west.
Action taken
Thomas Bilbie established the West of England Church Bellfoundry at Cullompton after securing local work.
Aftermath
The Cullompton branch became a significant Devon producer and continued under later Bilbie family members into the early nineteenth century.
Sources1 sources
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