Ships Bell dated 1719

[Evilninja]

Can anyone help me identify which ship it came from?

There is the name James Patten ( the n is reversed ) and a date 1719

The only reference i can find is of a james patton who was captain of the "HMS crown" warship which was sunk in 1715

any help would be great.

[dotty.]

it might help to know some history on where this bell is now, where it's been, whether it could be a replica, how big it is.

[Evilninja]

The bell is in my possesion, it is approximately 12" diameter and stands roughly 10 - 12" high, and is incredibly heavy.

I know it has been in my hands for 20 years, but i am struggling to remember where it originated from, it probably was my grandfathers.

The other thing, is that the bit at the top which used to hang on has been removed, so it is flush now.

[dotty.]

sorry to ask yet another question, but what is it about the bell that makes you believe it is a ships bell?

[Evilninja]

Ignorance !!

I just assumed it was, are church bells usually named or are there other uses?

[dotty.]

the date is wrong but what about this:
James Patten (1744-1797).

James Patten, who sailed on Cook's second voyage as surgeon on the Resolution, is believed to have been born in Streamville in County Antrim, Ireland about 1744, one of six sons of the Reverend William Patten. James trained as a surgeon and a property document for Boynagh, County Meath, in 1770 mentions him as such. It is signed by Patten. His early naval career is not documented but he was surgeon on the Squirrel in 1763.

Patten joined the Resolution from HMS Senegal on 12 December 1771 and helped stock the ship with medical supplies.

During the voyage he is credited with nursing Cook back to health after his serious illness in early 1774, helped by Johann Reinhold Forster. Cook wrote:
Mr. Patten the surgeon was to me, not only a skillfull physician but a tender nurse and I should ill deserve the care he bestowed on me if I did not make this publick acknowlegement.

Forster was also full of praise for Patten:
...our worthy surgeon, Mr Patton, took the best precautions possible to preserve the healths of all on board, by suggesting the proper methods to Captain Cook, and by watching over us with unremitting assiduity.

Sir John Pringle gave a paper to the Royal Society in November 1776 on the prevention of scurvy, drawing information from the medical journal of Mr Patten. Unfortunately, the journal is now lost.

[dotty.]

The be;; could be dated at manufacture and maybe the name added later possibly, sailors being the most supersticious lot, maybe the reputation of this ships surgeon was an omen?

[fredpuli47]

How well struck or cast is the 1 of '19' ? Could it be a 7 where the top hasn't shown well, or at all? 1779 would fit the dates of the surgeon James Patten .

After all, if the maker put N so it looks 'reversed' he wasn't much good at striking or casting distinctly, was he?

[dotty.]

here is more about him:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/30101247