Martin Legros

Jean-Martin Legros (* 1714 in Bouvignes-sur-Meuse near Dinant on the Maas, † June 9, 1789 in Malmedy ) was a Walloon bell founder who mainly worked in the Rhineland. He is one of the most important bell founders in the Rhineland during the second half of the 18th century.

Life

Legros grew up with several siblings. There are hardly any traditions from his youth. He completed his apprenticeship in Liège with two bell foundries. It is believed that one of the bell-makers was Pierre Levache.

Legros married Anna-Bärbe Hockay on April 22, 1743. The marriage has ten children.

With the bell foundry, he began 1745. 1771 awarded him the City Council of Cologne , the free championship and citizenship. It is not known when Legros moved to Cologne.

Jean-Martin Legros died in 1789 as a result of a stroke.

Bells and chimes

It is believed that Martin Legros cast more than 250 bells in his nearly 45-year career. From 1780 Legros poured isolated bells together with his son Pierre-Joseph Legros (born January 16, 1753, † August 29, 1808). This includes the Malmedyer carillon, whose 35 bells were cast in 1784.

Name church, place	Casting year	Transit diameter (mm)	Mass (kg)	Percussive ( HT -¹ /₁₆ )	inscription	Others
Holy Spirit , Parish Church of St. Evergislus , Brenig	1754	1418	1750	c sharp ¹ +6	FAC NOS INNOCUOS, JOSEPH DECURRERE VITAM! ("Give that we complete our lives righteously, Joseph.") SANCTE SPIRITUS HEISSCHEN ICH ● TZO DEM DEINST GOTZ ROIFFEN ICH ● DE DOEDEN I CLOSE ● BLIX HAGEL DONNER I DRIVEN ● HEINRICH VAN COELLEN GUIS ME ● PART HEITGES VAN BORN AT THE LINDEN CHURCH MASTER ● ANNO 1535 ● ANNO 1753 I HAD A BREAKDOWN TO READ THE OLD SCRIPTURE ON ME ● I KEEP THE OLD TAKE AND GOT NEW GOSSEN ● FROM MALMEDY MARTIN LEGROS IN BRENICH ANNO 1754 (further inscriptions available)	Martin Legros
Sebastian , Parish Church of St. Evergislus , Brenig	1776	1277	1250	dis ¹ ± 0	I AM UNLUCTURED IN ANNO 1775 AND BY PHILIPPE MAASS 2 MEALS BUT WITH GOTTES HULFF THE THIRD MEAL FROM MARTIN LEGROS TO MALMEDY SUCCESSFUL WITH THE ITEN CAST AND DEDICIRT H SEBASTIANO 1776 (“... with the first cast successful and dedicated 1776 "; further inscriptions available)	Martin Legros

St. Kilian (Lechenich) , three of the four bells from Legros 1755, the fourth bell can only ring as a solo bell because it does not harmonize.
St. Kunibert (Gymnich) , three bells from 1755, the oldest first from 1447
Bonn Minster 7 bells 1756 (detailed description there)
St. Laurentius , Bonn-Lessenich, (1778) the third Legros bell was cast in 1896
St. Gereon 's three smaller bells of the former five (1779) survived the fire in the tower
St. Severin , Cologne, three of the four bells from 1771 received, 4th re-cast
Carillon of Malmedy in the tower of the cathedral 35 bells by the Legros (1786)
Evangelical town church Monschau triple bell from 1789 by son Pierre-Joseph Legros

literature

Jörg Poettgen: 700 years of bell casting in Cologne. Masters and workshops between 1100 and 1800 . Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2005, ISBN 3-88462-206-4 .

Web links

Commons : Martin Legros - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Johann Jakob Merlo: Legros, Martin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, p. 132.
H. Cunibert: From Eifeler Glocken and Martin Legros, the bell founder. Eifelkalender, publisher: Eifelverein, page 57.

Individual evidence

^ History of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Volume 4, Eduard Hegel: The Archdiocese of Cologne between Baroque and Enlightenment. From the Palatinate War to the end of the French period (1688-1814) . JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne, 1979. Page 286. Accessed January 5, 2013.
^ Gerhard Hoffs: Bells in the dean's office Bornheim . PDF; Pp. 44-51. ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Contribution in Grenzecho from January 2, 2012

personal data
SURNAME	Legros, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Legros, Jean-Martin; Legros, Martinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bell founder, Walloon bell founder
DATE OF BIRTH	1714
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bouvignes-sur-Meuse near Dinant
DATE OF DEATH	June 9, 1789
Place of death	Malmedy

[1] History of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Volume 4, Eduard Hegel: The Archdiocese of Cologne between Baroque and Enlightenment. From the Palatinate War to the end of the French period (1688-1814) . JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne, 1979. Page 286. Accessed January 5, 2013.

[2] Gerhard Hoffs: Bells in the dean's office Bornheim . PDF; Pp. 44-51. ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[3] Contribution in Grenzecho from January 2, 2012