The Angelus, in all its stages of development, was closely associated

with the ringing of a church bell. The bell is still rung in some English
country churches and has often been mistaken for, and alleged to be a
remnant of, the curfew bell.[7] The Angelus is replaced by the Regina
Coeli during Eastertide.
Where the town bell and the bells of the principal church or monastery
were distinct, the curfew was generally rung upon the town bell. Where
the church bell served for both purposes, the Ave and the curfew were
probably rung upon the same bell at different hours.[citation needed]
The ringing of the Angelus in the 14th century and even in the 13th
century must have been very general.[21] The number of bells belonging
to these two centuries that still survive is relatively low, but a
considerable proportion bear inscriptions that suggest that they were
originally intended to serve as Ave bells. Such bells bear words
like Missi de coelis nomen habeo Gabrielis („I bear the name of Gabriel
sent from heaven“) or Missus vero pie Gabriel fert laeta Mariae („Gabriel
the messenger brings joyous tidings to holy Mary").[22]
Bells inscribed with Ave Maria are also numerous in England, but there
the Angelus bells seem in a very large number of instances to have been
dedicated to St Gabriel, the angel mentioned in the prayer (Luke 1:26–
27). In the Diocese of Lincoln alone there are nineteen surviving
medieval bells bearing the name of Gabriel, while only six bear the name
of Michael, a much more popular patron in other respects.