Bells Their History, Legends, Making and Uses BY Satis N. Coleman File – 05 : Chapters XXXII to XXXVI Bibliography, Index Pages 359 to 462 This document is provided for you by The Whiting Society of Ringers visit www.whitingsociety.org.uk for the full range of publications and articles about bells and change ringing CHAPTER XXXII BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE The magnificent buildings of the ancients which gave us so much of architectural beauty in other respects, had no towers. Compare the Temple of Karnak, the Parthenon, or the Temple of Theseus with the Antwerp and Cologne cathedrals (see Figs. 91, ISS, and 156). After Christian church bells came into use, towers (from which the bells could be more easily heard by the people) began to develop, and Christian archi­ tecture took on a distinctive form. The bell rooms FIG. ISS. 24 359 BELLS r ..' {~ . ~ r' r : ; t , , ' ,; FIG. 156. Cathedral at Cologne. Germany BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE 3 6 1 BELLS shown exposed to the open air, that their sounds might be heard as far as possible. The little cock is placed above for vigilance. The use of the bell tower was recognized in the ancient Saxon law which gave the title of thane to FIG. 158. A thirteenth-century belfry over chancel arch at A bercorn anyone who had on his estate a church with a bell tower. Many of these early bell towers remain, and several of them are picturesque and dignified (see Figs. 158 and 159). Some of the towers were attached to the church, and others were entirely separate from it. BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE 363 FIG. I59. A Saxon bell tower of the tenth century at Earl's Barton, North Hants BELLS The round towers of Ireland (see Figs. r60 and r6r) are especially interesting memorials of the early days of Christian architecture, though these towers were probably used for military as well as FIG. 160. St. Kevin's Church, Glendalough, Ireland. Oldest existing round belfry attached to church for religious purposes. They were both watch towers and belfries, and doubtless the inhabitants found refuge in them when attacked by the North­ men. The sacred objects of the church were often placed in the tower for safekeeping. BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE 365 In the upper stories of these towers there have been found bars of iron or of oak, upon which bells Were probably fastened and played with a metal hammer. Lord Dunraven writes that he "carried FIG. 161. Belfry of Antrim, County of Antrim, Ireland. Built about the ninth century an ordinary dinner bell' to the top of Clondalkin Round Tower, and observed that the sound seemed greater when heard within the topmost chamber of the tower than in an ordinary hall; and a friend standing at a distance of a hundred feet from the BELLS building said the tone was quite as loud as when rung beside her down on the level of the ground." He thinks that the hells in these towers were proba­ bly tuned to the notes of the pentatonic scale, and played, perhaps, for the entertainment of the inhab­ itants clustered about the base of the tower. From the slant of the openings in the top of many of these towers it is thought that heavy missiles and stones were probably pushed from the belfry to fall upon a besieging enemy below. Without doubt, these bell towers served the inhabitants in several capacities, municipal as well as religious. The Irish bell towers are only typical of what existed in other parts of the British Isles, and in other European countries, during the Middle Ages. MUNICIPAL BELL TOWERS Sometimes the town united with the church in building a tower that would be used as a tower of defense and a watch tower as well as a belfry. In many cases bell towers were built by the town, near the town hall, and the bells used in calling citizens together in cases of disorder in the town, fire, or other alarms. In countries which were distracted by constant war the bells of the town acquired great public importance. If there was no special town bell, the chief bell in the cathedral often belonged to the town, not to the cathedral chapter. "He who commanded the bell commanded the town; for by BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE 367 tnatsound, at a moment's notice, he could rally and concentrate his adherents. Hence a con­ queror commonly acknowledged the political impor­ tance of bells by melting them down; and the cannon the conquered was in turn melted to supply th~ garrison with bells to be used in the suppression of revolts. Many a bloody chapter in history has been rung in and out by bells."! MUnicipal bell towers existed in Europe as early 2 as the eleventh century. ' 'The building of the town hall was the earliest symbol of the growth of the free community (independent of the feudal lords), and the cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse had each a building of the kind as far back as the twelfth cen­ tury. In the early days of enfranchisement, it was f;u.stomary to call together the citizens of the com­ munity by means of bells. These were, however, at first confined to the towers of the churches, and since they could not be rung without the consent of the clergy, a good deal of friction must some­ times have arisen, especially in those places where it happened that ecclesiastics were the feudal lords. To obviate difficulty of this kind, the municipalities began to procure bells of their own, and these were hung at first over the town gates, in the manner of which a very interesting example may still be seen at the gate known as 'La Grosse Cloche' at Bor­ deaux, Toward the close of the twelfth century 'seeEncyclopedia Britannica, on "Bell." ," Architecture in the War Area," in Architect and Contract Reporter. August, 1917. by Tyrrell-Green, BELLS and the early years of the thirteenth, we find separate towers erected for town bells. These also served the purpose of lookouts, being provided with lodg~ ing for the watchman, and a gallery commanding a view on every side, so that the bell might sound an alarm upon outbreak of fire, or onset of foe. While in their origin the belfries were thus designed to meet a need, and serve a utilitarian purpose, they came to be regarded, as time went on, as ends in themselves, and were built on a great scale and lavishly adorned. ... Thus the town belfries which form so regular a feature of old Flemish cities, and which occur with like frequency in the north of France, may be considered as material symbols of the power and wealth of the communities that erected them." The Christians, in using bells according to the requirements of their religion, says Russel Sturgis, were ultimately led to the invention of new forms of architecture. Below is given a list of definitions quoted from Sturgis' Dictionary oj Architecture and Building, which gives an idea of the contribution which bells have made to the terms and forms of architecture. Bell cage. A timber framework which supports the bells in a steeple. Designed to absorb as much vibration as possible so as to transmit a minimum of jarring to the walls. Bell canopy. Open structure with small roof intended to shelter a bell. Stands either independently (3,8 atgate of churchyard) or resting upon wall of church. BELLS AND ARCHITECTURE 369 Bell carriage. Structure which carries bells in a belfry. Bell chamber. Portion of the interior of a belfry or cam­ panile in which bells are hung. Contains bell car­ riage and has large openings to permit the wide diffusion of the sound. Bell cot: cote. Small structure to carry and shelter one or more bells, and carried upon brackets projecting from a wall, or built upon a roof or spire. Bell crank. An angular lever for changing direction of a to-and-fro movement of the bells. Bell gable. A gable having an opening in which a bell is hung; in particular, an upward prolongation of a portion of a wall above the roof, terminating in a small gable, and having one or more openings for bells. Bell hanging. The trade or operation of putting in place, in a building, the bells and their appurtenances. Bell house. A building, usually tower-like, intended for the housing and proper sounding of a bell or bells, especially Round Towers, like those of Ireland. Bell pull. A knob or handle and its appurtenances connected with a bell by any mechanical contrivance by which the bell is rung by pulling. Bell tower. A tower fitted and prepared for containing one or more large bells, and for allowing their sound to be heard properly both near and far. Nothing of this kind existed in antiquity. Bell turret. A small tower, usually topped with a spire or pinnacle, and containing one or more bells. Belfry. In modern use, a structure arranged for carrying large bells, and allowing for their proper service in different applications: (r) a bell tower, (2) bell chamber, (3) bell cage, (4) place occupied by the bell 37° BELLS ringers; this is sometimes far below the bells, and in some churches is on the floor of the tower, level with the floor of the church itself. Campanile (Italian plural campanili). In Italian, a bell tower, generally separated from other buildings. THE CAMPANILES OF ITALY Nowhere in the world are there to be found more beautiful bell towers than in Italy, the home of the first church bells.